London: Scottish singer Susan Boyle has revealed that she was starved of oxygen at birth.
In her autobiography ‘The Woman I Was Born To Be’, the Scottish singing sensation has revealed how her mother, Bridget, was told that having another baby could kill her.
Doctors implored Bridget, then a 45-year-old mother of eight, to have a termination.
However, on April 1, 1961, Susan was born at Bangour Hospital, near Broxburn in West Lothian.
“The doctors considered the danger so severe that they offered a termination but, as a devout Catholic, that would have been unthinkable for my mother,” the Daily Express quoted Susan as writing.
The birth was not easy and Susan was delivered by Caesarian section.
The look on the doctor’s face said it all. There were no congratulations as he explained to Bridget and her husband, Patrick, that their daughter had been starved of oxygen “for a wee while”. The prognosis was not good.
It was likely, the doctor concluded, that she had suffered slight brain damage.
“It’s probably best to accept that Susan will never be anything. Susan will never come to anything, so don’t expect too much of her,” doctors said as Susan lay in an incubator.
That bald statement would haunt Susan all her life and drive her on when people lacked belief in her.
“I’m sure they had the best intentions,” she said of the doctors.
“But I don’t think they should have said that, because nobody can foretell the future. What they didn’t know was that I’m a bit of a fighter, and I’ve been trying all my life to prove them wrong,” she added.
The autobiography will be published in the UK on October 14 by Transworld.
ANI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.