5 years of helping families – Matthew brings joy to mum born without a womb

14 Dec 2023

Chloe and Matthew with Louise Brown

Matthew is a miracle baby – his mum Chloe was told at 16 that she didn’t have a womb. Matthew and his mum helped to celebrate Bourn Hall’s Essex clinic’s fifth anniversary with the world’s first test-tube baby, Louise Brown.

When Chloe was 16 she was diagnosed with MRKH and told that she had been born without a womb; the news was devastating.

“I still have my ovaries so can produce eggs, but I will never be able to carry a baby myself,” explains Chloe.

Chloe married Chris in 2018 and the couple went to Bourn Hall, where the clinic collected some of Chloe’s eggs, fertilised them with Chris’s sperm and placed the resulting embryos in frozen storage until the couple found a surrogate.

Chloe and Matthew with Louise Brown
Chloe and Matthew with Louise Brown

In 2020 Chloe and Chris joined Surrogacy UK and became part of their members website. Eight months later they met Sophie and a few months after that the three became a ‘team’. Sophie underwent a Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) at Bourn Hall in January 2022. “I was able to be in the room with her and held her hand as we watched it on the screen,” says Chloe.

Two weeks later it was confirmed that Sophie was pregnant with Chloe and Chris’s baby – the treatment had worked first time.

“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,” says Chloe. “Chris then came to meet him and we were very, very happy – it was just such a surreal moment.”

Matthew tucks in to a cake
Matthew tucks in to a cake

Matthew with a balloon
Matthew with a balloon

Julie Middlemas
Julie Middlemas

Building trust in surrogacy

It can be a lengthy process to find a surrogate, says Julie Middlemas, a Surrogacy Coordinator at Bourn Hall. “Some surrogates do prefer couples who already have frozen embryos as this means that once all the checks have been undertaken the treatment can start sooner.

Julie has seen a recent rise in surrogacy treatments at the clinic and the team is experienced at creating trusting relationships with all parties.

“Our aim is to make the journey as smooth as possible,” Julie continues. “If the couple are intending to use their own embryos, it may be beneficial to create and freeze these embryos with us either before or whilst in the early stages of finding a surrogate.

“Once a couple have found their surrogate all parties are included in the planning of the surrogacy treatment. We hold both separate and joint discussions between the clinical team, surrogate, and the intended parents.

“I feel it is important to create a trusting relationship between myself and the surrogacy party. Their treatment is tailored to their needs, and I try to always be there for them along the way.

“I enjoy my role as Surrogacy Coordinator, and to know that you have helped a couple to become a family is very rewarding.”

Gemma-and-Vic-with-Arthur-web

Find out how can we help you

Book a consultation call with our team to find out how Bourn Hall can help you on your fertility journey

Latest articles

Coping With Christmas 2024

Coping with Christmas: Make your own family traditions

A game plan can help you cope with family get-togethers

Dealing with friends' good news

Coping with Christmas: Dealing with friends’ good news

Your work colleague might also have been trying for years to conceive.

Coping with Christmas: Getting back your emotional strength

Recognising that feelings such as uncertainty, sadness and frustration are natural and infertility is a...

Patient reviews you can trust

Genuine experiences from real patients. See why so many trust us with their fertility care.

image (27)

“We went to an open evening at Bourn Hall Wickford and came away feeling really positive about the place. The staff were really friendly and the presentation was clear about the statistics regarding success rates and live birth rates; their data was very transparent. We came away feeling like we would really be looked after.”

Katy and Leigh are parents to Charlie after IVF

Patient 2023

image (27)

“We chose to make an appointment at Bourn Hall Wickford because of the favourable reviews. When we got there and met the staff they were just so lovely, making us feel welcome and explaining to us what tests would need to be done and what our options were; we just thought ‘yes, let’s get the ball rolling!”

Jess and Fran are mums to Nathan after IVF with donor sperm

Patient 2023