Woman born with no uterus finds joy as surrogate sister gives birth to her baby

Reporter Sarah Kilburn-Wilson meets Laura Knight, Hayley Burton and newborn Noah

A woman from the Black Country has made her sister's dream come true - by giving birth to her son.

Laura Knight, 29, was 16 when she was told she had MRKH syndrome, meaning she was born without a uterus and would need to find a surrogate to be able to have a child.

However she didn't have to look very far, because her sister Hayley Burton, 33, offered to help.

Mrs Burton gave birth to Mrs Knight's son Noah on January 10th 2022.

The two sisters, who are nurses at Sandwell Hospital, said they describe baby Noah as the bun and his aunty as the oven.

Mrs Burton says: "You'd do anything for your family, wouldn't you, and I had something she didn't have.

"I'd had no problems conceiving my own two children and I just wanted to make a family and give something back."

Mrs Knight added: "It's just incredible for me I cant give nothing back for what she's given me"

However, as it currently stands, when a surrogate gives birth to a child, they are named on the birth certificate, leaving the biological parents to adopt their baby.

This means that Mrs Burton and her husband are being named on Noah's birth certificate.

But as Michael Johnson-Ellis from My Surrogacy Journey explains, these laws could potentially be changing later this year.

He said: "So currently the issues are in the UK isn't fit for purpose and what that means is that when a surrogate gives birth to a child the surrogate and their spouse is legally recognised as the legal parents of that child

"Thankfully this year in the Autumn the law commission will be releasing a draft bill of a new potential surrogacy law.

"So that's great news so that will mean that the intended parents of that child will become the legal parents and have parental responsibility from birth, which is something that parents through surrogacy at the moment don't currently have."