The baby she thought she'd never have: Miracle of mother who gave birth to daughter after early menopause 

  • Joanne Caddy had been diagnosed with the menopause at the age of 34
  • The HR worker was told she would not be able to have any children 
  • But early last year she decided to overhaul her life, becoming healthier 
  • Weeks later she found she was pregnant – and gave birth to Eva

By IZZY FERRIS and LAURA LAMBERT FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Published: | Updated:

Beaming with joy, Joanne Caddy cradles the baby she thought she could never have

Beaming with joy, Joanne Caddy cradles the baby she thought she could never have

Beaming with joy, Joanne Caddy cradles the baby she thought she could never have.

Two years before the birth of her daughter Eva, the human resources manager had been diagnosed with the menopause at the age of 34 and told she would not be able to have children.

But early last year she decided to overhaul her life, eating more healthily and exercising more.

Weeks later she found she was pregnant – and gave birth to Eva at Liverpool Women’s Hospital last October.

Yesterday the 36-year-old said: ‘I can honestly say it’s brilliant.

‘It’s everything I thought it would be and more. I love it, it’s brilliant and I get so much back from her, she’s so happy. She is a miracle.’

In 2013 Miss Caddy’s periods had become irregular and she was experiencing hot sweats so badly she needed to change her pyjamas up to three times a night. Her mood had also dropped, leaving her feeling tired and drained.

Doctors doubted that it was the menopause because she was so young, but they gave her tests to rule it out.

Results showed her oestrogen levels had dropped to far below the point deemed to be post-menopausal and, after months of appointments with specialists, she was put on Hormone Replacement Treatment (HRT).

Miss Caddy, of Southport, near Liverpool, was told her condition was so advanced there was no point in freezing her eggs. She said: ‘For as long as I can remember I had always been paranoid something would happen to cause me not to be able to have kids, because it was the only thing I’ve ever really wanted to do.

‘Obviously I had initial tears but those tears kept on coming for the next year.

‘Every time I went to another appointment it was like being told for the first time again, just always that winded feeling. It was really, really hard.

‘I hadn’t thought of life without a child.’

She said that, as the only child of her parents Jean and John, she felt guilty for ‘not being able to fulfil their lives’ by giving them a grandchild.

It was January last year when she began living more healthily and, when pregnancy tests showed she was expecting, she was left ‘dumbfounded’.

The Daily Mail¿s resident GP Dr Martin Scurr said that the pregnancy was a ¿gift from God and nature¿

The Daily Mail’s resident GP Dr Martin Scurr said that the pregnancy was a ‘gift from God and nature’

She was still convinced it ‘couldn’t be’ but doctors, who were also ‘really shocked’, confirmed the news.

Miss Caddy, who features in One Born Every Minute on Channel 4 at 9pm tonight, said she was treasuring every moment with her daughter.

The Daily Mail’s resident GP Dr Martin Scurr said that the pregnancy was a ‘gift from God and nature’.

He said he had seen it happen only twice in his career and Miss Caddy’s decision to clean up her lifestyle will have contributed to the turnaround in her health.

He said: ‘The menopause is not quite like breaking a light bulb, it’s more like a light bulb that’s flickering and you think, “Ah, that light bulb’s going to give up,” and then it comes back on and lasts for another two years.

‘She swung into a mode of good health and, lo and behold, maybe her ovaries rewarded her with getting back in to life.

‘She obviously still had ovarian reserves, even though she had apparently hit the menopause. So it’s a complex picture, but I think what it does, it tells us she cleaned up her act, got fit, she got a fitness trainer and cleaned up her diet and then was rewarded with ovulating, because it just shows you might think that it’s all over but it may not be.’

The menopause normally starts after the age of 45 and the average age is 51. It can start earlier, known as premature ovarian failure.

This affects one in 100 women before the age of 40, one in 1,000 women under 30 and one in 10,000 women under 20.

It can occur for several reasons, however no underlying cause will be found for most.

Chromosome abnormalities, enzyme deficiencies and auto-immune diseases can all be reasons for premature ovarian failure, as well as medical treatment such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. 

 

 

Most watched News videos