THEY are the final, happy result of years of heart ache, frustration and a rollercoaster of emotions, meet some of the town's miracle babies.

As we reported in last week's Warrington Guardian, couples struggling to conceive received a boost as doctors agreed to now fund three cycles of IVF fertility treatment rather than one.

But it has been a different journey for many parents-to-be, including the 117 women who received funding for one cycle in the last two years  out of of 143 requests, who have endured plenty of tear-filled months before the joy of giving birth to some extra special babies.

Victoria and Dogan Baylam had to wait 10 years before welcoming Leyla-Eva to the world.

The Orford couple were told they had no chance of conceiving naturally and initially had two cycles of IVF with one working but 32-year-old Victoria sadly lost the baby at six weeks pregnancy.

She added: "We didn't have the money to pay for another cycle but four years later we decided to have another go before I was 30.

"It was petrifying and I did a pregnancy test every day for four months until I had that first scan.

"I couldn't enjoy my pregnancy at all and when she was born there were some nights where I wouldn't sleep and would just sit watching her.

"We knew how precious she was to us and were so scared she would be taken away.

"I still feel protective now but she's absolutely fantastic and has got her own little character now.

"We call her the miracle baby now.

"I feel like people can be quite embarrassed talking about IVF until they know I had it and then they start to come out of the woodwork."

IVF involves a series of injections as well an egg being surgically removed from the woman's ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory before it is returned to the woman's womb to grow and develop.

It can be both physically and emotionally demanding and for parents Laura and Anthony Stephens it was a particularly traumatic experience leading to the birth of two-year-old Matilda Stephens.

The Howley couple paid more than £12,000 for two unsuccessful cycles starting in 2011 before getting the news they were hoping for on the third attempt.

But it still was not straight forward as 27-year-old Laura was sick throughout her pregnancy and then suffered eight anaphylactic shocks before giving birth which doctors discovered was due to a rare allergy to an injection used to stop blood clots.

Laura added: "It was so scary and I didn't know what was happening.

"I could feel my throat closing up and was really worried about what effect it might be having on the baby.

"I had an emergency section and spent two days in intensive care and nine days in hospital in total.

"But afterwards it just felt amazing to hold her and I couldn't believe she was finally here."

It is too dangerous for them to attempt to have another baby but the couple are now hoping to adopt so Matilda can have a little brother or sister.