When Kate Middleton gives birth to her second child this summer, the world will celebrate and the media will go into hysterical orbit.

It is a wonderful thing when a new life enters the world. But for some women, the birth of the royal baby will be tinged with sadness, a reminder of the yearning desire of desperately wanting a child but struggling to conceive.

Having children should be the most natural thing in the world; but sadly, this is not the case for more than 3.5 million people in the UK, including Chronicle reader Sarah, who wrote to me asking me to highlight the topic of infertility and raise awareness of the group she has set up in South Cheshire.

Sarah had grown up around children and worked with them from an early age, so having one of her own seemed the natural progression when she met and married her ‘Mr Right’.

But it did not happen as she had hoped, and after numerous tests, doctors told her that the couple’s only option of conceiving was through IVF. What followed was a number of failed rounds and costly investigations funded entirely by Sarah and her husband.

Eventually they were told Sarah had raised killer cells, a condition which means that her body sees a foetus as a ‘foreign body’ and sends cells to destroy it, often resulting in implantation failure or early miscarriage. The condition is treatable, but minimises the success of IVF.

After five rounds of failed treatment, Sarah admits that even though a little bit more of herself has faded away each time, the pull to give up is always there.

“Many people have told us that we should accept that it is not meant to be and give up on treatment, but they are often the lucky ones that have had children,” she says. “They know how it feels to hold their child in their arms and have felt the surge of emotion when they cry, utter their first word, crawl and walk for the first time. As a female, is this too much to want ?

“When faced with infertility, people do not understand the full impact it can have on lives and relationships. Even something as simple as going to the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon can be upsetting as there is the constant reminder of what you as a couple are incapable of doing. Children are a powerful advertising tool and watching the television or listening to the radio, especially after a failed fertility treatment can be heartbreaking due to the constant influence of children.

“Unfortunately, unless you are faced with the condition or know someone who is, people don’t often understand the devastating impact it can have. People in the work place and in general, think you are either career minded and don’t want to have children or are someone that has chosen not have. They often don’t realise that you are longing to have a child of your own and often pass insensitive comments without realising the hurt they are causing,” adds Sarah.

The constant treatment and setbacks have had a huge impact on their lives, she says, and facing everyday life can be increasingly difficult. “Even driving to work and passing people pushing prams or walking their precious child to school can sometimes be difficult,” explains Sarah.

“People deal with infertility differently, with some wanting to surround themselves by children, however, in my case this made it worse. I had to give up a successful career in childcare and attempt to start again.”

What was glaringly obvious to Sarah was the lack of support for people facing the condition, and she felt infertility was classed as a taboo subject with people not wanting to talk about it.

After what she describes as ‘copious’ amounts of research, Sarah discovered a website that offers support for people facing infertility and provided information on the associated conditions and support. She found many online forums which tackled the issue but none which met face to face in her area of South Cheshire.

So last year, she set up a Cheshire support group who meet periodically across the year to allow people to meet face to face , share their stories, worries and concerns, as well as provide support for those going through treatment, and more importantly talk to others in the same situation facing the same problems.

“To be perfectly honest, infertility is not talked about enough,” says Sarah. “If more people were open and honest about it, more would be able to understand that not everyone has the perfect 2.4 children and that not having children to some people is not a choice they have made. If more people talked about it perhaps it would change people’s perceptions .

“The hype around the royal baby will be fantastic, don’t get me wrong, but for those facing a life without children it will be extremely hard and emotionally draining.

“Infertility has had a huge impact on my life and there needs to be more help, support and advice for people facing the same problems.

“If I can help in any way I definitely will because people need to realise that they are not alone and there are others out there who can help.”

For more information, support and advice, visit www.infertilitynetworkuk.com or to contact Sarah about her group, email southcheshireinfertilitysupport@hotmail.co.uk.