A LIFELONG vegetarian told she would never have children has given birth to triplets after she started eating meat.

Laura Dixon, 34, turned to IVF after trying for ten years to get pregnant naturally, but during her second cycle of treatment she suffered a miscarriage.

When she became pregnant during her final round of IVF, she was warned she had a high risk of another miscarriage or a dangerously early labour.

So she started eating three portions of meat a day to increase her intake of iron, vitamin B12 and protein to improve her chances of a healthy pregnancy.

Mrs Dixon, who had never eaten meat, tucked into chicken, bacon and sausages every day and at 35 weeks gave birth to identical boys Max and Mason and daughter Mia.

The personal assistant from Chelmsford, Essex, said: "When the sonographer found a third heartbeat I remember shouting, "Oh no" and crying. After losing one baby to a miscarriage, I thought I would never be able to carry three.

"But then my hunger kicked in and despite never eating meat I craved it. I ate about six meals a day.

"The cravings were so strong I would wake up in the night and make my husband go and get me a McDonald's. Several times he had to go up to Nando's for chicken and chips with me."

She added: "Eating meat definitely helped me get all the protein you need when you're pregnant.

"I think it could be one of the reasons I managed to carry all three to full-term."

Mrs Dixon was diagnosed with endometriosis - a condition where small pieces of the womb lining are found outside the uterus - and cysts on her ovaries which doctors told her would stop her becoming pregnant.

She and her husband Tim, 34, a finance manager, found out she was due to have triplets on her 33rd birthday. Now 14 months old, all three were born by caesarean within a minute of each other

Mrs Dixon has now stopped eating meat and is back to being a vegetarian.

Dietitian Shirley Serber Souza said: "Protein is the building blocks for both mother and baby to grow and develop well. For mums who choose to follow a vegetarian diet it is important to ensure foods high in protein such as eggs, nuts, beans and other pulses are part of their diets."

Pregnant women also need more iron to make the haemoglobin that carries oxygen to the placenta. Low levels of iron can result in anaemia, which is associated with premature births, low birth weights and infant deaths.

Women who miscarry also have a significantly reduced level of a protein found in the placenta.

An Australian study of 400 women found that levels of the protein MIC1 in those who miscarried were on average 70 per cent lower than in those whose pregnancies proceeded naturally.