A woman has defied the odds and given birth to eight kids despite being told that anorexia had left her infertile.
When Leah Williams, who lives in Tenbury Wells, England, was 20, she weighed a mere 5 stone 7 pounds (35 kg) and had one son, named Jacob.
At that time, doctors warned Leah they were highly doubtful she would have any more kids in the future due to the impact the eating disorder had had on her body.
Leah believed that the “damage was done,” as her menstrual cycle had also stopped.
But at the age of 24, she began her road to recovery, and just two decades later, Leah, 40, has given birth to eight more kids, ranging from 15 years to 4 months old.
“I never imagined having a big family,” the stay-at-home mom said. “Especially after my GP said I won’t be able to have any more children due to being anorexic.”
Leah was 19 when she developed an eating disorder after having her wisdom tooth removed.
“My eating disorder didn’t start because of my image,“ Leah said. ”I had my tooth removed, but part of the root was left, which took a while to get fixed.”
Leah couldn’t eat at that time and the issue spiraled from there. She said that she went down a rabbit hole and found it hard to get back up.
“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,” Leah shared.
At the age of 24, she beat anorexia after counseling.
During the same year, she tied the knot with Nick, now 49, and they went on to have Eleanor, now 15.
“I didn’t want any more children after being a single parent for so long, but then we decided to have one,” Leah said.
However, after having Eleanor, the couple thought having another baby wouldn’t hurt. After giving birth to Evie, now 12, Leah quit her job as a support worker for deaf and blind children.
The rest was then history as the couple continued having kids.
Leah and Nick are now proud parents to Jacob, 21, Eleanor, 15, Evie, 12, Morgan, 10, Ben, 7, Frankie, 6, Vinnie, 4, Emmie, 2, and Edith, 4 months.
“We never planned on having so many children but it has just happened,” Leah said.
She also admitted that they wouldn’t change their family for the world.
“Our household is chaotic and crazy but it is lovely,” Leah shared.
The mother of nine recalls that Eleanor said that it was “silly” when Leah was pregnant with Evie. However, the kids have now grown very accepting of the other babies.
The busy mother—who washes five loads of clothes per day—has faced some rude comments and stares.
“We have received a lot of backlashes, I used to be bothered, but now I’m not,” Leah said. “Some people have asked if we own a TV and if we are finished having children yet.”
However, Leah admits that maybe they still haven’t, as nine is an odd number and they might have another child to make it an even number.
Apart from the harsh comments, Leah said she’s also overheard people saying they can’t believe she is pregnant again.
“But I can’t believe it either—it is a miracle that my body went back to normal,“ Leah said. ”My GP still laughs to this day because he can’t believe I have defied the odds, too.”
