Woman In Race To Lose Four Stone In Five Months To Get Pregnant Before Husband Dies

SWNS

A woman is desperately trying to lose four stone in five months so that she can get pregnant before her husband dies.

At 19st 7lbs, Ayla Hughes, 24, has been told she must lose the weght to qualify for IVF treatment - her only chance of having a baby with husband, Ben.

Ben , 28, suffers from chronic organ failure and has been given just five months to live by doctors.

The couple have a million-to-one chance of conceiving naturally, because Ayla has polycystic ovaries and Ben's sperm count has been reduced by years of daily medication and operations.

Now they're in a race against time to realise their dream of becoming parents – even though Ben will never get to see his baby.

Ayla, a childcare assistant from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, has already lost a stone-and-a-half through joining a slimming club and exercising.

"I want to get the weight lost by March next year, which will hopefully give Ben time to realise that the procedures have worked and he's on his way to becoming a dad," Ayla said.

Ben has been through a series of operations throughout his life to correct Aortic Stenosis, a condition which has left his heart unable to pump blood properly. He married Ayla in February 2007 - and underwent a double transplant to replace his faulty heart and lungs a month later.

But last month he was given the tragic news that his body is now rejecting the organs - giving him less than six months to live.

"We have been thinking about having a baby for around three years, but with everything else going on, we just haven't been able to concentrate on it properly," said Ben

"Now there is more need to get the IVF under way as soon as possible.

"Although I may not be around to hold my child, as long as I know the IVF has started and Ayla is alright, it will mean the world to me."

Couples need to meet strict criteria to be considered for IVF and at 19-and-a-half stone Ayla was judged to be too overweight.

But even if Ayla does slim down, the national IVF success rate is only 30 per cent.

"Having a son or daughter would be a wonderful thing to leave to our families - it would be a part of me which would continue living after I'm gone," Ben said.