Fᴀᴛᴘʜᴏʙɪᴀ exists and impacts the lives of millions of people around the world. It ʜᴜʀᴛs even more when this kind of behavior comes from where you least expect it. That’s what happened to Ange from Somerset in the British health system. At 133 kg and 1.62 cm tall, she was even used to dealing with ᴘʀᴇᴊᴜᴅɪᴄᴇ, but the situation became unbearable when she got pregnant.
In 2016, Ange, 38, had her first baby, and earlier this year, she found out she was pregnant with triplets. “I’ve always been a big person,” she said in an interview with The Mirror. “Even if I have healthy habits and go to the gym regularly, I always suffer from ᴊᴜᴅɢᴍᴇɴᴛ,” she said. When she became pregnant for the first time, aged 31, in 2015, with her daughter Dottie, Ange said the doctors were terrible. “They said, ‘You shouldn’t have this child,'” she recalled. “They kept talking about the ʀɪsᴋs of ᴅɪᴀʙᴇᴛᴇs, ʜɪɢʜ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ᴘʀᴇssᴜʀᴇ, and ᴘʀᴇ-ᴇᴄʟᴀᴍᴘsɪᴀ, all because of my size. They focused a lot on BMI (Body Mass Index). It was horrible,” she vented.
However, contrary to all predicted ᴛʀᴀɢᴇᴅɪᴇs, the pregnancy proceeded excellently. Ange had none of the problems doctors thought she might develop, and Dottie was born healthy in February 2016.
Ange loved the experience of being a mother, just as her husband Chris, 33, loved becoming a father. So much so that, in 2019, they started trying for another baby. “Nothing happened,” she recalls. The concern and disappointment over the failed attempts increased with each passing month.
“Dottie kept asking when she was going to become a big sister. Every month she wished for a brother, and my heart ʙʀᴏᴋᴇ when I saw that it hadn’t happened. I wanted nothing more than to make that wish come true,” she reported.
Two years went by without a new baby. Ange knew something needed to change. She and her husband decided to stop trying and focus on little Dottie. According to her, it was a relief to make the decision to quit. It gave her the space she needed to relax and enjoy her family, just as she was at that moment.
But then a surprise happened. “On January 9, 2022, I was at a friend’s 30th birthday party when I suddenly felt sick. At home, I asked Chris, ‘What after shave are you using? Does it smell disgusting, and it’s burning my throat?’ Chris snapped and replied, ‘You need to take a pregnancy test,'” she said.
That’s what Ange did. And she could hardly believe it when she saw the second red line, confirming a positive result. The happiness was immense! There was even more to come.
“In preparation for my 12-week scan, I was feeling bad; it was very different from my first pregnancy with Dottie,” she said. “I just assumed we were having a boy this time,” she said.
“I couldn’t wait to see the baby on the screen, so I was surprised when the first thing the sonographer asked was, ‘Did you have I.V.F?’ I thought it was really ʀᴜᴅᴇ. Then I heard the most incredible news: ‘You’re going to have triplets!'” recalled the mother.
Chris, the father, loved the news at first. “I finally have my own band!” she exclaimed. Ange, on the other hand, panicked, worrying about everything they would need to change in their lives, like the car and the house. Still, she was pretty sure she wanted every one of those babies. “We’ve waited so long for these kids. They were a miracle!” she celebrated.
Then came the fear of doctors, because she remembered how she was treated because of her size during her first pregnancy. “This time I was 300 pounds, and I had three babies. I knew the doctors would focus on how ʀɪsᴋʏ this was. I braced myself for what was to come,” she explained.
“Worry was all over the doctor’s face. After saying how ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs it was to have triplets of my size, they said, ‘Do you want to give up one or two of the babies?’ I responded by saying ‘absolutely not!’ and I was really upset when they suggested it again. We said no. I said, ‘I’m not going to ᴀʙᴏʀᴛ any of these children,'” she said.
As with Dottie, Ange had an uneventful pregnancy. Even during consultations, she was said to be the “most boring, low-maintenance mother of triplets they’ve ever had.” “It was definitely uncomfortable for me as they grew. I got so big, I struggled to eat or get up out of a chair,” she reported. “But I didn’t develop ᴘʀᴇ-ᴇᴄʟᴀᴍᴘsɪᴀ, ᴅɪᴀʙᴇᴛᴇs, or any of the other things they say happen when BMI is above normal,” she said.
Ange and the babies continued to defy the odds. Most triplets are born between 27 and 32 weeks, and Ange was still going strong at 35 weeks. Healthy triplets are usually born weighing between 1.2 and 1.8 kg. As of August 18, 2022, Olive weighs 1.864 kg, Ada weighs 2.317 kg, and Tucker weighs 2.322 kg. The babies were born by ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀᴇᴀɴ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. “The second I saw them, I was overwhelmed with love. They were perfect,” declared the now-mother of four.
“The three babies are amazing, and seeing Dottie with them fills my heart with happiness. I just want to share my story to give people hope. To show that it’s okay to be a bigger person and still be a mother and never give up. As Dottie found out, wishes really do come true.”
