'It is an amazing gift': My sister gave birth to the baby I longed for
WHEN Maxine Beckett lost five babies over 19 years she thought she would never be a mother.
But her sister Dawn was determined to make her sibling’s dreams come true and offered to be a surrogate.
She gave birth to her niece Emily in October, and now Mrs Beckett says:
“It is an amazing gift that Dawn has given me. “All these years I thought I would never be a mum.
“To lose so many babies was just heartbreaking. Now Dawn has changed my life in a way I never thought would be possible.
Emily is a miracle come true for us.” Mrs Beckett, 41, of Sheffield, had already had a miscarriage one year before meeting her husband Paul in 1995.
They tried for a family straight away but for five years nothing happened.
In 2000 she fell pregnant, but suffered her second miscarriage, and after IVF treatment in 2003 she had an ectopic pregnancy and had to have a Fallopian tube removed.
“I thought I was destined to never become a mum,” says Mrs Beckett, who suffered a fourth miscarriage in 2004 and then a fifth in 2005.
At that time her sister Dawn, mother to Liam and Lily with husband Bob, was also pregnant.
Mrs Beckett says: “When Dawn gave birth to Liam it was heartbreaking. I was so happy for her but it was so sad because it was a reminder for me of what I had lost.”
My little girl was handed to me and the 19 years of heartbreak just melted away
The couple had started to discuss adoption when Dawn’s offer came.
“I couldn’t believe Dawn was actually offering to have a baby for me,” says Mrs Beckett.
“I didn’t think she was serious at first, then it started to sink in. I was worried about her going through pregnancy for me and didn’t want anything to happen to her.”
The couple contacted a surrogacy specialist and had tests and counselling, then Mrs Beckett’s eggs were harvested and fertilised with Paul’s sperm.
Two weeks later Dawn was pregnant. Mrs Beckett says: “It was the most emotional moment.”
Emily was born in October, weighing a healthy 7lb 4oz and Mrs Beckett says:
“My little girl was handed to me and the 19 years of heartbreak just melted away.
“I couldn’t believe I was finally a mum, and it was all thanks to my sister. She had made all my dreams come true.”
