British Lesbian Couple Become First To Carry Same Baby
A British lesbian couple has become the first-ever couple to carry the same baby. The two women shared the process from conception to birth, according to the ‘New York Post’.
The “breakthrough” fertility treatment is being called “shared motherhood” and the way it works is the egg is “harvested from one woman, fertilised with donor sperm and then implanted into the womb of the other female partner.”
But, Jasmine and Donna Francis-Smith’s case is even more of a “breakthrough”. The fertilised egg was “placed back into Donna’s womb to be incubated for 18 hours before it was transferred to Jasmine’s womb for the remainder of the pregnancy.”
That way Donna is baby Otis’s biological mother and Jasmine is his gestational mother.
“You get a lot of same-sex couples where one person is doing the whole thing, and the one person is getting pregnant and giving birth, whereas with this we’re both involved in a massive way,” Donna, said. “It’s definitely brought us closer together emotionally. We’re a close couple anyway but we both have a special bond with Otis as well which was helped by the way we’ve done it.”
More than 100 babies have been born to lesbian couples through the “shared motherhood” process, but the Francis-Smiths’ case is the first of its kind.
“This is the first time this has been done,” said Nick Macklon, medical director at the London Women’s Clinic, where Otis was born. “It’s very exciting because it means that for lesbian couples wanting to have babies together, both of them can be involved in actively creating the embryo and then creating the baby.
“We’re really fortunate that this was our first go at IVF, but the reality is that it doesn’t work first time for a lot of people.”
Read related myGwork articles here:
French MPs Approve IVF Treatment For Lesbians And Single Women
French People Protest Against Law That Allows Lesbians Access To IVF Treatment
More Gay Couples Are Seeking IVF Treatment in the UK
Transgender Man Who Gave Birth Loses Court Battle To Be Registered As The Father
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