Emmerdale star Gemma Oaten has been speaking about how her anorexia battle has impacted her fertility.
Gemma – who played Rachel Breckle in the ITV soap – opened up on Instagram to tell her followers the connection between eating disorders and struggling to conceive.
Captioning the post, Gemma wrote:
‘I have been wanting to share this video for a while now. But never had the time or courage, but now I’ve realised this deserves my time and I’ve found my strength.
After mentioning how people would always tell her she’d make an excellent mum, Gemma went on to say:
‘Then anorexia took hold and the conversation was about how if I carried on like this I may not be able to have children. I buried my head in the sand… That won’t happen to me.
The last ten years though, being well, away from the eating disorder, its become more and more prominent on my mind’.
Discussing how she went to a fertility clinic, Gemma was shocked at how difficult freezing her eggs would be.
She then went on to say how she lost a child back in 2018.
She continued:
‘One of the long term affects of an eating disorder is that on Fertility. For men and for women. It’s so important people know the risks, understand more.
Not to scare monger, but to be aware. And if, like me, this is going to be a challenge, I’m posting this so you know you’re not alone’.
Since posting the video, Gemma has been inundated with comments, thanking her for being so open and honest, and ultimately helping to continue this important conversation.
