A mother from Esher, Surrey, Lois Wood, took the significant step of undergoing sterilisation at the age of 28 after experiencing three pregnancies while actively using contraception. Her journey into motherhood unexpectedly expanded due to consecutive failures of different birth control methods, leading her to decide that three children were definitely enough.

Lois's first two pregnancies occurred while she was taking the contraceptive pill. In 2013, she fell pregnant with her daughter, Isla North, when she was just 18 years old. Several years later, in 2018, she experienced a second unexpected pregnancy, leading to the birth of her son, Ralphie North, in 2019. After having a boy and a girl, Lois felt her family was complete and sought a more reliable form of contraception.

In June 2021, Lois opted to have an intrauterine device (IUD), commonly known as the coil, fitted. Believing this to be the safest option, she was profoundly shocked when, exactly a year later in June 2022, a pregnancy test confirmed she was expecting again. Lois initially felt 'in denial' upon seeing the positive result and contacted her GP. An ultrasound scan at the early pregnancy unit revealed she was five weeks pregnant, with her coil still perfectly in place, contrary to the common belief that movement of the device can cause failure.

Doctors explained to Lois that while contraception methods like the coil are highly effective, they are typically only 99% accurate, meaning there's always a small possibility of conception. Two weeks after the ultrasound confirming her pregnancy, the coil was removed. Her third son, Arnie North, was born in February 2023. Despite the initial shock surrounding all three pregnancies, Lois now believes they were 'meant to be', attributing them to 'God's plan'.

Following Arnie's birth, and having experienced multiple contraception failures, Lois decided she definitively did not want any more children. During her six-week post-natal check-up, she was offered sterilisation, a procedure not commonly offered to younger women. Given her unique history of pregnancies on various birth control methods, she was able to proceed with the operation approximately nine months later, at the end of 2023, solidifying her family of three.