Claire Richards: yo-yo dieting has left me infertile
The Steps singer is struggling to conceive a third child
Claire Richards may not be able to conceive a third child – because of her yo-yo dieting. In the 14 years since Steps split up, the singer has lost and gained between 4 and 6 stone an unbelievable six times – and admits her weight "has dominated so much of my life".
After struggling to conceive a third child with husband Reece Hill in 2013, her doctor suggested her 16 stone weight might be the problem. So she steadily lost 6 stone over 2 years and the 5ft 6in star reached around 9-and-a-half stone – a size 10 – by spring this year.
But when she still didn't get pregnant Claire returned to the doctor and received the devastating news that her constant yo-yo dieting may have damaged her hormone levels – meaning she might never conceive naturally again. "I was annoyed at myself and then upset and horrified I might have caused the problem," she said.
And now the mum of son Charlie, 8, and daughter Daisy, 5, thinks it would be "unfair" for her to try IVF. "I feel I only have myself to blame, so it would be unfair to go down that road when there are so many couples who have not been blessed with any kids and it is their only option – and when they haven’t done it to themselves like I have," she told the Mirror. "I guess maybe I feel I don’t deserve to be third time lucky. IVF just doesn’t feel like the right thing to do to my body.
"And even though I have always wanted three children, and my children want a brother or sister, I now have left it to nature.
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"We are not going to stop hoping, but we are not trying as intensely as we were. I am a strong believer that if it’s meant to be, fate can always find a way.”
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