Joanna Jepson - Childhood

Childhood

Jepson was born with a congenital jaw defect - her top jaw stuck out by eight millimetres and her lower jaw hung down into her neck. This resulted in a deformed appearance which she herself described made her look "like a chipmunk". She was forced to wait until her late teens before she could have reconstructive surgery, as it was necessary to wait until her facial and jaw bones had stopped growing.

Between 1991 and 1993 she underwent corrective operations in order to correct her jaw defect. These operations involved removing flesh from her upper jaw, breaking and resetting her lower jaw, and rebuilding her chin using muscle. The process was highly traumatic and involved Intensive Care treatment in hospital, a lengthy period of swelling, and having her jaw wired.

Jepson believes that this gave her an insight into human nature - she was bullied because of her appearance at school, but became part of "the pretty, popular crowd" at university, after her corrective cosmetic surgery. Her feelings about this change, as well as those brought up by the attitudes of other people she met after surgery, influenced her interest in a much-publicised trial following the abortion of a fetus in December 2001.