A WOMAN says helping her husband impregnate her best friend was the best decision she’s ever made.
Kimberley Allen had dreamed about becoming a mum ever since she was a little girl.
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But after several devastating miscarriages, the 33-year-old gave up hope.
After meeting husband Jamie, 35, the pair accepted that they’d never become parents until Kimberley’s best friend Becky, 33, offered to have a baby that was half hers and half Jamie’s.
“For a moment, I thought I’d misheard her – but I hadn’t,” Kimberley, from Portsmouth, told What’s The Jam.
“Jamie and I sat in stunned silence for a few minutes before I questioned her.
“Becki said she wanted to be a surrogate for us, which cleared up things.
“I felt overwhelmed and full of love for her.
“My child being biologically hers just made our bond even closer.
“I just remember feeling so happy that I had helped my husband impregnate my best friend – a sentence I never thought I’d say.”
Kimberley and Becki met in school, where they quickly became inseparable.
Aged 15, Kimberley was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition that affects how the ovaries work, and was told that she would struggle to have children.
She said: “Being a mum was my biggest dream in life.
“I turned to Becki for comfort and we remained the best of friends, even when she went on to have three children of her own.
“I was so pleased for her, and I wasn’t envious at all, and so I stopped wondering when – or if – it would happen for me.”
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But thanks to Becki’s selfless deed, they were able to get the ball rolling in February 2022.
With no surrogacy agency, the trio made the deposit themselves at home – with Jamie putting his sperm in a cup, and Kimberley injecting it into Becki using a liquid medicine syringe.
On their third attempt, the couple’s dream was finally coming true.
What is surrogacy?
Surrogacy is the name given for a type of pregnancy where a woman carries and gives birth to another person’s baby.
The surrogate mother is then expected to give up the baby at birth, so it can be raised by the couple who originally wanted the baby.
Surrogacy is often an option for those unable to have children themselves, or for same sex couples.
According to surrogacy charity Childlessness Overcome Through Surrogacy (COTS), there are two different types of surrogacy.
- Traditional surrogacy: When the surrogate uses her own egg fertilised with the intended father’s sperm.
- Gestational surrogacy: The surrogate carries the intended parent’s genetic child conceived through IVF, for which specialist doctors are needed.
How are surrogate babies conceived?
In traditional surrogacy procedures, the egg is artificially inseminated using a syringe.
Gestational surrogacy is carried out through IVF.
During this in vitro fertilisation process, the egg is removed from the woman’s ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory.
The embryo is then planted in the surrogate’s womb to grow and develop.
This procedure must be carried out by specialist doctors and the biological mother is required to still have working ovaries.
Kimberly, a canine fertility specialist, said: “I couldn’t believe it, I was completely speechless when Becki showed us the positive pregnancy test.
“All our friends and family were so supportive and each kick felt like a tiny miracle.
“While all eyes were on Becki and her bump, I didn’t feel jealous in the slightest.”
In October 2022, Becki gave birth to little Roxanne Nicola Allen, now two.
And their happy family is now complete.
There are no words to describe how thankful I am to Becki
Kimberley Allen
Kimberley added: “I fell head over heels in love with my baby girl.
“I couldn’t believe that we were finally parents – it still feels surreal.
“There are no words to describe how thankful I am to Becki.
“I had always considered her my sister, but now there really is a piece of her DNA in my family.
“Our daughter looks very much like me when I was young – no one would ever know or question it if I didn’t tell them.
“I thought my dream of being a mum had been taken away from me for good – but she made it finally come true.”
