A woman has become a mum-of-nine despite being told her anorexia battle had left her infertile.
At her lowest, Leah Williams weighed just 5 stone 7lbs when she was 20 years old.
At the time, Leah, had just one son called Jacob and doctors highly doubted she would be able to have any more due to her eating disorder.
Leah, who lives in Worcester, believed the ‘damage was done’ as her menstrual cycle stopped but aged 24, she began the road to recovery.
Now, two decades on, Leah, 40, has defied the odds and has eight more children ranging from 15 to four months old.
The stay-at-home mum said: “I never imagined having a big family.
“Especially after my GP said I won’t be able to have any more children due to being anorexic.”
Leah developed an eating disorder when she was 19 after having her wisdom tooth removed.
She said: “My eating disorder didn’t start because of my image.
“I had my tooth removed but part of the root was left which took a while to get fixed.
“I couldn’t eat and it spiralled from there.
“I fell down a rabbit hole and it was very hard to get back out.
“I was skeletal and weighed less than six stone but I had to get better for Jacob, now 21, as he was really young at the time.”
When she was 24, Leah had counselling and managed to beat anorexia.
During the same year, she tied the knot with Nick, now 49, and they went on to have Eleanor, now 15.
She said: “I didn’t want any more children after being a single parent for so long but then we decided to have one.
“We then thought another baby won’t hurt.
“I was working as a support worker for deaf and blind adults at the time but I quit after having Evie, 12.
“And then we just continued having babies.”
The couple are now proud parents to Jacob, 21, Eleanor, 15, Evie, 12, Morgan, 10, Ben, seven, Frankie, six, Vinnie, four, Emmie, two, Edith, four months.
She adds: “We never planned on having so many children but it has just happened.
“We wouldn’t change our family for the world.
“Our household is chaotic and crazy but it is lovely.
“Eleanor said it’s ‘silly’ when I announced I was pregnant with Emmie but they are all very accepting of the babies.”
The busy mum - who washes five loads of clothes per day - has faced some rude comments and stares.
She said: “We have received a lot of backlashes, I used to be bothered, but now I’m not.
“Some people have asked if we own a TV and if we are finished having children yet.
“But no, we probably aren’t as nine is an odd number so might have one more to make it even!
“I have also overheard people saying they can’t believe I am pregnant again.
“But I can’t believe it either - it is a miracle that my body went back to normal.
“My GP still laughs to this day because he can’t believe I have defied the odds too.”
