Bath surrogate mum has baby for her best friends

The couple say it feels like Barnaby has "always been in their lives"

A woman who was unable to have a baby because of her cancer treatment has become a mother, thanks to a friend who acted as surrogate.

Cassie, from Bath, froze her eggs in 2017 when her cervical cancer treatment triggered early menopause.

Last year, Cassie's friend Becky volunteered to be surrogate, and an embryo containing one of Cassie's eggs and her partner Jack's sperm was implanted via IVF.

Barnaby was born earlier this year.

Cassie says although cancer "stole" her chance of becoming pregnant, it could not steal her chance to have a family.

It is nearly five years since Cassie was given the all-clear from cancer, and she feels having Barnaby, who is now four-and-a-half months old, has really helped her to deal with it.

"I always said, when I got to remission, if I've got a child I'll feel like I've beaten cancer," she said.

"I could not imagine life without him. He's a little miracle."

Left to right: Becky's partner Jamie, Becky, Cassie, Barnaby and Jack

Cassie and her partner Jack are full of praise for the friend who enabled them to have a baby.

"She put her life on hold for us for a year", Jack said. "There's nothing we can do that'll match it."

"She's just incredible," Cassie added.

Hoping for a sibling

Under UK law, the surrogate is responsible for registering the birth, meaning Becky and her partner are currently listed as Barnaby's parents on his birth certificate.

Cassie and Jack are now going through the process of getting a parental order so they can be Barnaby's legal parents.

The couple have three more embryos, and say they want to find another surrogate, so Barnaby can have a sibling.

They say they it would be too much to ask Becky to go through another pregnancy.

A report released last year by the University of Kent and the non-profit group My Surrogacy Journey showed that the number of couples using surrogates has quadrupled in a decade.