A woman who feared she would never carry a child after going through the menopause aged 11 has revealed she is three months pregnant.
Amanda Lewis, now 30, is expecting her first child after having IVF treatment using a donor egg and her partner’s sperm.
The dance teacher, who lives in Nuneaton, revealed her happy news during an appearance on ITV daytime show Lorraine on Wednesday, having previously appeared on the show back in 2009 to talk about her early menopause.
‘I knew I wanted to try the treatment [IVF] but the odds of it not working were very high,’ Amanda told Lorraine Kelly.
‘I was very lucky that it worked first time.’
Most women start the menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, but in rare cases it can occur prematurely without an explanation.
Amanda Lewis was diagnosed with menopause aged just 11 and thought she wouldn’t be able to have children naturally
However she revealed on ITV’s Lorraine that she was three months pregnant after a successful IVF treatment using a donor egg and her partner’s sperm
As a young teen Amanda’s weight rapidly increased and she went from a size 8 to 18 in a matter of months
Amanda explained how, when she met her other half, Tom, she told him ‘straight away by text’ about her condition.
‘He was fine about it – the way I was building it up he thought it was something a lot more serious,’ she told Lorraine.
Amanda said that he was understanding when she told him they might never be able to conceive a child naturally, adding: ‘He said “we can look into it when the time comes”, and [told me] not to worry”.’
When the couple decided they were ready to have children, they looked into the possibility of IVF treatment using a donor egg and Tom’s sperm.
‘It was on the first attempt – we’re very lucky,’ Amanda said.
Amanda said of her first trimester: ‘I’m a little bit tired, but everything is okay.
‘I knew I wanted to try the treatment but the odds of it not working were very high. I was very lucky that it worked first time.’
To prepare to carry her child, Amanda had to take hormones to increase the size of her uterus.
‘It was only 2mm thick and it should have been 8mm. But we got it there in a month. [The doctors] were quite surprised.’
The mother-to-be, who will be monitored closely throughout the duration of her pregnancy, and will continue to take hormones, said that after giving birth she will go through the experience of the menopause all over again.
When Amanda met her partner Tom, pictured, she told him straight away about her condition and that she may not be able to have children
Amanda first appeared on Lorraine in 2009 where she spoke about her condition and how difficult it had been
Amanda thought her mood swings and weight gain were down to puberty but doctors diagnosed her with menopause
Amanda was just 11 when her weight spiralled and she began to experience extreme mood swings – something that was put down to the onset of puberty at the time.
‘It was very difficult,’ she told Lorraine.
‘The biggest thing was the weight gain and my mood swings. I went from a size 8 to 18 in a matter of months and then I just started getting down.’
It was six months before doctors – alerted by erratic hormone levels evident in Amanda’s blood tests – realised she was going through premature menopause – decades before most women start experiencing symptoms.
‘I went on a mixture of HRT and the pill, they chopped and changed me because I had side effects on one then the other, and that has been on and off since basically,’ Amanda said of her years on medication.
The mother-to-be was thrilled to learn she was pregnant and admitted she had been very lucky the IVF had worked on their first try
After giving birth Amanda will go back on HRT to manage her menopausal symptoms, and will be tested to check the impact pregnancy has had on her bone density.
Despite her condition, Amanda is hoping to continue growing her family: ‘We have three top-grade embryos in the freezer, so they’re all ready to go if we want any more.’
She joked: ‘Maybe not three more but we’ll see!’
Lorraine added: ‘That is incredible what science can do, in the relatively short time since you were diagnosed. You must feel so happy and so blessed despite everything you have gone through?’
‘Yes I do,’ Amanda said.
‘It was quite hard to believe it was real until about a month ago but I’ve just got to try and enjoy it now and not feel stressed about it.’
Lorraine airs weekdays on ITV from 8.30am