WAKING up this Mother’s Day will be extra special for Rachel Hinsbey - as she will be celebrating as a miracle mum-of-three for the very first time.

Children Amalie, five, and twins Margot and Teddy, aged six months, were all born after Rachel and husband Tom had IVF treatment at Bourn Hall Clinic, Colchester.

What gives Amalie, Margot and Teddy an even closer bond is although the twins were born four years after their big sister, they all derived from the same cycle of IVF treatment.

It means the three siblings were all conceived at the same time, using the same batch of eggs and sperm, so they are triplets despite the age gap.

Rachel and Tom, from Colchester, had some embryos remaining from their first treatment frozen and stored at Bourn Hall.

Rachel said: “Mother’s day reminds me every year how fortunate I am to be a mummy. I have been lucky enough to be Amalie’s mum for five years now, and this year I get to celebrate with Teddy and Margot too.

“I couldn’t wish for any more.”

She added: “We wanted to try for a baby as soon as we got married, which was in 2010.

“After 18 months of trying, nothing had happened so I thought we should go to our GP and get the ball rolling.”

Tests revealed Tom has a zero sperm count and he was later found to be a carrier of the cystic fibrosis gene.

Around one in 25 white Europeans in the UK is a carrier of the cystic fibrosis gene, which can cause infertility.

The news meant it would be impossible for the couple to conceive naturally.

After further testing the couple were referred for IVF treatment, which they chose to have at the Bourn Hall but available under the NHS.

Specialist treatment meant five embryos were created.

One fresh embryo was transferred to Rachel’s womb and the others frozen for future treatment.

Rachel said: “Knowing the cause of our infertility was a like a big relief.

“It was good to know what was stopping us from conceiving, that there was something that could be done for us and we could put a plan of action in place.”

Rachel successfully fell pregnant and Amalie was born in March 2014.

The couple later decided to try for another baby using their frozen embryos. By this time clinical commissioners in north Essex had stopped NHS funding most IVF cases.

So the couple paid for their second treatment but it cost less than a ‘fresh’ cycle would have done because they had already got the embryos frozen.

Margot and Teddy were born in September 2018.

Tom added: “The staff were always honest with us about our chances of success. I’m just so pleased we beat the odds.”

Embryo freezing is a well-established technique in IVF treatment.

Standard guidelines are that embryos can be stored for up to 10 years - although in exceptional circumstances it can be up to 55 years. 

Bourn Hall strongly recommends to its patients good quality embryos surplus to requirements of a fresh IVF cycle are frozen and stored for future use.