A woman who was told she may never have kids has defied the odds and given birth naturally twice – losing 98 pounds in the process.
At age 16, Araba Coxon, now 40, was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries and was told fertility could be a future issue.
She frequently had nightmares about having a baby which would then disappear.
But after 18 months of trying, Araba and her husband Elliott, 36, fell pregnant naturally with their son Zane, now three, in February 2019.
She weighed 15st 9lb and was so embarrassed by her size that she avoided photos with her newborn.
Determined not to let her size get in the way of having another baby - and taking snaps - she ditched takeaways and embraced vegetables in her meals.
She lost 6st, due to doing the 1:1 Cambridge diet, shrinking down to 9st.
In 2021, with nine months and no pregnancy, the couple signed up for a fertility clinic, spending £4k ($5,00 USD) on medication and a deposit.
And just before she was due to start IVF treatment and after losing a further stone and a half she fell pregnant with her second child Nova, aged one.
This time she was proud of her new healthy body - and was overjoyed to capture treasured snaps with her daughter.
Araba an auditor from Beddington, UK, said: “I felt disgusted with myself.
"I didn’t like the person who I was; the person I was in the mirror.
“I barely took any pictures of my son in the first six months which I am sad about now.
"When I look back the pictures aren’t of me - I am always behind the camera taking the picture of my son and my husband, Elliott.
“I lost who I was, I didn’t feel like Araba anymore, I was embarrassed to go out, and I still wore my maternity clothes.”
Speaking about life after her weight loss, she added: “I was so happy to be able to wear beautiful clothes again and maintain that healthy eating.
“For me losing weight meant that I got Araba back - any mum that reads this will identify that when you become a mum you lose part of yourself.
“In that relationship, you become someone that this little person relies on completely, losing that weight, Araba came back – my confidence came back.
"I feel incredibly blessed - my son's name is Zane which is God's gracious gift and we picked that name before I got pregnant as I always felt any child I had would be a blessing.
“My daughter is called Nova, both children felt like an impossible dream that has become a reality.”
Polycystic ovaries are a common condition that affects how a woman's ovaries work - affecting 6% to 12% (as many as 5 million) of U.S. women of reproductive age.
Araba said: “I was always told one way to overcome my fertility issues was to keep my weight down but that was a losing battle.
“I managed to get pregnant with my son but I had to lose weight for him.
“I weighed 15 stone and nine pounds with a BMI of 39, and I am only 5ft 2inch. I knew to have a child I would have to do something about it.
“Knowing the struggle I went through with my son, I didn’t want to go down that road again.”
After the birth of Zane in February 2019, Araba said she felt “disgusting” and would barely look at herself in the mirror.
She lost 6.5 stone in 2019.
The couple applied for IVF in May 2021, and while they were waiting to start later that year, she lost another 1.5st - to help with the future IVF success - and fell pregnant.
She said: "I knew at the back of my mind to qualify for a fertility clinic, my BMI could not be over 30.
“I had IUI treatment and I paid for the drugs to start IVF in June as the IUI treatment didn’t work – I then got back down to nine stone and conceived naturally.
“For all my life I used to have dreams of not being able to have a baby and I would wake up in heart-breaking tears as this baby that I dreamt of had disappeared.
“That is how desperately I wanted to be a mum, it is funny as my little girl Nova looks so much like the baby in my dreams.”
After losing weight, Araba feels like she has got her life back.
She said: “I share myself on social media, I share my journey with people to the point where I even influenced my brother and mum to do the diet with me – I am not just Araba again but Araba plus.”
Araba who was a self-confessed “secret eater” has managed to maintain her weight loss and got her family involved.
Meal plan before Breakfast – Coffee Lunch – Rice and curry, biscuits, chocolate Dinner – Takeaway or large portions with no vegetables Snacks – Crisps, chocolate, biscuits, flap jacks Drinks – Fizzy drinks, coffee
Meal plan after Breakfast – Muesli with dried raisins or dried fruits with a fat-free yogurt of skimmed milk Lunch – Salad with chicken breast Dinner – Black eye beans with grilled plantains, smaller portions with more veg and fewer carbs Snacks – Fruit, nuts, protein bar Drinks – Four liters of water, black coffee
Stories and infographics by ‘Talker Research’ are available to download & ready to use. Stories and videos by ‘Talker News’ are managed by SWNS. To license content for editorial or commercial use and to see the full scope of SWNS content, please email [email protected] or submit an inquiry via our contact form.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__hssc
1 hour
HubSpot sets this cookie to keep track of sessions and to determine if HubSpot should increment the session number and timestamps in the __hstc cookie.
__hssrc
session
This cookie is set by Hubspot whenever it changes the session cookie. The __hssrc cookie set to 1 indicates that the user has restarted the browser, and if the cookie does not exist, it is assumed to be a new session.
_GRECAPTCHA
5 months 27 days
Google Recaptcha service sets this cookie to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement
1 year
Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie records the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
CookieLawInfoConsent
1 year
CookieYes sets this cookie to record the default button state of the corresponding category and the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.
ts
1 year 1 month 1 day
PayPal sets this cookie to enable secure transactions through PayPal.
usprivacy
1 year 1 month
This is a consent cookie set by Dailymotion to store the CCPA consent string (mandatory information about an end-user being or not being a California consumer and exercising or not exercising its statutory right).
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__cf_bm
30 minutes
Cloudflare set the cookie to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
li_gc
5 months 27 days
Linkedin set this cookie for storing visitor's consent regarding using cookies for non-essential purposes.
lidc
1 day
LinkedIn sets the lidc cookie to facilitate data center selection.
UserMatchHistory
1 month
LinkedIn sets this cookie for LinkedIn Ads ID syncing.
v1st
1 year 1 month 1 day
The v1st cookie is set by TripAdvisor to collect details about how visitors use the website, by displaying user reviews, awards and information received on the TripAdvisor community.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Cookie
Duration
Description
_gat
1 minute
Google Universal Analytics sets this cookie to restrain request rate and thus limit data collection on high-traffic sites.
_p_hfp_client_id
less than a minute
Elfsight sets this cookie to implement social platforms on the website and enables the social platforms to track the users by assigning them a specific ID.
dmvk
session
The dmvk cookie is set by Dailymotion to record data of visitor behaviour on the website.
SRM_B
1 year 24 days
Used by Microsoft Advertising as a unique ID for visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__hstc
6 months
Hubspot set this main cookie for tracking visitors. It contains the domain, initial timestamp (first visit), last timestamp (last visit), current timestamp (this visit), and session number (increments for each subsequent session).
_clck
1 year
Microsoft Clarity sets this cookie to retain the browser's Clarity User ID and settings exclusive to that website. This guarantees that actions taken during subsequent visits to the same website will be linked to the same user ID.
_clsk
1 day
Microsoft Clarity sets this cookie to store and consolidate a user's pageviews into a single session recording.
_fbp
3 months
Facebook sets this cookie to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting the website.
_ga
1 year 1 month 4 days
Google Analytics sets this cookie to calculate visitor, session and campaign data and track site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognise unique visitors.
_ga_*
1 year 1 month 4 days
Google Analytics sets this cookie to store and count page views.
_gat_gtag_UA_*
1 minute
Google Analytics sets this cookie to store a unique user ID.
_gcl_au
3 months
Google Tag Manager sets the cookie to experiment advertisement efficiency of websites using their services.
_gid
1 day
Google Analytics sets this cookie to store information on how visitors use a website while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the collected data includes the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
AnalyticsSyncHistory
1 month
Linkedin set this cookie to store information about the time a sync took place with the lms_analytics cookie.
CLID
1 year
Microsoft Clarity set this cookie to store information about how visitors interact with the website. The cookie helps to provide an analysis report. The data collection includes the number of visitors, where they visit the website, and the pages visited.
CONSENT
2 years
YouTube sets this cookie via embedded YouTube videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
hubspotutk
6 months
HubSpot sets this cookie to keep track of the visitors to the website. This cookie is passed to HubSpot on form submission and used when deduplicating contacts.
ln_or
1 day
Linkedin sets this cookie to registers statistical data on users' behaviour on the website for internal analytics.
MR
7 days
This cookie, set by Bing, is used to collect user information for analytics purposes.
SM
session
Microsoft Clarity cookie set this cookie for synchronizing the MUID across Microsoft domains.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Cookie
Duration
Description
ANONCHK
10 minutes
The ANONCHK cookie, set by Bing, is used to store a user's session ID and verify ads' clicks on the Bing search engine. The cookie helps in reporting and personalization as well.
bcookie
1 year
LinkedIn sets this cookie from LinkedIn share buttons and ad tags to recognize browser IDs.
bscookie
1 year
LinkedIn sets this cookie to store performed actions on the website.
fr
3 months
Facebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites with Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE
1 year 24 days 1 minute
Google DoubleClick IDE cookies store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads according to the user profile.
li_sugr
3 months
LinkedIn sets this cookie to collect user behaviour data to optimise the website and make advertisements on the website more relevant.
muc_ads
1 year 1 month 4 days
Twitter sets this cookie to collect user behaviour and interaction data to optimize the website.
MUID
1 year 24 days
Bing sets this cookie to recognise unique web browsers visiting Microsoft sites. This cookie is used for advertising, site analytics, and other operations.
personalization_id
1 year 1 month 4 days
Twitter sets this cookie to integrate and share features for social media and also store information about how the user uses the website, for tracking and targeting.
test_cookie
15 minutes
doubleclick.net sets this cookie to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
ttwid
1 year
Tiktok sets this cookie to keep track of user authentication and session information.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
5 months 27 days
YouTube sets this cookie to measure bandwidth, determining whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA
6 months
YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's cookie consent state for the current domain.
YSC
session
Youtube sets this cookie to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devices
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
yt-remote-device-id
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
yt.innertube::nextId
never
YouTube sets this cookie to register a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
yt.innertube::requests
never
YouTube sets this cookie to register a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.