Surrogate mum gives birth to twins – and each has a different biological dad
A Canadian mum has acted as surrogate for a same-sex couple, undergoing IVF and eventually giving birth to a pair of super-amazing twins.
One twin pregnancy, two different dads
Simon and Graeme Berney Edwards are a London-based couple who were keen to have a baby, enlisting the help of an LA fertility clinic to make their dream a reality.
They used an anonymous egg donor, but were torn on who would be their little one’s dad.
“We couldn’t decide on who would be the biological father,” Simon told the Mail online. “Graeme said it should be me, but I said that he had just as much right as I did.”
Turns out they didn’t need to decide because of new advances in IVF treatment.
“When we spoke to the doctor at the clinic he stunned us with his reply. He told us that it could be both of us,” Simon explained.
“They said that we could have half the embryos fertilised with my sperm and then half with Graeme’s sperm.”
Read more about IVF:
- What are my options when it comes to my unused embryos?
- Sophie Monk Instagrams her egg retrieval procedure
- A new business is giving grants to those struggling with the cost of IVF
- Australian parents-to-be given access to life-changing genetic testing
Two heartbeats
Graeme and Simon had already found their perfect surrogate – an experienced mum-of-two named Meg Stone – via a surrogacy-matching website. Meg lived in Canada, and the two dads visited her during their honeymoon in 2017.
The couple describe Meg as being like a “long lost sister” and the bond between the three was instant. Of course it was destined to go from strength-to-strength, but more on that in a tick!
Meg underwent the IVF procedure, with two different-dad embryos being implanted. Everyone then had a two week wait to see whether Meg would fall pregnant and which embryo/s had been survived. They reasoned that they’d simply go through the process again – presumably with the spare embryos they had on ice – if only one had ‘stuck’.
Simon and Graeme were on the other side of the world in London when Meg went in for the all-important first scan to find out which baby/ies were on the way. She FaceTimed the pair from the consulting room.
“First of all we saw one heartbeat, and our stomach clenched with nerves,” Simon recalls.
“Then we saw the other heartbeat. Graeme and I just hugged each other. We were just over the moon. We were both going to be dads – she was pregnant with both of our babies.” Amazing!
Daddy Doppelgängers
The couple flew to Canada for a scan at 19 weeks, and then dashed across the globe when Meg thought she was in labour at 31 weeks. Luckily she wasn’t, but they stayed close by until their brilliant surrogate delivered the twins – Calder and Alexandra – at 36 weeks.
“Calder was the double of Graeme, and Alexandra was the image of me,” Simon revealed.
The twins have just celebrated their first birthday and Meg flew to London to celebrate with her ‘other’ family.
“Simon and Graeme are like brothers to me now. They call me the twins’ ‘Tummy Mummy’ which I love,” she said.
“We are still in touch regularly with Meg,” Simon said, “and we can’t thank her enough for what she has done for us. It’s amazing to think that she has enabled us both to become daddies. It’s a wonderful gift.”
Read the full story at the Mail Online.
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