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Laura Adlington has hit out at the NHS as she admitted she was fat-shamed by medical professionals while trying to undergo IVF treatment.
The Great British Bake Off star, 36, announced she was pregnant with her ‘miracle’ IVF baby last month and has shared her frustration at numerous fertility experts in the NHS who told her she ‘needed to lose weight’ to conceive.
Opening up with her fans in a Q&A over on her Instagram on Wednesday, Laura was asked whether she was offered IVF by the NHS.
Describing her awful experience she began: ‘Our experience with the NHS (just in regards to infertility I want to add) was dreadful.
‘We waited 8 months to be seen by a specialist. On the day of our appointment we were weighed and fat shamed in the CORRIDOR before being able to go into her office, and then told we couldn’t even have tests done because of my BMI.
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Pregnant Bake Off star Laura Adlington, 36, has hit out at the NHS as she admitted she was fat-shamed and received ‘dreadful’ infertility treatment as she took to Instagram on Wednesday
Laura announced she was pregnant with her ‘miracle’ IVF baby last month and has shared her frustration at fertility experts in the NHS who told her she ‘needed to lose weight’ to conceive
‘BMI is an archaic and inaccurate measure of health but the NHS uses it as an excuse every time. We had the door shut in our face every single step of the way and it’s wrong.’
BMI first gained popularity in the 1970s and calculates whether an individual is a healthy weight for their height as a way of judging body fat.
A healthy BMI is typically measured between 18.5 and 24.9. Anything under 18.5 is considered underweight. BMIs between 25 and 29.9 fall into overweight territory, and above 30 is considered obese.
While BMI has been used for years, it has its flaws. For example, it cannot distinguish between muscle and fat in weight meaning it bizarrely calculates that chiselled wrestler-come-actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is technically obese.
Laura told fans her BMI was 45 and after being denied IVF on the NHS her and her husband Matt went to The Lister Fertility Clinic in London to receive their treatment.
She told fans: ‘As far as I know they are the only clinic to not have an upper BMI limit. Mine was 45.
‘Overall our experience was really positive. My weight was mentioned at the start. I had to pay to see an obstetrician and speak to of their anesthetists.
‘Our case was then put to a panel before we were approved. My weight was never brought up again.’
Describing her awful experience she described her experience as ‘dreadful’ and said she was fat-shamed in the corridor
Laura told fans her BMI was 45 and after being denied IVF on the NHS her and her husband Matt went to The Lister Fertility Clinic in London to receive their treatment
In another Story she reassured fans that she has never been made to feel bad about her weight while being treated at The Lister Clinic
The star also revealed it had cost the couple £10,198.54 per cycle as she shared a copy of the couple’s bill statement
The star also revealed it had cost the couple £10,198.54 per cycle as she shared a copy of the couple’s bill statement.
Laura’s joyous baby news came after nine years of infertility and being told to lose 14st before she could get pregnant.
Laura shared the joyful news in an Instagram post last month after ‘quietly deciding to give IVF a try’.
Sharing her happy news, she wrote: ‘After 9 years of infertility, we are very excited (and still a bit in shock) to be expecting our little IVF miracle in October ✨
‘I know announcements like this can be really painful, especially if you’re in the thick of waiting or grieving, so please feel free to mute or unfollow if you need to and know I’m sending so much love your way.
‘It’s been such a really long, and to be honest lonely road to get here – something many of you will know if you’ve followed me for a while or listened to the podcast.
‘We’d honestly made peace with the idea that having children might not happen for us. But about a year and a half ago, we quietly decided to give IVF a try.
‘We kept it to ourselves and decided not to share online (or even with family) just so we didn’t put more pressure on ourselves.
‘We had an unsuccessful round and a cancelled round, and then found out a couple of months ago that I was finally pregnant.
‘I’ll be sharing a bit more over the coming weeks about our journey to get here but for now we’re just really excited to share our news with you all. We honestly can’t believe our luck.’
Laura revealed in 2022 that she had to come to terms with the fact she may never have a family after being told by doctors she would need to lose around 14 stone in order to conceive
Laura previously revealed in 2022 that she had to come to terms with the fact she may never have a family after being told by doctors she would need to lose around 14 stone in order to conceive.
Speaking to Fabulous magazine, she said: ‘Unless you’ve gone through infertility and that heartache of really wanting it and it not happening… it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.’
The star, who appeared on the 2020 series of the Channel 4 show, told how she had always wanted to be a mother and thought, ‘what’s the point?’ if she couldn’t have a child.
She said: ‘I’ve never thought, “I want to take my own life”, but I definitely have had thoughts that I didn’t want to be here any more. And I have phoned Samaritans on a few occasions and really benefitted from it.’
