Former Operation Transformation leader Louise Ormsby has credited the weight loss show for helping her conceive her first child.
Louise appeared on the series in 2015, after being told by doctors that she needed to lose weight if she wanted to become pregnant.
The Lucan native and her husband Will had struggled to conceive for years, and she decided to take part on the show to improve her chances of conception. Once the show ended, Louise became pregnant within a year, after lowering her BMI from 36 to 30.
Ahead of this year’s season finale, Louise appeared on last night’s show to recount her inspiring pregnancy story and introduce viewers to three-month-old Mia.
“I was ecstatic, I couldn’t believe it,” she said.
“We were just back from holidays and at that stage I had been trying for over five years. It was kind of unexpected. The doctor in the Rotunda put me on different treatments and it was trial and error. I was on a certain tablet for a couple of months and then it happened.
“We didn’t go [for fertility treatment] until about two years after we started trying. A lot of people said ‘don’t be worrying, it’ll happen for you whenever’.
“After two years we said we’d better go about this. The doctor referred us to a consultant and then you’re on the waiting list for a while and it’s expensive stuff.”
Louise encourages women not to lose faith if they’re in the same predicament as she once was.
“It does take time. Don’t give up. I wish someone had told me it definitely will happen because I was in despair all the time and then it did happen,” she told the Herald.
Her husband Will is thankful to the show for helping them have a child.
“Without this show we would never have had Mia. I never thought I’d be a father,” he said.
We’re delighted to see Louise doing so well!
