A revolutionary method to treat infertility using the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra has resulting in a 34 year old women finally giving birth to a healthy baby girl.
34-year-old Kerry Holmes and her husband David, 33, had gone through three rounds of IVF and had suffered a miscarriage after Mrs. Holmes fell pregnant in 2005 but lost the baby at 12 weeks.
After the numerous disappointments, Mrs. Holmes had a scan at a private fertility clinic in Nottingham. The images revealed that she had a poor flow of blood to the womb, which had made the lining of the womb too thin for the embryo to successfully implant.
The director of the clinic, Dr. George Ndukwe, recommended trying Viagra to boost blood flow. The treatment is generally used to help men achieve sufficient blood flow to the penis to achieve an erection, though we've covered a variety of stories where is has been used in different ways, sometimes even saving lives.
Mrs. Holmes was prescribed the medication for nine days and says that it was not ‘a pleasant experience’. She said that minutes after taking her first dose, she noticed her body go pink and her face flush.
After the course of medication was completed, further scans showed that the lining of the wall of the womb had thickened enough for embroyos to successfully implant and the doctors put in IVF embroyos. Two weeks later, it was confirmed that Mrs. Holmes was pregnant and she carried the baby to term, giving birth to Grace in December.
It is thought that this is the first instance of the treatment being used to help infertile women. Dr. Ndukwe said that though Viagra can improve the lining the procedure can be dangerous and should only be performed under a doctor’s supervision.
Mrs. Holmes, a teacher from Yorkshire, commented, “Thanks to Viagra I’m a mother at last!”