When Nicola was just 16 she was told by her GP that she had a condition called polycystic ovary syndrome and that she would never become a mother.

Nicola recalls: “The syndrome affects how a woman’s ovaries work and I was told I wouldn’t be able to have a baby.

“It was almost as if a switch went off in my head and I showed no real interest in children.”

That was until she met her husband Terry Gillett who had always wanted children.

Terry says “I wanted children but only with the right person and at the right time. I remember telling my mum that Nicola was the one.”

The couple were amazed when Nicola fell pregnant naturally.

Nicola says: “It was unexpected and unfortunately I miscarried but it gave us hope that we could have a family.”

Once they were married the couple decided that they should try again for a baby.

In 2012, Nicola went to her GP for investigations. The tests showed that as a result of PCOS she was not ovulating regularly and that this was affecting their chances of having children.

She was prescribed the fertility drugs Clomid and Metformin and after no success, the Gilletts were referred for NHS-funded IVF treatment and chose Bourn Hall Clinic.

Bourn Hall has a clinic, in Wickford, where the couple had their initial consultation and scans.

There is a full service at Bourn Hall Clinic, in Colchester, where patients then go for egg collection and embryo transfer.

Nicola says: “I remember being incredibly nervous in the build-up to our first visit. I’ve never liked injections and was concerned about needle size.

“However we saw the clinic on an open day and I was instantly put at ease. The clinic was comfortable and seemed almost homely, certainly not surgical.”

Terry adds: “The staff were supportive and reassuring about the IVF process and explained the whole treatment clearly.”

In September 2013 the Gilletts began their first NHS-funded fertility cycle.

Nicola says: “The nurse we saw was so helpful, talking us through the process and even getting me to practise injecting a sponge. It was an incredibly well organised process, for example all the injections and medication I needed were delivered to our house.”

15 eggs in total were collected from Nicola at the Colchester clinic. Five were fertilised and one successfully made it to blastocyst stage, which was then carefully transferred into Nicola’s womb.

In December 2013, it was confirmed Nicola had become pregnant and on August 22, last year, Nicola, 28, and Terry, 29, became the proud parents of daughter Sydney.

Terry says: “I am a very proud father. I feel so lucky as our little girl is everything we hoped for.

“I’m now looking forward to seeing Sydney develop into a wonderful woman like her mum.”

Nicola adds: “My mum never thought she’d have grandchildren and yet amazingly now has a granddaughter.

“My dad makes Sydney lots of lovely things and Terry’s parents are also over the moon as she is their first grandchild too.”

Terry concludes: “Bourn Hall did what they said they’d do, help us have a family, and the clinic’s staff, at Wickford and Colchester, were there all the way being supportive and helpful.”

Sydney is one of the first 35 babies conceived through IFV treatment at the Bourn Hall Wickford Clinic.

Staff are giving free miniconsultations for people who are concerned about fertility issues at the Park Inn Palace Hotel, Southend on Saturday 21 March at 2pm.

To book a place call 01268 661700 or visit www.bourn-hallclinic.co.uk for an online registration form.