AS GAIL Fisher cradled her one-week-old baby in her arms she whispered: "He's a tiny miracle". After eight miscarriages and seven long years of anguish she can hardly believe her struggle is over. JAKKI PHILLIPS talks to proud parents Gail and Alan about the baby they thought would never arrive.

GAIL AND ALAN were barely getting over the excitement of their wedding day when they decided to start a family.

Gail already had two children, Russell who is now 20, and Danielle who is 14. But Alan was childless.

The couple, who live at Quarry Bank Road, Brighton, talked through the idea of having a child and came to the conclusion that it would make their lives complete.

In the autumn of 1992 the champagne corks were popping when Gail announced she had fallen pregnant. But days later she knew something was seriously wrong.

Gail, a 38-year-old hairdresser in Brighton, said: "I'd been pregnant twice before but this time it felt very different.

"It was as if there was something inside me which wasn't supposed to be there. I didn't rush round telling everyone I was pregnant because I didn't feel right.

"I suppose it was nature's way of telling me something was about to happen."

After seven weeks Gail and Alan went for a scan at Brighton's Royal Sussex County Hospital which detected a heart beat and the couple were delighted. But within days of their happy return home, the baby died.

Gail said: "There's absolutely nothing you can do. I sat at home mentally and physically in pain but all the doctor could suggest was a few paracetamol.

"That was the first time it happened and from that point on our lives turned upside down."

Over the next seven years Gail suffered another seven miscarriages but she was determined not to give up.

She said: "Every time it happened Alan and I would still get up each morning, go to work and try to get on with our lives as if nothing had happened."

Alan, a 32-year-old director of a glazing firm, found it hard to talk about his emotions so Gail decided they should block out their feelings and focus on the future.

Alan said: "I think some things are just too difficult to talk about. For seven years we spent every month waiting to see if Gail had fallen pregnant.

"Then we were forced to cope with disappointment if she hadn't, or the fear if she had."

After her fifth miscarriage Gail stopped telling people she was pregnant.

She said: "It was just too painful saying the words 'I've lost the baby' over and over again. So we kept it a secret and when the worst happened we would cope with it ourselves at home."

After her eighth miscarriage Gail was very ill and spent days in hospital recovering.

Alan said: "It was then we decided to stop trying. Gail's body was obviously suffering and the emotional strain on the whole family was enormous.

"It wasn't an easy decision to make. We both wanted a child together more than anything else in the world but after all those painful years we had to start getting on with our lives."

Gail made an appointment with the family planning clinic but her doctor was too busy to see her and she was asked to come back the following week.

She said: "When I went back I had no need for any contraception. I was pregnant again.

"We were absolutely amazed. It had been more than 18 months since my last miscarriage and both Alan and I were convinced any chance of having a baby was gone."

With the fear of another miscarriage clouding their delight the couple went for their first scan.

Gail was then referred to St Mary's recurrent miscarriage clinic in London where they discovered the cause of all her unsuccessful pregnancies.

It was the first time she had been pregnant long enough to be able to have the appropriate tests. All the previous miscarriages happened within the first two months.

She said: "They told me I had a blood clotting syndrome called anti-phospholepid. Two weeks later I was given an injection kit and Alan started injecting my abdomen every morning.

"More than three months later everything was going fine. It was the longest pregnancy I'd had but we were too scared to celebrate."

Their fears were confirmed when a scan revealed a problem.

Gail instantly made an appointment to see a specialist at King's College Hospital in London.

She said: "I had been told the baby's legs and arms weren't growing properly but the professor reassured me the baby was just a bit small.

"Prof Nicholaides was wonderful. He winked at Alan and told me 'It will all be fine'.

"After hearing his words I was confident that it would only be a matter of weeks before I had my precious son in my arms."

Gail continued to visit the professor every two weeks until finally the time came for the baby to be born at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

Alan said: "I would not have missed it for the world. He weighed 5lb and every ounce of him was perfect.

"I had been waiting seven years for that moment and just looking at him was the best feeling in the world."

Alan and Gail returned home to a house filled with flowers and cards.

Gail said: "All our friends, family and especially my mother Jean, have been incredibly supportive and kind. It has been a tough seven years for us all but now we are looking forward to enjoying a new life with Lawson."

In the days before the birth the couple ran an 'is it a boy or a girl?' competition and raised £260 for St Mary's hospital in London.

Gail said: "I think the most important message I can give to other couples who are suffering from miscarriages is to never give up.

"It won't be easy but there is help out there. If you really want a baby nothing should ever stop you."

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