My friend promised to carry my baby — now I'm about to be a midwife for my child's birth
Georgia Barrington, 28, was diagnosed with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome at 15 — meaning she was born without a uterus and unable to ever carry a baby.
Barrington, who is from Kent, England, said despite this knowledge it had always been a dream of hers to become a mother.
'It felt like the end of the world at the time,' she said when she discovered her diagnosis.
'I thought, 'What am I going to do?' That's all I wanted.'
7 Daisy Hope is carrying her friend Georgia Barrington's baby as a surrogate mother.
James Linsell Clark / SWNS
Her childhood best friend, Daisy Hope, 29, joked as a teenager that she would carry her baby and the offer always stuck.
Ms Hope told SWNS: 'Naively as a teen you say 'I'll carry for you'. I was always meant to do it.
'At 16 I genuinely did mean it.'
Hope welcomed her own daughter Emilia, now three, and her best friend Barrington delivered the child. It was then she realized how 'incredible' it was to be a mom — and vowed to keep the promise she made when she was 16.
7 Barrington was born without a uterus and will never be able to carry a baby.
James Linsell Clark / SWNS
Barrington said: 'I delivered her daughter. She told me 'you have to experience this.''
Medics implanted embryos — with Barrington's extracted eggs fertilized by her partner, Lloyd Williams' sperm — in Hope and they were all delighted to find out she was pregnant on the second try in February 2025.
Now 23 weeks along, Barrington has been able to share every step of the journey with Hope and will incredibly get to deliver her own baby in October 2025.
7 Hope promised her friend at 16 years old that she would someday be a surrogate for her.
Georgia Barrington / SWNS
Barrington initially started looking into surrogacy and researching how to get the ball rolling – and was luckily able to get individual funding via the NHS to cover $6,856 for her egg collection and creation of embryos.
She said: 'It felt a bit more affordable.'
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Barrington and Williams, a welder, have still had to spend $20,567 on the IVF and Barrington's egg collection in October 2023.
They then had to spend the next year going through counseling and health checks before the first egg transfer in October 2024.
7 Barrington was a midwife to Hope when she had her first child.
Georgia Barrington / SWNS
Barrington had always wanted the moment of revealing to her partner and family she was pregnant so the best friends went to the appointment in secret.
After 14 days, Hope discovered she was pregnant and Barrington told her family.
But at their seven-week scan they were told the baby wasn't progressing normally and at nine weeks Hope had a miscarriage. She went for her second transfer on January 31, 2025.
7 Hope was inspired to make good on her promise after becoming a mother herself and wanting her friend to share in the experience.
Georgia Barrington / SWNS
Barrington said: 'We were on FaceTime on day five and Emilia pulled out a box of pregnancy tests. We got carried away and she did one and we saw a faint positive line.
'Each day the lines got darker.'
The women were able to have an early scan at six weeks, and Barrington saw a faint heartbeat. She finally felt like her dream may be close to coming true.
7 Barrington's baby is due in October.
Georgia Barrington / SWNS
7 Hope and Barrington with Hope's daugther Emilia.
James Linsell Clark / SWNS
Hope's first trimester hasn't been smooth sailing and she has had episodes of bleeding – which has been worrying for them all.
Barrington said: 'Being a midwife I know too much – I see more of the unfortunate cases than the normal person.
'I've been extremely anxious.'
But now at 23 weeks along the pals are feeling excited and more relaxed, with Hope messaging her friend with every single symptom. She even bought bond touch bracelets so Barrington could know as well.
The baby is due in October, and Ms Barrington described the opportunity to deliver her own child as 'surreal.'
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