Ange, who is 21 stone and 5ft4 tall, is all too familiar with the judgment that comes with being plus-size – but the scrutiny she endured increased with her pregnancies. She had a daughter in 2016 and, surprisingly, realized she was pregnant with triplets at the age of 38 early this year.
Concerned about her health, she alleges physicians offered to abort one or two of the infants, which shocked the mother. “I’ve always been a stronger person,” she explained. “Even though I’m healthy and go to the gym on a daily basis, I’m constantly judged.”
Ange, from Somerset, didn’t know her weight when she became pregnant with her daughter Dottie in 2015, at the age of 31. Doctors were bluntly honest with me. ‘You should not have this child,’ they said. They continued warning me about the dangers of diabetes, high blood pressure, and pre-eclampsia due to my size. There was a lot of emphasis on the BMI scale. It was dreadful.”
Ange, on the other hand, had a textbook pregnancy. Dottie was born healthy in February 2016 and did not develop any of the issues she had been warned about. Ange adored being a mother and saw her husband Chris, 33, become a father.
The couple knew they wanted another child and decided to try again in 2019. “But nothing happened this time,” Ange, a creative director, says. With each month that went by, the family’s disappointment deepened. “Dottie constantly wondered when she was going to be a big sister. My heart shattered every month as she wished on the moon for a sibling. I wanted nothing more than to grant her request “Ange goes on.
Ange knew something had to happen after two years of high hopes and crushing disappointment. They decided to give up and concentrate on Dottie instead. She recalls how relieved she was to ‘give up,’ and how it gave her the opportunity to truly relax and enjoy their lovely family of three. But fate had different plans.
Ange was shocked when she saw the second line appear and subsequently realized she had become pregnant around Christmas. But the surprises didn’t stop there. “I’d been feeling sick in the days leading up to my 12-week scan, which was so unlike my early pregnancy with Dottie,” she says.
“I just thought we were expecting a boy.” I couldn’t wait to see the baby on the screen, so I was surprised when the sonographer asked, “Have you had IVF?” “I felt that was quite impolite.” Then I heard something incredible: ‘I’ve only stated this once before.’ You’re expecting triplets!’
Ange started to be concerned about all the things they would need to change in their lives, such as their automobile and their home. But there was no doubt in her mind that she desired each of these children.
