A couple who tried for more than a year to conceive a baby have spoken of their joy after having identical triplet girls.
Stephanie Latcham and Michael Gough were about to begin IVF treatment when they found out they were expecting a baby.
An initial early scan showed one pregnancy sac, a second scan showed two sacs and a third scan showed three.
The pair, who live in Ferryhill, naturally conceived triplets which were born weighing 3lbs each on March 30.
Miss Latcham said: “I had previously had miscarriages and I suffer with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) so after a year-and-a-half of trying I thought we would never have a baby.
“We had just got back from holiday and I did a pregnancy test and it was positive, I started screaming and ran to show Michael. I couldn’t believe it.”
Mr Gough said: “After the second scan when we thought it was twins we told some family and friends. We were so excited, we’d been trying for ages to have a baby and we were going to have two.
“Then we had another scan and they told us it was three. We couldn’t believe it. Both of us were in shock I think.
The triplets, Ollia-Anna, Brianna and Isabella, were born at 30-weeks via emergency c-section at Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary where they stayed for ten weeks.
Miss Latcham added: “I had weekly scans to make sure everything was ok and they just kept saying they were growing perfectly. I had no issues during my pregnancy and even when they were born they were only on oxygen for two days.
After a week in hospital Miss Latcham returned home to her son, Zach, six, to help Mr Gough prepare for their daughters coming out of hospital.
