IVF baby born after lottery win starts school

Ethel was 7lb 10oz when she was born at Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham in 2020

A nurse who used part of a lottery win to fund IVF treatment said she was delighted to see her daughter start school.

Ethel Brown was 7lb 10oz when she was born at Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham in 2020.

Mum Rebecca used £12,000 from her share of a £1m National Lottery win to help fund the treatment, which she said has been "a rollercoaster of emotions".

The 44-year-old said the in vitro fertilization (IVF) had been "the best thing I spent my winnings on".

Ethel's family has been looking forward to seeing her start school

"Our win wasn’t just life-changing, it was life-giving," she said.

"Some people think winning the National Lottery means fast cars or big houses but the win's gift to me is that it has helped make a little person, who I love to spend all my time with."

Ms Brown, from Nottingham, began looking into IVF after doctors found pre-cancerous cells during a routine smear test in 2018, which led to discussions around the possibility of a hysterectomy.

After being told she needed to act "sooner rather than later" if she wanted children, she used money from her win in 2016 to pay for treatment rather than go on a waiting list.

"I appreciate I was very lucky to have [the lottery win] to help me fund it, and also I was very lucky that my journey through IVF only took two attempts, whereas some couples struggle for years," she said.

Ethel was born on 24 January 2020, just before the Covid pandemic, and started in reception class this year, a milestone her mother said made her feel proud.

"She's quite a homebird, she loves being at home with mummy - we always joke that they didn't cut the umbilical cord - [but] she does seem to be thriving at school," Ms Brown said.

"She does seem to really be enjoying it. She's made lots of friends and she mentions lots of names when she comes home.

"I enjoy having her with me as much as she likes being at home - we'll see if she's still feeling like that when at 18 and wants to be with me instead of her friends."