Mother, 25, claims cutting sugar from her tea led to a miracle pregnancy

A mother has claimed cutting sugar out of her tea led to a miracle baby after she found out she was pregnant the night before she was to begin fertility treatment.

Chloe Hodson, 25, ate up to 12 cubes of sugar a day in her cups of tea alone, but cut them out in order to lose weight and be given fertility treatment. 

Her hopes of ever having children with her partner, Jonathan Gwilt, were dashed when she received a polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis.  

But to her amazement, Miss Hodson, from Brierley Hill, West Midlands, discovered she had naturally conceived after losing 1st 7lbs (9.5kg) in eight months.

Miss Hodson - who had her baby, Joel Gwilt, in August - claimed cutting out sugar, Greggs and microwave meals from her diet is what led to her pregnancy. 

Miss Hodson said: 'I spent many nights crying because I didn't think I would ever be able to have kids.

'The aim was to lose the weight to start the fertility medication but it turned out just losing the weight in my case was just what I needed to boost my fertility.

'The best thing I did was cut sugar out of my tea because I would always have one or two sugars in my tea, and I have five or six cups of it a day.

'When I found out I was pregnant, I honestly couldn't believe it.'

Although Miss Hodson had had painful and irregular periods since she was 14 years old, she never sought a formal diagnosis until she and Mr Gwilt decided to start trying for a baby two years ago.

The hopeful mother-to-be burst into tears when an ultrasound and internal scan confirmed that she had PCOS, a common ovarian condition which affects one in five women.

Miss Hodson said: 'As soon as I saw the scan I knew what it was and I burst out in tears.

'I was crying to the nurse, and then when I was in the car on the way home I rang my mum and I was crying to my mum. I was saying "I'll never have kids, it's all over. I don't know what to do".

Doctors didn't confirm that Miss Hodson couldn't have children. 

But, due to the condition affecting fertility for many sufferers, Miss Hodson feared she would never have children.

She did pregnancy tests regularly, hoping her missed or light periods were due to pregnancy and not PCOS. 

But after over a year of trying, the couple decided to discuss fertility treatment.  

'They said to start the fertility medication I had to lose weight first before they could put me on it.'

It is unclear if Miss Hodson was undergoing fertility treatment on the NHS or privately.  

National guidelines say women under 40 should be offered three cycles of IVF on the NHS if they have been trying to have a baby for two years.

But local health chiefs, responsible for funding fertility services for regions, can set criteria for who is eligible for IVF treatment. Some CCGs, as they are known, have previously limited treatment to women whose BMI is under 30. 

Miss Hodgson cut out lunches from Greggs, chocolate bars, cakes, sweets and pasta dinners for homemade stews, fruit and sandwiches over a period of eight months.

People with PCOS have difficulty losing weight, making it more of a challenge for Ms Hodson. 

She said: 'If there was a low sugar or salt version of what I wanted to buy then I'd have that instead of the normal one.

'I eat a lot more home-cooked meals whereas before I was eating a lot of microwave meals.' 

The night before she was to begin fertility treatment, Miss Hodson took a pregnancy test on the off-chance.