A plus-sized mother has claimed doctors offered to terminate one or two of her babies when they found out she was pregnant with triplets. Ange, who says she’s always been a bigger size, was appalled when doctors asked if she ‘wanted to terminate one or two of her babies’ over concerns for her health due to her B.M.I
Ange, from Somerset, England, at 21 stone and 5ft4, she gave birth to a daughter in 2016 and earlier this year, surprisingly discovered she was pregnant with triplets at the age of 38. But concerned about her health, she claims ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀs offered to terminate one or two of the babies, which left the mum appalled. She said:” I’ve always been a bigger person. Even though I’m healthy and go to the gym regularly, there’s always judgement. When I first fell pregnant at the age of 31 in 2015 with my daughter Dottie, I didn’t know my weight, but was a dress size 24. doctors were horribly blunt with me. They said, ‘you should not be having this child.’ They kept talking about the risks of diabetes, high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia, all because of my size. There was such a focus on the B.M.I scale. It was awful.”
But Ange had a textbook pregnancy. She didn’t develop any of the conditions she’d been warned about, and Dottie was born healthy in February 2016. Ange loved being a mum and enjoyed seeing her husband Chris, 33, become a dad. The couple knew they wanted to have another child, so began trying again in 2019. Ange said:” But this time nothing happened. With every month that passed, the disappiontment grew for the whole family. Dottie kept asking when she would become a big sister. Every month she’d wish on the moon for a sibling and my heart broke. I wanted nothing more than to make her wish come true.”
After two years of raised hopes and disappiontment, Ange knew something had to change. They decided to stop trying and focus on Dottie instead. However, things changed early this year. Ange said: ” On January 9th, 2022, I was at a friend’s 30th birthday party when I suddenly felt sick. At home, I asked Chris ‘What aftershave are you wearing? It smells disgusting and is burning my throat.’ Chris took a beat and then replied, ‘You need to take a pregnancy test.'” The test showed she was pregnant. A bigger shocker came when she discovered she was having triplets. She said:” These were the children we’d all waited so long for. They were a miracle.”
Just like with Dottie, Ange had a straightforward pregnancy. Even at appointments, she was told she was the ‘most low-maintenance, boring triplet mum they’d ever had.’ She said: ” It was definitely uncomfortable for me as they grew. I got so big that I struggled to eat much or get out of my chair. But I didn’t develop preeclampsia or diabetes, or any of the things that they tell you if your BMI is above normal.” Most triplets are born between 27 and 32 weeks, and Ange was still going strong at 35. healthy triplets are usually born weighing between three and four pounds. On August 18, 2022, Olive was at 4lbs 11, Ada was 5lbs 11 and Tucker 5 lbs 12 – all by cesarean.
Ange said:” The second I saw them I was overwhelmed by love. They were perfect. 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 mum. And to never give up. As Dottie found, wishes really do come true.” Since taking the triplets home, life has been an exhausting and thrilling rollercoaster for Ange and Chris. She said: “We’re ɴᴏᴛ getting much sleep. But I wouldn’t change a thing. The three babies are incredible and seeing Dottie dote on them fills my heart with happiness.”
