Up until a year ago, Laura and Tim Dixon were among the one in seven couples in the UK facing fertility issues. Laura Dixon, 34, a personal assistant in Chelmsford, Essex, and lifelong vegetarian, was initially told by doctors that she would never have children, after 10 consecutive years of trying to get pregnant through natural methods, reports News.au.com. Dixon was diagnosed with endometriosis and polycystic ovaries, and underwent two laparoscopies to the correct the problems; both procedures, however, were unsuccessful, reports SWNS.com.

Dixon and Tim believed in vitro fertilization (IVF) would be the best way to increase the likelihood of pregnancy. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) states that approximately 20 to 25 percent of IVF treatment cycles result in a birth, with younger women having a higher chance of success. As hopeful and expecting parents, Dixon and Tim found that Dixon’s third round of IVF in combination with a diet consisting of McDonald’s Sausage McMuffins led to healthy triplets.

Prior to the triplets’ birth, the vegetarian mom had two unsuccessful attempts with IVF treatment. Typically during the IVF process, a woman’s eggs are surgically removed and then fertilized in a laboratory using the sperm that was given as the sperm sample for the procedure, says NHS. After the egg is fertilized with the sample sperm, the embryo is then surgically implanted into the woman’s womb.

Dixon’s first IVF cycle was abandoned, and the second one resulted in a miscarriage just after eight weeks, SWNS.com reports. The British couple did not give up hope and decided to do their third cycle of IVF. Upon learning about her pregnancy during her third and final IVF cycle, doctors told Dixon she had ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), which is swelling of the ovaries that usually occurs when a woman takes hormonal medications to stimulate the development of eggs in the ovaries. This diagnosis would put Dixon at high risk of having another miscarriage and even dangerous premature birth.

The Dixons decided to go along with the pregnancy by undergoing fortnightly checks and, for Laura, eating daily portions of meat.

“After losing one baby to a miscarriage, I thought I would never be able to carry three,” she told SWNS.com. “But then my hunger kicked in and despite never eating meat I craved it.” “I ate about six meals a day.”

The lifelong vegetarian went from eating no meat to eating six portions of meat a day in order to increase her iron, vitamin B12, and protein intake to ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy. Chicken, bacon, and sausages were part of the expectant mother’s daily diet throughout her full-term pregnancy. The cravings were so strong that she would tell Tim to go and get her McDonald’s in the middle of the night, or go to Nando’s for chicken and chips with her, reports the Toronto Sun.

The mother of triplets believes that her high consumption of meat helped with her protein requirement while pregnant, and credits it as one of the main reasons why she was able to have a successful full-term birth.

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

“There is a lot of evidence that women experience taste changes throughout the pregnancy, which in turn can alter their preferences as they progress through the trimesters,” Jo Travers, a nutritionist who runs The London Nutritionist, told SWNS.com.

For expectant mothers who do not eat eggs, meat, and fish, it is essential to get iron and vitamin B12 from other foods in order to have a safe and healthy pregnancy, according to the NHS.

Dixon, now a vegetarian again, gave birth to triplets Max, Mason, and Mia through C-section. The children were sent home from the hospital two weeks after birth and are now 14 months of age.

Dixon says that she still eats McDonald’s but has veggie wraps and fries.