Woman beats anorexia to give birth

Doctors cautioned Hayley Wilde she was just over a week away from death, but ?three years on, after an eight-year battle against anorexia, she has bounced back and gave birth to a boy, as published ?in the Daily Mail.

Her son Michael was born last month weighing a healthy 7lb 14oz.

Hayley had been fighting the condition since she was 11 and the photo showed her at her worse at age 16. Her 5ft 7in frame was down to 5st 1oz, and doctors warned she could only have ten days left to live if she did not start to put weight on.

She was hospitalised for months on end and fed through a tube. Her hair started to fall out and her periods stopped for four years. But expert medical help and the support of her parents saw her pull back from the edge, and last year they were thrilled to discover she was pregnant.

Her problems began when she started secondary school and, lacking self-confidence, started skipping meals. "I thought being thinner would make me more popular," she said.

Hayley was diagnosed with anorexia, but in her mid-teens her weight continued to plummet and she had five spells as an in-patient at a specialist clinic in Manchester.

The following year, Hayley spent all but seven weeks on a ward. But all the support, combined with falling in love, helped her reach a more healthy weight, and last year came the news she was pregnant. Michael was born two weeks early on March 8 and is doing well.

Her mother, who has set up a support group, Fighting for Freedom with Anorexia Nervosa, said: "I hope by telling our story, other parents of anorexics will see there is hope."