Hereford woman born without a womb is now a mother after parents paid £22k for IVF

A woman who was born without a womb has realised her dreams of becoming a mother – after her parents paid for her younger sister to carry her baby.

Faye Richards, 31, from Hereford, Herefordshire, has Mayer Rokitansky Küster Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, a rare condition which can leave women without a uterus. 

Her husband Tony, 41, a decorator, had three children from a previous relationship and the couple were facing the prospect of forking out thousands of pounds for private IVF and surrogacy expenses to have a child of their own.

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Faye Richards, 31, from Hereford, Herefordshire, left, has become a mother thanks to her younger sister Kim Thomas, 28, right, who offered to be her surrogate

Faye, pictured here with husband Tony and son Ralphie, was born with has Mayer Rokitansky Küster Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, a rare condition which leaves women without a uterus

Faye and Tony on their wedding day with Kim (far left), father Dave, 66, mother June and brother-in-law Jason. Faye is holding her nephew

But in the ultimate act of love, Faye’s younger sister Kim Thomas, 28, stepped up as an IVF surrogate – and her parents Dave, 66, a plasterer, and June, 58, a nurse, offered to foot the £22,000 bill for private treatment.

Mental health worker Faye said: ‘Kim and I were always close, but when she offered to be my surrogate I was staggered.

‘It was the most generous offer she could have made. When my parents gave us the funds to make it happen our dream of being parents was finally within reach.’

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Kim, a health care assistant who is mum to six-year-old Harry, added: ‘Being a mum was so important to Faye I knew I’d do anything to make it happen. I know she would have done the same for me.’

After two unsuccessful rounds of IVF with Faye’s eggs and Tony’s sperm, Kim – who is engaged to partner Jason Baginski, 31, a plumber – fell pregnant on the third attempt.

Baby Ralphie was born in May and is now four months old.

After seeing her sister’s heartbreak over not being able to carry children, Kim, left, offered to be Faye’s surrogate

Faye added: ‘Every time I look at my son I feel so lucky my family helped me have him.

‘When Ralphie’s older I’ll tell him that we wanted him so much his Auntie Kim and Grandma and Grandpa stepped in to make it happen.’

Faye was diagnosed with MRKH and polycystic ovaries at Hereford County Hospital at 19 when her periods still hadn’t started.

She said: ‘Put simply, I was born without a womb. I have ovaries and produce eggs, but have no fallopian tubes or uterus so will never carry a child.

‘It was devastating. Even as a teenager I knew I wanted to be a mum someday.

The pair attended all appointments and scans together after a generous gift from their parents enabled Faye (right), Kim (left) and Tony to go through IVF

‘I remember crying to my parents and watching them hold back tears, too.

‘Kim was only 15 at the time, but we were very close and she was a great support to me.’

Mother June added: ‘As a mum, hearing Faye’s diagnosis broke my heart. 

‘Even back then I knew Faye would make an amazing mother and I wanted to see that happen for her.

‘You want to give your children everything they could ever want, but this was something I couldn’t help with. I felt powerless.’

In June 2010, Jason and Kim, then 20, fell pregnant.

But at 31 weeks pregnant, Kim was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and little Ralphie had to be delivered prematurely

Kim said: ‘I was so nervous about telling Faye. I wanted us to be pregnant together.”

Faye said: ‘It was hard to accept my little sister had fallen pregnant without trying, knowing that would never happen to me.

‘Attending scans and cooing over baby clothes with her, I did feel jealous.

‘But when baby Harry was born, any bitterness went away.

‘Cradling him, I felt a rush of love – but I also felt broodier than ever.’

In January 2011 Faye started dating dad-of-three Tony, and she told him early on about the fertility issues.

Kim and Faye’s mother June, pictured here holding Ralphie, spent her life savings on the IVF

They discussed having children together through an IVF surrogate – meaning Faye’s eggs would be fertilised by Tony’s sperm and implanted in a surrogate womb.

But in December 2012 they were refused IVF surrogacy on the NHS because Tony was already a father.

Faye said: ‘It was a blow. We knew private surrogacy would cost thousands in expenses on top of the £6,000 quoted per round of IVF.

‘There was no way we could afford it.’

Faye said she would never have asked sister Kim to carry her child and was ‘overwhelmed with gratitude’ when she made the offer

WHAT IS ROKITANSKY SYNDROME?

Rokitansky Syndrome, or MRKH (Mayer Rokitansky Küster Hauser), is a congenital abnormality characterised by the absence of the vagina, womb and cervix.

Women suffering from the condition will have normally functioning ovaries, so will experience the normal signs of puberty – but will not have periods or be able to conceive.

The external genatalia are completely normal which is why MRKH isn’t usually discovered until women are in their teenage years. 

Many women are able to create a vaginal canal using dilation treatment, which uses cylinder shaped dilators of different sizes to stretch the muscles.

However, if this is unsuccessful then surgery will be used to stretch the vaginal canal.

Following treatment women are able to have intercourse and can have their eggs removed and fertilised to be used in surrogacy. 

Source: www.mrkh.org.uk

That month the couple got engaged and Faye asked her sister to be her bridesmaid.

Then, about six months later, in June 2013, Kim made the huge decision to offer her womb as a surrogate for her sister.

Kim said: ‘It was breaking my heart watching Faye yearning to be a mum.

‘I’d discussed the idea of being a surrogate with my partner, Jason, who was supportive.

‘I was actually surprised Faye had never asked me to do it.’

Faye said: ‘I was stunned. I would never have asked Kim to carry my baby, it’s a huge thing to ask a woman to go through IVF and pregnancy, only to hand over a baby at the end of it.

Tony and Faye, who married in 2014, weren’t eligible for IVF on the NHS as Tony already had three children

‘Tony and I were completely overwhelmed with gratitude.

‘We knew we still had to find the cash for the IVF but finding a surrogate had saved us thousands in expenses. Finally, we had hope.’

What’s more, June and Dave offered to lend Tony and Faye £6,000 to pay for a round of private IVF treatment at a London clinic.

June said: ‘When the girls told us about the surrogacy plan, Dave and I were so proud and wanted to help.

‘Giving them money was our way of easing the pressure on them and showing they had our full support.’

When he was first born, Ralphie was rushed to the high-dependency unit where he was hooked to a drip and given antibiotics

Faye said: ‘They weren’t loaded so their offer meant the world to us.’

In January 2014 two embryos were implanted to Kim’s womb but, two weeks later, she discovered she was not pregnant.

Faye said: ‘We were upset. I’d always assumed finding a surrogate would be the hard bit and pregnancy would be a doddle.’

She married Tony in April 2014.

The following month, June and Dave gave the couple another £6,000 to fund a second round of treatment.

This time, two embryos were implanted, while two embryos were frozen for a future attempt.

After two failed cycles of IVF, Kim finally fell pregnant with Faye’s son – but she was later put under close monitoring after being diagnosed with pre-eclampsia

Again, Kim did not fall pregnant.

Kim said: ‘I called Faye in floods of tears, I felt like I was to blame.’

Faye said: ‘She was my baby sister, the last thing I wanted was for her to feel like a failure. There were so many factors that had to work perfectly together for this to work.’

In March 2015 the frozen embryos were defrosted for implantation, but died in the process.

Three months later, Dave and June gave the couple £9,500 to pay for three more cycles of IVF at a clinic in Cardiff.

Faye said: ‘Their generosity was completely overwhelming, we couldn’t thank them enough.’

Faye, pictured here on her wedding day alongside nephew Harry, her sister Kim and bridesmaids, has finally realised her dream of becoming a mother

June said: ‘We used our savings but there was nothing more we wanted to spend that money on.

‘Tony promised to pay back every penny, but we told him we’re in no rush to see that money.

‘It was our first present to our grandchild.’

That month, Kim had two more embryos implanted and – 13 days later – discovered she was pregnant.

Faye said: ‘I burst into tears when Kim rang. I ran home and told Tony, and we hugged and jumped up and down with excitement.’

June added: ‘Dave and I were on holiday when the girls rang to tell us. We were over the moon.’

Faye beams with joy as she holds son Ralphie in her arms, after her sister became a surrogate and her parents funded £22,000 worth of IVF treatment

Faye tells how watching Kim’s belly grow during the pregnancy was ‘strange but exciting.’

She said: ‘I loved watching it happen. I couldn’t believe it was my child growing in Kim’s belly.

‘Harry loved pressing his ear against Kim’s bump to hear his cousin inside.

‘Even Jason was fascinated. It was an odd situation, with his partner carrying another man’s child.

‘But we all got involved in planning and going to scans.

‘I even bought a set of tops for Kim and me. Mine said My bun and hers read My oven.’

Kim had to be induced and, after five hours, Ralphie was born, weighing 5lb 6oz – but needed medical attention after being born with the umbilical chord wrapped around his neck

But in April, at 31 weeks pregnant, Kim was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia.

With the baby getting insufficient nutrients, medics planned to monitor Kim closely with steroid injections, then induce her within a couple of weeks.

Ten days after her diagnosis, Kim was taken to Hereford County Hospital where medics tried twice to induce her, but both attempts were unsuccessful.

Faye said: ‘We were all so worried. The baby wasn’t growing and we needed to get him out.

‘I was terrified knowing two of the most precious people to me would be in hospital – my unborn son and my little sister.’

One of the early scans of Ralphie after Kim fell pregnant with her sister Faye’s child

Eventually, medics successfully broke Kim’s waters.

Faye recalled: ‘Over the next few hours Tony waited outside the room while Mum and I stood either side of Kim, holding her hands.

‘Watching her writhe around was awful. She was doing this for me and I wished I could share her pain.’

After five hours Ralphie was born, weighing 5lb 6oz.

Faye said: ‘I collapsed on Kim crying as Tony rushed in. But then I looked up and saw Ralphie was a grey-blue colour and the umbilical cord was wrapped round his neck.’

Ralphie was rushed to the high-dependency unit where he was hooked to a drip and given antibiotics.

Meanwhile Faye and Tony were urged to give Kim some time alone.

Kim (left) gave her sister the ultimate gift of love by offering to bear her child so she could become a mother

Faye said: ‘I didn’t want to leave Kim after everything she’d just been through for me, but medics said she’d need a chat with the hospital counsellor.

‘We went to meet our son for the first time and I felt a surge of love. He looked so small and fragile and all I wanted to do was protect him. Finally, I had a son.’

Ralphie’s condition worsened and he was put on an oxygen machine that night, while Faye slept in a camp bed by Kim.

Faye said: ‘I was worried Kim was regretting her decision or felt sad she wouldn’t be the one to raise Ralphie.’

Kim said: ‘Faye kept asking how I was feeling. I told her I felt like I’d just carried my nephew so my sister could be a mum.

‘I didn’t feel like crying, I felt happy.’

The following morning Ralphie turned a corner and started to breathe unaided, and the couple held their son for the first time.

Faye recalled: ‘Popping his feet inside a sleepsuit and nuzzling his tummy, I felt like a mum at last.

‘I couldn’t believe what we’d all been through to get to that point.

‘I asked my parents if Ralphie was worth all that money, and dad said “every penny”.’

Within two weeks Ralphie was discharged.

Medics offered Kim counselling to help combat any emotional issues she might face after the birth.

But Kim said: ‘So far it hasn’t crossed my mind. Faye would be the person I’d turn to if I was feeling low.

‘I have no regrets about what I did – I’m proud of it.’

Now, Kim and Jason plan to get married next year, and Faye tells how she can’t wait to attend the ceremony with her husband and son.

She said: ‘It feels like our family is complete.

‘Every time I look at my son I’ll feel so grateful to Kim and my parents for their wonderful gift of love.’