Brian McFadden and fianceé Danielle Parkinson welcome a baby girl

Brian McFadden and his fiancée Danielle Parkinson have welcomed their first child together, a baby girl, after suffering two devastating miscarriages.

The former Westlife star, 41, already a parent to daughters Molly, 18, and Lilly, 16, with ex-wife Kerry Katona, shared the news in a Instagram post on Sunday evening.

Posting an image of Danielle pushing the newborn baby’s pram, he wrote: ‘Mammy, Daddy and baby out for our first walk together. It’s been the best week of our life.’

Happy news: Brian McFadden and his fiancée Danielle Parkinson have welcomed their first child together, a baby girl, after suffering two devastating miscarriages

The couple were inundated with well wishes from their celebrity pals after making the announcement.

Gemma Collins wrote: ‘I love you both ❤️❤️❤️ happy to baby sit anytime ❤️❤️❤️❤️’ and added in another message: ‘Oh my gosh congratulations’.

Laura Whitmore wrote: ‘Congrats! X’ while Rebecca Adlington added: ‘Awww huge congratulations xxx’.

Meanwhile, former Boyzone star Shane Lynch commented with a series of first place medal emojis.

Family of three: The singer, 40, and his partner, 39, announced they were expecting their first child together in December

Exciting: In late December the couple were excited to reveal their 20 week ultrasound

The singer and his partner, 39, announced they were expecting their first child together in December.

Brian and Danielle first shared the joyous pregnancy news in an interview with OK! magazine, revealing that their bundle of joy was due to arrive in May, following almost two years of IVF treatments.

Danielle told the publication at the time: ‘It does [feel like a miracle] but I feel awful saying that, as I’ve had so many messages on Instagram.

‘The IVF community is so lovely and I’ve heard real traumatic stories from people who have been trying for 10 years, people who have had eight-plus miscarriages, so I feel we got lucky on our third attempt.’

Congratulations: The couple were inundated with well wishes from their celebrity pals after making the announcement

During the interview, the couple also revealed that Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall – who themselves suffered a miscarriage – put them in touch with a nutritionist, who they say helped them conceive.

‘Mike and Zara put us in touch with Simone the nutritionist who got us prepared for this time,’ said Brian.

‘After we had the miscarriage, we sat with them and talked. This woman would put us on a certain diet, and Mike guaranteed it would work. He was completely right.’

The couple previously revealed they suffered a ‘devastating’ miscarriage in late 2019 after a year-long IVF journey.

They opened up about their fertility struggles in OK! magazine, explaining they tried to conceive naturally for two years, before turning to doctors for help.

Danielle, who suffers from low egg count, told how she was thrilled to become pregnant during the couple’s first round of IVF, but was left heartbroken when she lost the baby at five weeks.

Helping hand: The couple have credited Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall – who themselves suffered a miscarriage – with connecting with a nutritionist to help them conceive

Danielle said: ‘It was awful. She [the gynaecologist] showed us that my womb was empty. I was in tears – I felt numb. Brian was upset too, but he was really strong for me.’

Brian added: ‘We were devastated. I didn’t believe the baby was gone… it was the worst sinking feeling ever.’

Danielle explained that she has quite low AMH [Anti-Müllerian hormone], meaning that she produces eggs but there are only a few of them.

Danielle previously explained they had also considered a surrogate and adoption as other options for the future.

Struggles: Danielle, who suffers from low egg count, previously told how she was thrilled to fall pregnant during the couple’s first round of IVF, but was left heartbroken when she lost the baby at five weeks (pictured with Brian’s daughter Lily)

How does IVF work?

In-vitro fertilisation, known as IVF, is a medical procedure in which a woman has an already-fertilised egg inserted into her womb to become pregnant.

It is used when couples are unable to conceive naturally, and a sperm and egg are removed from their bodies and combined in a laboratory before the embryo is inserted into the woman.

Once the embryo is in the womb, the pregnancy should continue as normal.

The procedure can be done using eggs and sperm from a couple or those from donors.

Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that IVF should be offered on the NHS to women under 43 who have been trying to conceive through regular unprotected sex for two years.

People can also pay for IVF privately, which costs an average of £3,348 for a single cycle, according to figures published in January 2018, and there is no guarantee of success.

The NHS says success rates for women under 35 are about 29 per cent, with the chance of a successful cycle reducing as they age.

Around eight million babies are thought to have been born due to IVF since the first ever case, British woman Louise Brown, was born in 1978.

Chances of success

The success rate of IVF depends on the age of the woman undergoing treatment, as well as the cause of the infertility (if it’s known).

Younger women are more likely to have a successful pregnancy.

IVF isn’t usually recommended for women over the age of 42 because the chances of a successful pregnancy are thought to be too low.

Between 2014 and 2016 the percentage of IVF treatments that resulted in a live birth was:

29 per cent for women under 35

23 per cent for women aged 35 to 37

15 per cent for women aged 38 to 39

9 per cent for women aged 40 to 42

3 per cent for women aged 43 to 44

2 per cent for women aged over 44

Brian popped the question to his other half over Christmas 2019, however he admitted their priority is currently having a child and the wedding can wait.

As well as concentrating on having a baby, Brian previously revealed they were putting the wedding ‘on hold’ amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The singer said all of their plans had gone out the window while they wait to see what happens with social distancing guidelines.

Speaking in Heat magazine, Brian said: ‘We’ve put our plans on hold for the moment. We’re just going to wait and see what happens over the next few months.’

Brian previously revealed that he wouldn’t be asking his children to be bridesmaids due to the fact they’re ‘probably sick’ of walking down the aisle with their mum Kerry – who has been married three times.

Doting dad: The musician is a father to two daughters, Molly, 18, and Lilly, 16, with ex-wife Kerry Katona, 39

Speaking in January 2020, he quipped: ‘They’ve been bridesmaids for their mother [Kerry Katona] about five times already so they’re probably sick of it.

‘There’s only so many times you can be a bridesmaid. They must be thinking, ‘Not another f*****g wedding!’

Brian and Kerry were married from 2002 to 2006, with the singer then marrying Vogue Williams in 2012 for four years.

He was also engaged to Australian singer Delta Goodrem, but they ended things in April 2011.

Meanwhile, Kerry went on to marry Mark Croft for four years in 2011, before tying the knot with George Kay in 2014 and splitting three years later.

Brian and one-time Olympic hopeful Danielle went public with their relationship in late 2016 after being introduced through a mutual friend.

What causes a miscarriage?

It is highly unlikely that you will ever know the actual cause of a one-off miscarriage, but most are due to the following problems:

• ABNORMAL FETUS

The most common cause of miscarriages in the first couple of months is a one-off abnormal development in the fetus, often due to chromosome anomalies. ‘It’s not as though the baby is fine one minute and suddenly dies the next,’ says Professor James Walker, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Leeds.

‘These pregnancies fail from the outset and were never destined to succeed.’ Most miscarriages like this happen by eight weeks, although bleeding may not start until three or four weeks later, which is worth remembering in subsequent pregnancies. ‘If a scan at eight weeks shows a healthy heart beat, you have a 95 per cent chance of a successful pregnancy,’ says Professor Walker.

• HORMONAL FACTORS

A hormonal blip could cause a sporadic miscarriage and never be a problem again. However, a small number of women who have long cycles and irregular periods may suffer recurrent miscarriages because the lining of the uterus is too thin, making implantation difficult.

Unfortunately, hormone treatment is not terribly successful.

‘There used to be a trend for progesterone treatment, but trials show this really doesn’t work,’ warns Professor Walker. ‘There is some evidence that injections of HCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin, a hormone released in early pregnancy) can help, but it’s not the answer for everyone.’ The treatment must be started as soon as the pregnancy is confirmed, at around four or five weeks.

• AGE

For women over 40, one in four women who become pregnant will miscarry. [One in four women of all ages miscarry, but these figures include women who don’t know that they are pregnant. Of women who do know that they’re pregnant, the figure is one in six. Once you’re over 40, and know that you’re pregnant, the figure rises to one in four]

• AUTO-IMMUNE BLOOD DISORDERS

Around 20 per cent of recurrent miscarriers suffer from lupus or a similar auto-immune disorder that causes blood clots to form in the developing placenta.

A simple blood test, which may need to be repeated several times, can reveal whether or not this is the problem.’One negative test does not mean that a women is okay,’ warns Mr Roy Farquharson, consultant gynaecologist who runs an early pregnancy unit at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

Often pregnancy can be a trigger for these disorders, so a test should be done as soon as possible,’ he adds.But it can easily be treated with low dose aspirin or heparin injections, which help to thin the blood and prevent blood clots forming – a recent trial also showed that women do equally well on either. ”We have a 70 per cent live birth rate in women treated for these disorders,’ says Dr Farquharson, ‘which is excellent.’

• OTHER CAUSES

While uterine abnormalities, such as fibroids, can cause a miscarriage, many women have no problems carrying a pregnancy to term. An incompetent cervix can also cause miscarriage at around 20 weeks.

While this can be treated by a special stitch in the cervix, trials suggest it is not particularly successful, although it may delay labour by a few weeks.Gene and chromosomal abnormalities, which can be detected by blood tests, may also cause recurrent miscarriages in a small number of couples.

A procedure known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis can help. After in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), a single cell is taken from the developing embryo and tested for the gene defect. Only healthy embryos are then replaced in the womb.

It is an expensive and stressful procedure – and pregnancy rates tend to be quite low – but for some this is preferable to repeated miscarriages or a genetically abnormal baby.

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