A mum who lost weight in a bid to fall pregnant welcomed a miracle baby, then returned to weight-loss jabs just weeks after giving birth.
Danielle Spink weighed 16 stone at her heaviest and wore a size 18.
The 44-year-old was already a mum of four when she met her husband Stefan, 41, in 2022 and the couple decided they wanted a child together.
READ MORE: Boy, 12, left in COMA and ‘throwing up two litres of blood’ after routine tonsil surgery goes wrong
But their dreams were shattered after two heartbreaking miscarriages, followed by doctors telling Danielle she had stopped ovulating and would not be able to conceive.
In May 2024, after deciding to stop trying for a baby, Danielle chose to focus on her health and began taking the weight-loss jab Mounjaro.
A year later, after shedding two stone and dropping to a size 10, she discovered she was pregnant with Marcus, now six weeks old.
“We were shocked to say the least,” Danielle, from Thaxted, Essex, told Need To Know.
“Not only had we tried for well over a year and nothing, but we’d also been told I wouldn’t be able to fall pregnant.
“After the shock subsided we were over the moon.
“I stopped the injection immediately.
“There was a worry that I would put the weight back on however being pregnant and the health of the baby was more important
“It felt like a miracle so I wasn’t going to risk not eating.
“I was delighted to be pregnant but scared of putting the weight back on after all the hard work to lose it.
“For the first time, I wasn’t hiding in photos but the health of the baby was the most important thing and deep down I knew I’d done it once with the help of Mounjaro so I could do it again.
“In my mind, I wouldn’t have gotten pregnant without the jabs.”
Danielle gained 2.5 stone during her pregnancy and restarted Mounjaro four weeks after Marcus was born.
Since then, she has lost 15lbs and hopes to lose a total of 3.5 stone.
The executive assistant says she’s received abuse from trolls after sharing that she’s back on the jabs so soon after Marcus’s birth.
She said: “Of course I get judgmental comments about going back on the jabs so soon.
“Everyone has an opinion.
“A friend of a friend commented that I cared more about my appearance than my baby by stopping breastfeeding just so I could get back on Mounjaro.
“On my social media, someone commented that I was a disgrace, didn’t deserve children and that I should be sterilised.
“Initially, it hurt but then I put it into perspective and these people don’t know me.
“Their judgmental, unfounded view of me without knowing anything about me shouldn’t matter.
“You can’t win. My choices are personal and I know I never put my weight loss before my baby so their comments are unfounded and nasty.
“I’m told it’s cheating and I’m not putting my baby first but it’s utter rubbish.
“I eat healthily, take extra vitamins and will exercise as soon as I’m given the all clear after my c-section.
“It doesn’t bother me because they don’t live in my shoes and nothing compares to feeling happy and confident in myself.”
Danielle breastfed Marcus for two weeks but decided to switch to bottle feeding.
She said: “”I never breastfed previously.
“It’s always something I didn’t feel confident with.
“It’s a personal choice.
“I breastfed Marcus for two weeks but he’s hungry and I knew bottle feeding would suit my husband and me better.
“It never impacted us being able to bond.”
Danielle has battled her weight since her twenties.
She said: “Carbs are my downfall, bread and pasta especially.
“I love them.
“Mounjaro has taught me I can eat anything in small portions and I don’t calorie count.
“I do make healthy choices though, eat a lot of proteins, fruit, salad and vegetables and I rarely crave sweet things.
“My weight affected my confidence more than anything.
“I was always comparing myself to other people, feeling frumpy and unattractive.
“It would also mean I didn’t want to wear a swimsuit or bikini or go to the gym because I felt so self-conscious.
“After I had my third baby, I went to a wedding and the photos of me were awful.
“It was then I decided I needed to lose weight and try and keep it off, rather than yo-yo.
“As I’ve got older, it’s got harder and harder to lose.”
Danielle and Stefan began trying for a baby in October 2023 and fell pregnant two months later, but tragedy struck when she miscarried at six weeks.
After months of trying again with no success, Danielle sought medical advice and was devastated to be told she could not conceive.
She then started taking Mounjaro and within eight weeks had lost two stone.
Then came the shock of her life when she discovered she was pregnant again.
Danielle said: “I didn’t go back on Mounjaro immediately after losing the baby.
“We made an appointment with a new doctor to discuss my previous results which were obviously wrong.
“She did a whole new set of tests which showed I was still ovulating.
“My husband and I decided to actively try again.
“We tried for another six months and nothing happened.
“We lost hope and I decided to just concentrate on me.
“Losing the weight I had gained and the rest I hadn’t lost previously.
“I started back on Mounjaro in Feb 2025.
“I took supplements and really looked after myself.
“We had put a time limit on our journey and if I hadn’t fallen by June 2025 that was us done.
“But by March, I was absolutely under the impression we wouldn’t have another chance.
“It had taken 18 months to fall previously and I had three months left.
“However, in April 2025 I missed my period.
“I actually thought it was stress as my mum had been diagnosed with cancer.
“But I decided to test and it was positive.
“We were shocked and this time I couldn’t help but think that Mounjaro has played a part.
“Not only had I got to my goal weight but my migraines had stopped, inflammation had reduced and hormones had levelled.
“We were super scared too as we’d had two previous miscarriages.”
Danielle says she went back on Mounjaro as she was determined to get her old confidence back.
She said: “After finding a new confidence when I reached my goal weight, I miss that.
“I’m back to feeling unhealthy and frumpy.
“It’s so easy to revert back to when I dressed really frumpy in baggy clothes.
“Having worked hard to finally be in an incredible marriage with someone who loves me deeply has allowed me to love myself for who I am and my weight and confidence is the cherry on top so I’m determined to keep it off.
“A lot of us women feel a slight pressure to look good but I feel like I’ve got better with age.
“I know what suits me and what I like.”
Danielle says the jab has helped her physically and mentally since giving birth.
She added: “I’m back on Mounjaro as my migraines started again and back pain which had all gone.
“Not to mention I want to lose the weight.
“I was so confident when I was a size 10.
“I attend a lot of military events with my husband and I feel and look good.
“We live by the sea and wearing a wetsuit and swimsuit was no issue.
“It helped my mental health massively.
“Losing weight has helped with my energy levels massively, especially being an older mum.
“So at the moment it’s helping with the sleepless nights.
“When he’s running around in a year I’ll be 45 and I know the weight loss with give me more energy.
“It’s helped my aches and pains and Mounjaro has definitely helped with my brain fog and migraines too.
“Plus I don’t feel down about how I look when I’m at my healthy goal weight.
“For me, like thousands of other women, it was a stubborn few stone to lose.
“That’s the weight that you struggle so badly to lose.
“It’s the weight that gets you down.
“So many people focus on the weight loss of obese women but there are so many women like me that are forgotten about who are struggling, especially in menopause and perimenopause.
“And I feel like we get overlooked, when it definitely impacts our health both physically and mentally.”
READ MORE: ‘I’m 24 and in constant agony after pregnancy left my teeth rotting and falling out’
