Woman born without a womb describes 'surreal' moment she became a mum
A woman who was born without a womb has shared her experiences of becoming a mother, including the "surreal" moment when she held her baby boy for the first time.
Chloe Keep had always known she'd wanted to be a mum but was dealt a devastating blow at the age of 16 when she learned the true reason why she still hadn't started having periods.
Doctors diagnosed the then-teenage Chloe with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome (MRKH), a rare condition that affects the female reproductive system. Although Chloe's ovaries were capable of producing eggs, she didn't have a womb, meaning the only way she'd be able to have her own biological child would be through in vitro fertilisation (IVF), with a surrogate carrying her baby.
Chloe and Christopher started their family through IVF and surrogacy (Bourn Hall Clinic)Ahead of National Surrogacy Week (August 1 to 7) Chloe, from Thundersley, Essex, recalled: "I realised something was wrong when at 15 I was literally the only one of my friends who hadn't started their periods.
"My mum had sat me down as she had with my sisters to have the 'chat' about how my body would start to change and so I had been waiting for the day to come like it had for everyone else, but it didn't."
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At the age of 20, Chloe married husband Christopher and, instead of wedding gifts, the couple asked guests for contributions to their "baby fund".
The newlyweds then approached Bourn Hall Clinic, a fertility treatment centre, in the hope of starting a family of their own through IVF and surrogacy.
Chloe explained: "We had the IVF bit done first. The doctors at Bourn Hall told me that my ovaries 'float around' as they are not anchored in place by the womb so I would need transabdominal egg collection instead of the standard procedure."
Chloe and Christopher have since welcomed baby Matthew (Bourn Hall Clinic)One of the doctors at Bourn Hall, Dr Chhaya Prasannan-Nair, is an expert in transabdominal egg collection, a process performed under general anaesthetic, where the doctor retrieves a patients eggs by inserting a needle through their abdomen.
Chloe said: "Dr Prasannan-Nair collected eight of my eggs, which I was really pleased about, and four fertilised and were frozen. Once we had found our surrogate, she would then have a Frozen Embryo Transfer at Bourn Hall with one of our embryos, and there would be no genetic link to her.
"We joined Surrogacy UK in August 2020 and became part of their online members website where you can message people. After nearly eight months we met Sophie and spent three months getting to know each other before we became a 'team' in August 2021."
Once they informed Bourn Hall that they had found a surrogate, the process began, and Sophie began taking her medication for the frozen embryo transfer by early November.
Chloe added: "She had to inject herself, take medication, insert pessaries; she did all of that for us and it wasn't easy."
On January 6, 2022, the frozen embryo transfer took place, and Chloe was allowed to be in the room with Sophie, holding her hand as they watched the transfer take place on a screen together.
Chloe remembered: "It happened very fast – you don't really see that much, but we got an ultrasound photograph of the moment of transfer so I could show Chris. Afterward we went out and took a selfie to capture the moment."
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Happily, the IVF worked on the first attempt, and on January 15, 2022, Chloe and Chris learned that Sophie was pregnant, with the couple welcoming their son Mattew in September 2022.
According to Chloe: "Sophie was amazing throughout the pregnancy; ultimately she became our friend and it was a really lovely experience.
"We went to the seven-week viability scan at Bourn Hall and both Chris and I were allowed to be in the room with Sophie which was really special, to be there together. It was amazing because at seven weeks you see something flicker on the screen which is the baby's heartbeat."
She continued: "When Matthew was born I was allowed to cut the cord and I had my first skin-to-skin with him; it was really lovely. Chris then came to meet him and we were very, very happy – it was just such a surreal moment.
"We wouldn't have been able to have Matthew without Bourn Hall. I know other women who have MRKH and unfortunately due to where their ovaries are and also partly where they live there aren't the specialists that can do the trans-abdominal egg retrieval and it was just amazing that Bourn Hall had someone."
Dr Prasannan-Nair, consultant gynaecologist and IVF specialist, commented: "The trans-abdominal method of egg retrieval was integral to Chloe being able to use her own eggs in the IVF process and I am so delighted that the embryo transfer involving her surrogate worked first time.
"Her story is a wonderful example of how reproductive medicine and science can overcome what can seem like the biggest of obstacles."
Sophie Barnes from Harlow, who has three children of her own, has described the experience of being a surrogate for Chloe and Chris as "absolutely life-changing".
She added: "I can't quite capture it in words, but being able to bring a child into this world is the most incredible feeling. I could see what a fantastic mum Chloë would be and boy is she smashing it! To watch her cut Matthew's cord and call his name when they handed him to her was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life."
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