Having a baby is a major life decision that affects all areas of a couple’s life, which makes birth control all the more important in allowing them to decide when is the right time for them to have children. But unfortunately, even birth control can fail us sometimes. While the birth control pill is considered to be 99.99 percent effective according to doctors, it certainly does not work for everyone.
The potential for the birth control pill to fail became a reality for one woman from Northampton in the United Kingdom, not once but three times! The first time that the pill failed to do its job, Hannah Donaghue was only 18 years old and living in a one-bedroom apartment. She definitely was not in the position to start a family when she found out that she had a baby on the way. However, she took to motherhood rather well as she was already working at a nursery.
But after giving birth and going back on contraception, the exact same thing happened to her just a few months later! With two young daughters, Donaghue decided to change up her method of birth control to the implant. She was using that method for eight years with no problems, but after having some issues with it she decided to give the pill another try.
After reconnecting with an old boyfriend named Ben in 2019, Donaghue found herself pregnant yet again, only this time it was with triplets! Despite the unexpected circumstances life has thrown at her, Donaghue believes each baby was meant to be.
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After getting pregnant the first time, Hannah Donaghue found that she took easily to motherhood because she had been working in a nursery. However, after giving birth to her firstborn daughter Megan, she took precautions nonetheless and switched the pill she had been on. She “took it religiously at the same time every day,” she told the Daily Mail. But just a few months after Megan was born, Donaghue realized that she had missed her period again. She explained to the Daily Mail:
“I felt a familiar twinge and realised my period was late — it couldn’t have happened again, surely?
“When I saw those two little blue lines in the window I almost fainted. I had no idea how we’d cope and was dreading having to explain to people what had happened again when I was on the pill.”
This came as a shock to her — after all, who would expect the same thing to happen twice, and within months of giving birth?! Nine months later, Donaghue welcomed a second daughter named Charlie into the picture. While it was not perfectly planned, Donaghue delighted in being a mom to two precious little girls.
After this, it was clear that the pill was just not for her. She went off of the pill and switched her method of birth control to an implant. After eight years of using the implant, she began experiencing issues with it and decided to take her chance with the pill again. But fate had other plans for Donaghue.
Shortly after making the switch, Donaghue ran into an old boyfriend at a party. According to her, she and Ben still had chemistry and they ended up going home together that night. She told the Daily Mail:
“I’d split up with my boyfriend at this point and wasn’t looking to meet anyone new. But then I bumped into Ben at a party. I’d known him years earlier and there was definite chemistry between us, and that night we ended up going home together.”
After getting her period as normal, Donaghue had a major surprise when just a few weeks later she woke up with blood in her pajamas and went straight to the hospital. While being examined, she was informed that she was indeed pregnant again. But this time, she was pregnant with three babies. Can you even imagine the shock? Donaghue revealed in the same interview:
“I couldn’t believe it — and neither could Ben. I hadn’t even been expecting to fall pregnant with one baby again — let alone three.”
Once she got over the surprise of a lifetime, Donaghue realized that it was meant to be.
She and Ben began dating while she was pregnant with their triplets, who turned out to be two girls and one boy. Everything went smoothly until 28 weeks in when the babies’ movements began to reduce. They managed to make it to 32 weeks, at which point they were delivered by Caesarian. Donaghue told the Daily Mail:
“They were so tiny but they were really strong and we were allowed to take them home after 18 days. By this point, Ben had moved in and for the first few weeks it felt like a whirlwind had hit the house.”
Now planning a life together with their three babies and Hannah’s two other daughters, the growing family is even moving into a bigger home, as they’ve outgrown their current residence. It should also come as no surprise to learn that Donaghue has given up on the pill for good. However, she did have one thing to say about it:
“But we do have five little miracles to thank it for — they were obviously meant to be.”
Although the pregnancies were unexpected, there is no denying the love in their sweet photos together. Have you ever heard of anything similar happening to someone you know? Be sure to spread Hannah Donaghue’s story so others can find out about it.