Chanelle: “My pregnancy has been hell – but I can’t wait to meet my little boy”
Reality star Chanelle Hayes tells Closer why she feels guilty that being overweight could have harmed her baby and how she’s vowed to get healthy after the birth
She’s spent the past four years battling her weight – and now Chanelle Hayes says she’s been to hell and back during her second pregnancy and deeply regrets not getting into shape before conceiving.
Chanelle, 29, who has yo-yoed between a size 8 and 18, and was around 16st when she discovered she was expecting, spent the first few months of her pregnancy bed-bound, suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum.
The condition, which is more likely to occur in overweight women, saw the reality star vomiting up to 40 times a day. And making matters worse, Chanelle has been undergoing tests for diabetes – another condition linked to weight – and is due to receive the results next month. Diabetes could put her baby at risk of premature birth, growing too big for the womb, and pre-eclampsia, which is a lifethreatening condition.
HEALTH SCARES
“My health issues during this pregnancy make me feel really guilty. After all the sickness, I was scared I would lose the baby, but I had to put it to the back of my mind,” says Chanelle, who had her first son Blakely, six, with footballer Matthew Bates and has been dating PE teacher Ryan Oates, 36, for a year. “It’s my own irresponsibility that may have caused my health to impact on my baby. There’s nothing we can do but wait, but it’s really worrying. I regret being unhealthy now for the sake of the baby.”
Chanelle, who is four months pregnant, adds: “Ryan has been my rock throughout everything. I have more blood tests over the next few weeks and then there is the diabetes test, which is quite dangerous and I’m dreading it.
“With the hyperemesis, it’s been absolutely awful – morning to evening I was throwing up. I was taken to hospital and put on a drip at one point because I got so dehydrated. I sometimes couldn’t even sleep because I was feeling so nauseous – most of the time I was delirious and halfway between being asleep and awake.
“I was on the verge of depression because I was shut off from the world with hardly any human contact. It’s been hell – and I’m not completely better, but now I’m only sick from 4pm onwards.”
Chanelle, who has gained 7st over the past two years after she stopped exercising due to a back injury, admits finding out that she’s having another son has helped lift her spirits.
BABY BOY JOY
“I’m so happy I’m having a boy,” says Chanelle, who went from 16st to 13st at the start of her pregnancy due to her continual vomiting. “I was so convinced it was a girl – with my first baby I wasn’t sick at all and because now I’ve been extremely ill I was sure it would be a girl. I did the
‘The health issues have really made me wake up’
‘nub test’ [a theory where you predict the sex of the baby from the 12-week scan] with my friend Maria Fowler and she was also convinced it was a girl.
“But I’m thrilled. My two boys can’t wait either. Ryan is really sporty so will be great with him and Blakely is saving up his pocket money to buy gifts for his little brother!”
WEIGHT-LOSS HOPES
Despite her struggles, Chanelle admits that she never minded being curvier – but now says she’s making a real effort to be healthy.
She adds: “I’ve only been eating small meals everyday. It’s been difficult with the sickness – some days I fancy a cracker with cream cheese and veggies and I’ll have some rice, but I only have plain foods. Ryan only has healthy food in the house because he’s trying to get in shape for summer, so we’re both having that.”
She adds: “The past few months have been a real wake-up call. I’m going to try to lose weight and get fitter after I’ve had my baby. Ryan’s a personal trainer, so he can train me and we’ll only have healthy, nutritious meals.”
And while Chanelle can’t wait to meet her new arrival, she admits it’s unlikely that she’ll have another child.
“We’re all buzzing but I think this will be the last one,” smiles Chanelle. “If Ryan had his way, he’d have loads – he’s said he wants a girl – but I don’t think I could go through it all again, and a family of four is perfect for me.”