Lilly Has Given Birth to Two Boys Despite Early Menopause

At the age of 21, I was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure (POF), a condition extremely rare for my age. My reproductive system failed 30 years too early. I was going through menopause, experienced all the symptoms and had osteopenia in my bones. My ovaries shut down and stopped producing follicles and eggs. We were told it was impossible for us to have our own children. Our Specialist encouraged us to do one cycle of IVF to give us closure as my diagnosis was ‘absolute’. We prayed for a miracle that would give all glory to God, and not to man. 1 Corinthians 2:5 - That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the Power of God. I commenced IVF at the maximum hormone dose. After two weeks of injections, numerous blood tests, invasive scans and acupuncture treatment, the cycle was cancelled as my body had absolutely no response to the hormones. This confirmed that my body does not produce eggs. Our only hope for having a family was through an egg donor or adopting. Even if I did become pregnant, I would need to be on hormone replacement injections throughout the pregnancy and I would not be able to breastfeed. We tried the Intro Uterine Insemination (IUI) procedure which failed, confirming that it was definitely not possible for us to conceive naturally. Our second IVF cycle was cancelled as it had failed. I then booked in for what we decided would be our last IVF cycle. We had a prayer and fast, and told God that if we didn’t fall pregnant we would forget about it and completely dedicate our lives to serving Him. A peace and contentment came upon us. Philippians 4:11 - Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. The following Monday, I had a blood test prior to starting the cycle. The results showed that I was five and a half weeks pregnant and that we conceived NATURALLY!

Even though we wanted all glory to go to God, we still tried to fix things in our own strength and

in man’s way. When we had exhausted every natural option (IVF, IUI, Naturopathy, Acupuncture, Medication and Trial Drugs) and we completely gave it over to God, He performed a miracle which was clearly of Him, with no natural or artificial intervention. It was our hearts’ greatest desire to be parents. Our first miracle, Isaac, was born in 2012. We welcomed our second miracle, Jasper, in 2015. I still have POF, so we know God healed my body for the time it needed to conceive and carry our babies. I was not on hormone replacements during both pregnancies and I breastfed both of our boys.

We thank God for healing our broken hearts and restoring our joy, and we give Him all the glory!

Lilly is a member of The Revival Fellowship - Adelaide, South Australia