A woman told she was "too old" to be a mum conceived two children naturally in her mid-40s - by getting acupuncture weekly and mediating daily."

Rebecca Rumsey, 48, had been career-focused until she hit 39 and realised she wanted to have kids.

Luckily she met her husband, Tomas Salava, 41, just two days after her 40th birthday and the couple planned to start a family within a year.

But after suffering a concussion when her blinds fell on her, Rebecca was told her hormones had "tanked" - registering her as infertile."

A determined Rebecca overhauled her lifestyle in an effort to improve her hormones by eating only organic food, getting acupuncture every week and meditating daily.

She says she was then able to conceive straight away aged 43 and welcomed her son's - aged three and one - at 44 and 46.

Rebecca is now "glad" she waited to have children and feels being a later in life mum meant she could get "it all out of my system"."

Rebecca, a holistic and fertility coach, originally from Los Angeles, US, said: "I'm very glad I waited."

"They tell you at 35 it's the end of the road. It seems very young to me."

"It's your young adulthood - you're growing your career, having fun and partying a bit. There were still things I loved to do."

"I loved travel, I loved exercise. I don't get to do those things anymore."

"I wanted to be able to do all the things I wanted to do and get it all out of my system to be focused on being a mum."

Rebecca, currently living near Brno, Czech Republic, had spent her 20s and 30s pursuing her career but the realisation she might not have long left to have children hit her when she was about to turn 40.

She said: "I was in denial that I was turning 40."

"That hit really hard."

"It was now or never."

Luckily Rebecca met her husband and she was honest with him from the beginning about wanting to become a mum.

They had planned to start trying in a year but when Rebecca suffered with concussion her fertility levels dropped.

She said: "My large venetian blinds came down and crushed me on my head."

"My hormones tanked."

"It was gut-wrenching."

"Doctors told me it could bring on early menopause."

Rebecca was told to consider IVF using a donor egg but Tomas encouraged her to keep trying naturally first.

She said: "In my work I helped out women recover from hormone imbalances."

"In my heart I knew I could do it."

"I overhauled my lifestyle."

Rebecca researched what impacted hormone imbalances and stopped using toxic skin care products and cookware - using just stainless steel.

She ate organic food and had lots of protein and berries which are "nourishing for hormones"."

She said: "I started getting acupuncture every week."

"I started meditating daily."

"I drastically reduced my exercise and started doing gentle exercise."

"I reduced negativity and overstimulating in my life."

"I stopped watching the news and reduced my time on social media."

Rebecca said it took six to eight months for her hormones to improve and she was still advised by her acupuncturist to wait three months before trying for a baby.

But after three months Rebecca was able to conceive straight away in early 2020.

She said: "I was so excited."

"My pregnancy - it was shockingly easy."

"Every day felt like a miracle."

Her son was born in October 2020 weighing 8lbs.

Rebecca said: "It was just amazing."

The couple started trying for another baby when their son was just six months old.

Rebecca said: "I was 44 and I wanted to give my baby a sibling."

But the couple didn't have any luck conceiving and discovered some fertility issues with Tomas.

They overhauled his lifestyle and two months later by reducing his exercise and iron intake.

Rebecca said: "Two months later we conceived."

They welcomed their second son, now one, in March 2023.

Rebecca said: "It was so special."

Rebecca had a lot "of fear in herself" but was never worried about how her age might impact her ability to be a mother - despite strangers online saying she was "too old"."

She said: "The amount of doctors who told me to do IVF or said I had a zero to one per cent chance of conceiving."

"It shows how powerful our minds are."

"A lot of people in the Czech Republic have kids young."

"It doesn't matter - we have the same energy."

"I knew once I became a mum my needs will take a back seat."

"I'm totally fine with not getting my nails done or my workout in."

"It's worth it."

"It's the most amazing thing."

"There's so much joy it's like you're relieving your childhood."