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Doctors told me I'd never be a mum after childhood abuse damaged my body – but I got pregnant with an ‘Ozempic baby'
AFTER suffering years of sexual abuse, Stephanie Craig was given the heartbreaking news by doctors that she would never be a mum.
The internal damage that she'd suffered due to the abuse which began when she was just a child, meant that it would be impossible for her to fall pregnant.
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But after taking the weight loss jab Ozempic - Stephanie, 25, found herself staring at a miracle.
Her pregnancy test stick was positive and she was expecting the baby she had always longed for, despite the doctors' predictions.
She gave birth to her 'Ozempic baby' Callie in September last year, and is now enjoying being a mum.
'Even when I was in labour I didn't actually believe I was pregnant,' says Stephanie, who lives in Glasgow.
'It was only when Callie was placed onto my chest and I saw her for the first time that I actually believed she was mine.'
Stephanie was in and out of children's homes as a child and suffered abuse from a young age.
As she got older, she was put on the contraception pill by staff to prevent unwanted pregnancies in her teens and it caused her weight to balloon from a size 12 to a size 18 within months.
She says: 'I actually developed an eating disorder at 18, when I was already around 20 stone in weight.
'I started to binge eat. I was so unhappy that it was a way of getting some control in my life.
'I was told at the age of 18 and at 22 by doctors on both occasions that I wouldn't be able to have children because of the internal damage I'd suffered.
'So I never thought I'd be a mum.'
It was watching TV and seeing that James Argent from Towie had undergone gastric sleeve surgery that spurred Stephanie into action to lose weight.
She said: 'I rang my friend straight away and told her that I wanted to have gastric surgery like Arg had done.
'As soon as I saw it, I knew that it was going to be the right answer for me.
'I'd tried joining slimming groups from the age of 18, but nothing had ever worked for me. So I got on and booked it straight away.'
Stephanie had the gastric sleeve operation, which she financed with her savings, at The Spire Hospital in Manchester in July 2021, when she weighed just over 22 stone.
In just over 12 months she had lost a massive ten stone - and had dropped to just over 12 stone.
Then because she had been left with so much loose skin from her weight loss, she underwent a tummy tuck and breast uplift in Turkey in July 2022, a thigh and bra line lift in January 2023 and finally a reverse tummy tuck and thigh lift in August 2023.
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She says: 'I felt amazing after I'd lost all the weight, but I had so much loose skin, that I had a number of cosmetic surgeries to remove it.
'My body looks so much better now. I had some savings, and it was worth every penny to finally get the body that I'm happy with. It's given me so much more confidence.'
And there were more surprises to come.
Stephanie took the weight loss drug Ozempic in November 2023, after the surgery had been completed, to try and lose a few extra pounds, and a few weeks later, she made the most amazing discovery. She had fallen pregnant.
She says: 'I didn't believe it. I did lots of tests and they all came up positive, but I still didn't believe that I was actually pregnant.
CAN OZEMPIC BOOST FERTILITY?
Experts believe the 'Ozempic baby' phenomenon could be down to the major weight loss associated with the drug.
This is because any weight loss, especially in those with PCOS, is known to boost fertility.
The drug may also increase the chance of pregnancy because side effects such as nausea and vomiting may stop contraceptive pills from being absorbed properly.
Dr Nerys Astbury, nutrition scientist and senior researcher in diet and obesity at the University of Oxford, said it was 'plausible' semaglutide injections, by reducing people's weight, could help improve fertility.
'It's nothing special about the drug,' she told the newspaper. 'The effect the drug has is on promoting weight loss.
'It is important to note that whilst some doctors are prescribing semaglutide off-label to women with PCOS, it is not clear whether it's safe to use in women during pregnancy.'
She added: "It should not be used as a method to treat infertility until research demonstrating safety and effectiveness is available and until regulatory approval for use in those before and during pregnancy.'
Prof Barbara McGowan, from King's College London, added: "Women on GLP-1 agonists should take contraception whilst they take the medication and stop at least two months before trying for fertility."
"Healthcare professionals should include this advice when the medication is started.'
'I'd had lots of investigations over the years because of the sexual abuse I'd suffered, and had several laparoscopies, where a camera Is inserted down the fallopian tubes, and it had shown that I'd suffered a lot of internal damage.
'Because of that, the doctors always said that I wouldn't be able to fall pregnant. So to find myself looking at a positive pregnancy test stick was unreal.'
It is believed that the weight loss medication, which is also used for diabetes management, can improve ovulation and menstrual cycle regularity, leading to increased fertility and potentially unintended pregnancies.
She says: 'I only took it for a couple of weeks, but it certainly must have changed something in my body for me to be able to fall pregnant like this.
'Even as my bump grew, I still didn't believe there was an actual baby, even when I went for scans and saw her moving, and then even in labour.
'The only time I actually believed it was when she was handed to me for the first time, and I gave her a cuddle.'
Baby Callie, who was born in September last year, is now nine months old and has just started nursery.
Stephanie adds: 'It's a lovely feeling being a mum, and I know that I've got Ozempic to thank for that. I took it to lose a few pounds, but ended up with a surprise baby.
'She's a little miracle.'
