Growing up as a lonely only child, Debra Hicks dreamed of one day having a big family.
But her hopes appeared to be dashed when she tried to have her first baby at 17.
Doctors discovered that she had a very small pelvis, and could not give birth naturally.
She could have a Caesarean section this time, but was told of the serious risks of having the operation again.
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The more the merrier: Debra Hicks, centre, holding Ashton, with (clockwise from bottom left) Candice, 12, Madison, 4, Roxanne, 18, husband Ian, Tom, 20, Chantelle, 14, and Angel, seven. Sam, 22 is not pictured
Over the next two decades, however, she defied medical advice seven times - and now has the brood she longed for.
The youngest of her eight children, Ashton, arrived prematurely in April.
Mrs Hicks, now 40, said she has always been guided by her strong maternal instincts.
"I never wanted to be an only child like I was and from a young age I said I would have lots of children.
"Despite all the problems and warnings I've carried on having babies. No one seems to know if eight is a record."
Her five girls and three boys were fathered by three longterm partners. Seven were born in Musgrove Park Hospital in her home town of Taunton, Somerset.
The first birth was incredibly traumatic, Mrs Hicks said. After 20 hours in labour, she was told that her pelvic opening was too small for her son Sam's head to engage.
"I've got a very slight build, a size eight to ten, and I'm just five feet tall," she said.
"I think a small pelvis runs in the family as my mother needed a Caesarean to have me and then didn't have any more children."
Two years later, she ignored the risks and had Thomas. The birth of her daughter Roxanne 18 years ago was the first under general anaesthetic.
By now her uterus was thinning and the scar tissue increasing. Doctors feared that contractions might cause fatal ruptures.
But the 21-year-old refused to be sterilised. "I was too young to make such a huge decision about my future fertility and was pretty sure I was going to have more children," she said.
Mrs Hicks separated from her partner and had two more children Chantelle, now 14, and Candice, 12, with her second partner.
She was then given a strong warning to end her family there.
Doctors said there were even greater risks and feared that other organs - hidden by scar tissue - could be damaged during another c-section.
"But my maternal brooding instincts always won through," she said.
She went on to have three more children with her third partner and husband Ian Hicks, 42, a refuse supervisor.
Her sixth child Angel was born seven years ago.
"I was worried about getting into trouble with the doctors after what they had said, but they were very good about it."
Madison followed two years later and after a five-year gap, Ashton.
Half-way through the pregnancy she was admitted to hospital with septicaemia and E.coli. Advised to have an a termination as her life was at risk, she refused, and gave birth at 32 weeks.
But this time the complications were so serious that doctors had to act, giving her a hysterectomy.
As a result her childbearing days are over. Mrs Hicks is, however, planning to return to the maternity unit in a few months - this time doing her job as a hospital ward assistant.
My eight Caesareans: The woman who defied doctors to have her dream family | the Daily Mail
My eight Caesareans: The woman who defied doctors to have her dream family
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