Jo Short, 37, of Newport, Gwent, and her husband Steve, 38, started trying for a baby in 1997, a year after they met.
Jo had her first miscarriage that year.
"I questioned why I always miscarried - was I drinking too much tea or too much caffeine? I'd beat myself up about eating an apple that wasn't washed," she said.
Jo is one of 1.5 million women in the UK who suffer from endometriosis, a gynaecological condition that often leaves victims infertile, The Sun reported.
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Within two months Jo was pregnant for the 20th time. When she went into labour she refused pain relief for fear of harming the baby.
Jo is now a proud mother to her baby Emily.
"Being a mum is wonderful, everything I expected and more. It is what we'd wanted for so long," Jo said.
"About one in ten women are affected by endometriosis, which causes infertility. But it is not high on the list of recognised causes of recurrent miscarriage," Penketh said.