A lesbian couple in Britain are the first parents to carry just one baby using both wombs. This is referred to as shared motherhood. At age 28, Jasmine Francis-Smith from Northamptonshire birthed Otis with an egg originally incubated by Donna, her wife. In the past, this was only possible when the egg was artificially incubated prior to being transferred to the womb.
Artificial incubation has been used by lesbian couples for the birth of over 100 babies. After fertilization, the embryo was incubated by Donna for eighteen hours prior to the transfer to Jasmine. This is accomplished when the eggs are placed in a miniature capsule before insertion into the womb. This enables interaction between the maternal environment and the embryo.
The advantage is fertilization occurs in the maternal environment as opposed to the artificial environment created in a laboratory. Once placed, the embryo remained inside of Jasmine throughout the pregnancy. The procedure took place at the London Women’s clinic. A spokesman stated both partners were emotionally and practically invested in the pregnancy.
The embryo was provided with important components and nutrients in a maternal and natural environment. The baby was born in Colchester, Essex on September 30th. The couple now has a son. Jasmine said the experience was positive and made them both feel equal. They have been brought even closer together emotionally. Now that their baby Otis is well and safe, they are a real family.
Jasmine’s wife Donna has served the army for eleven years. She has also spent time in Afghanistan. The couple met online in 2014 but just married last April. Donna admitted the entire experience was overwhelming. She spoke of all of the same-sex marriages where one person gets pregnant and then gives birth. The couple decided they both wanted to be involved with the entire process of having a child.
The couple was close before Otis was born. The experience resulted in an even closer bond with both their son and their relationship. The couple is extremely happy everything worked out the way it did. They talked about the information being available for other couples. They believe this will help them during the future. The experience brought them closer together because the bond with their baby is equal.
The London Women’s clinic is offering this procedure to all heterosexual and same-sex couples in addition to women interested in an IVF treatment. One woman won a free IVF round through a competition. She recently gave birth to a little girl. The free treatment was received by Katie Foster. The value was as high as £8,000. This occurred because Facebook was advertising a contest which she entered.
IVF Bab-ble was the website offering fertility advice that ran the competition. The prize was eight rounds of IVF at no charge. Fertility Partnership clinics in the United Kingdom hosted the competition to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the procedure. The recommendation of the official NHS guidance is three IVF rounds for each couple. The final decision regarding who qualifies for the treatment is made by commissioning groups for the NHS.
