‘I wouldn’t like the Rushton case to put people off IVF’
Maybe protocols were tightened up in the aftermath of Ms Rushton’s death, she says, but she said she was fully informed of the risk of ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome.
“I had a lot of monitoring. To be honest, you’re in and out of the clinic all the time for nearly four weeks during a cycle of IVF.
“There is also a number that you ring if you have any questions. You do get lots of aches and pains through the different stages of IVF so maybe it’s difficult to spot hyper stimulation symptoms but I remember being warned about vomiting, diarrhoea and excessive abdominal swelling.
“To me, the HARI Clinic is a wonderful place.”
Jennifer Callister, who lives in Greystones, Co Wicklow, had complications during the birth of her eight-year-old son Thomas by caesarean section.
The operation left her with a slightly twisted fallopian tube, lesions on her womb and a tilted cervix.
After about 18 months trying to conceive, her gynaecologist referred her to the Rotunda’s HARI Clinic. “Before treatment began, we had to attend an open meeting where the procedure of IVF was fully explained.
“What really amazed me was the number of people in the room. There must have been 150 couples.
“I remember at the meeting we had a power point presentation on IVF where the invasiveness of the procedure and where all the risks were outlined,” she said.
“What I really remember is being told that one third of people in the room would get pregnant naturally before they are due to start IVF, a further third of those in attendance will decide against IVF as they won’t want the invasion and another third will go ahead.”
Jacqueline Rushton started IVF treatment in December 2002 but died following complications weeks later.
An independent report into her death criticised the management of her care at Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital pointing to “a lack of senior control”.
Jennifer began treatment in October 2003. She said that IVF takes over your life for a while. There’s a constant “to-ing and fro-ing” to the hospital and your reproductive system controls your life for up to six weeks.
IVF begins with the “shutting down” of your reproductive system so your body goes into a kind of premature menopause.
“There are so many things that can go wrong along the way. I found the days after the replacement of the fertilised eggs very difficult.
“Emotionally, it’s not for the faint hearted but I wouldn’t like the Rushton case to put people off IVF. It’s wonderful to have access to such science,” she said.
Jennifer and her husband Alan underwent two cycles of IVF treatment before she became pregnant. Her son, Daniel is now two-and-a-half.
