Doctors told me I was 100% infertile – now I have 5 children!
CHERYL Dodd was just 19 when she was told she could never have children.
She had always wanted to be a mother, so when doctors pronounced her ‘100 per cent infertile’ she began thinking about adoption.
However, it turned out that wasn’t necessary, for a few years later she conceived naturally – and again, and again, and again, and again! Miss Dodd, now 37, is set to receive five Mother’s Day cards this Sunday, having had three children with her then-husband Neil and two more with new partner Gareth.
Miss Dodd, now single again, was diagnosed with severe polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which causes infertility or difficulty in conceiving.
After tablets prescribed to stimulate egg production failed to work, doctors said she would never be able to conceive naturally due to sacs on her ovaries.
Incredibly, she became mum to Harry, 14, Ellie- Jayne, 13, Annabelle, nine, Freddie, four, and Elizabeth-Ann, two, without any medical assistance
The part-time shop assistant, from Telford, Shropshire, said: ‘When doctors told me I couldn’t have kids I was devastated. I always assumed I’d be a mum. Despite having the IVF option, it was still very unlikely. It was such a shock as I’d always thought I’d be fertile, just like my sister Freda.
‘I thought there were so many children in the world without parents who desperately need a loving, caring home and decided I was going to adopt or foster one. I was stunned to discover I was pregnant with Harry completely naturally. It just happened. Now I often think about going back to see the doctor who told me I couldn’t have kids with my brood of five. It would be funny. It turned out I was actually quite fertile!’
She had no symptoms of her first pregnancy, and only discovered the truth when she took a pregnancy test to provide moral support for a friend who needed one. Miss Dodd has now set up a blog, Mummy of Five Miracles, to encourage other parents who are struggling to conceive. ‘I love being a mum of five and wouldn’t change it for anything in the world,’ she said. ‘My family is complete and all my children are thriving. Harry is driven. He loves science and I’m sure he will change the world one day. Ellie is an artist. She is fantastic at writing and she wants to be an author. ‘Annabelle is the performer. She is innocent and sees hearts and rainbows the most everywhere. vivid imagination Freddie and has Bethy is our princess. ‘Every single day I’m more than grateful and honoured to have the opportunity to be a parent, and so happy to hear the word Mum.’