Latest news with #MRKH
ABC News
3 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Meagan White chose surrogacy in order to become a mother, and now has two children
Maree Arnold has an extra special connection with her three-year-old grandson Winston and his newborn sister Phoebe. Ms Arnold carried and birthed both Winston and Phoebe — or Princess Phoebe as Winston calls her — as a surrogate for her daughter Meagan White and her husband Clayde. "You want to trust the surrogate that's carrying your baby with everything and who do you trust more?" Ms White said, while smiling at her mother. Ms White has a rare condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, which has prevented her from carrying her own children. "I was born without my uterus," Ms White said. "So [surrogacy] has pretty much been my only option." While Ms White has ovaries and produces eggs, she does not have the uterus to carry a baby. She and her husband, from Lilydale in northern Tasmania, started creating embryos through TasIVF in 2017. They also travelled to Canada where they created more embryos and pursued surrogacy. "We got to 23 weeks and the baby's kidneys didn't develop," Ms White said. When the Whites returned home, they looked into uterus transplants — which at the time was in the very early trial stage in Australia. "We were going to look into uterus transplants, as in mum transplanting her uterus to me," Ms White said. The mother and daughter flew to Queensland to investigate the transplant option. "They said that the operation would be simple for me but reasonably extensive for mum to make sure they removed the uterus with all the vessels intact, and that's when mum said, 'it might be easier if I carried'." Ms White and her husband, along with Ms Arnold and her husband Leigh, had to go through the altruistic surrogacy agreement process of counselling, contracts and IVF. Then on January 13, 2022, Ms Arnold birthed Meagan and Clayde's son Winston. After getting settled as a family of three, Ms White began to look again into uterus transplants in the hope of growing her family again. Then surrogate gran stepped back in. Ms Arnold, who has also had five of her own children, said the pregnancy process was different — not only a surrogate, but as a grandmother. "I'm a lot more careful," she said. "And the technology — the scans are different and all the apps that you get — it's different. "It's amazing that we could help and carry and make a family. "I think it's more common for an auntie or uncle to carry their nephew or their niece because it's that generation younger, but not grandparents so much." There weren't many surrogate options for Ms White, especially given Tasmania's surrogacy laws. In Tasmania, intended parents and their surrogate need to live on the island state at the time the surrogacy agreement is entered into. Anna McKie, from Surrogacy Australia, described the law as "archaic" and a "form of discrimination" against intended parents in Tasmania. "For a state that's already a bit more isolated, to have that as an extra, is just ridiculous," Ms McKie said. "You're the only state that says intended parents must have a surrogate in the same state. Whereas if you're a surrogate in Tasmania, you can carry for anyone, anywhere in Australia." Tasmania's Births, Deaths and Marriages registry has registered six parentage orders due to surrogacy in the past five years. Ms McKie said she believed the state restriction was from decades ago when IVF laws were first set up and the government wanted surrogates and intended parents to be close "for the best interests of the child". Both Ms White and Ms Arnold agreed the law was "unfair" and that it made surrogacy options harder for Tasmanian parents. A state government spokesperson said the government would continue to work with stakeholders to determine if changes were required. Surrogacy Australia is also one of three fertility groups calling for changes to Medicare rebate restrictions. As the law currently stands, Australians using assisted reproductive technology for surrogacy are excluded from Medicare rebates — even if, like in Ms White's case, it is the only way to have children. TasIVF medical director Dr Manuela Toledo said it meant those going through surrogacy had to pay thousands more for IVF services than those not using a surrogate. "Someone who's using IVF with a Medicare rebate would be paying a third the cost of someone who's going through surrogacy and having to pay for everything," Dr Toledo said. Dr Toledo said the IVF Group and the Fertility Society of Australia and NewZealand, which she is a board member of, were calling for the Medicare rebate exclusion to be changed. "Any Australian person with a Medicare card should be able to access fertility treatment based on their needs, not on their indication of medical treatment," Dr Toledo said. "We're not producing enough offspring to sustain our growing population and it's self evident that we need to help individuals and couples have families if that's what they'd like to do." Ms White said Medicare rebates were supposed to be there "to help those that medically need the help". "It would be fair to have it changed." A Senate committee that recently enquired into universal access to reproductive healthcare, recommended the Australian government implement the recommendations of the Medicare Benefits Schedule Review to remove the exclusion of IVF services for altruistic surrogacy purposes. The Australian government supported the recommendation in principle in February. A federal government spokesperson said the regulation of IVF was on the agenda for the next health ministers' meeting, to be held on Thursday.
Metro
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
The biggest complaint about Race Across The World misses the point completely
I'm a recent Race Across The World convert… and I'm not sure what took me so long. I only started watching the BBC series last year. I was immediately swept up with wanderlust and awe for the competitors as they jumped into the unknown feet first. But it wasn't just the travel inspiration that sucked me into the show. It was the beautiful vulnerability of the contestants, the way that their unique journeys helped some of them work through tensions that have fractured relationships with their teammates for years. Yet this is apparently the biggest complaint viewers currently have with Race Across The World: Too many sob stories. I couldn't disagree more, and I think the programme would fail without them. This year's cast includes former married couple Yin and Gaz, who were eliminated at the end of the third leg; sisters Elizabeth and Letitia, brothers Brian and Melvyn; teenage couple Fin and Sioned; and mother and son duo Caroline and Tom. It's been over a month since viewers were introduced to the teams, and in that time, we've been able to get to know them all on a personal level. Despite a big difference in age, the two sets of siblings have been on similar paths. Sisters Letitia, 26, and Elizabeth, 33, explained how they've had a very surface-level relationship. The sisters clearly care for each other, but there is a lot unsaid, hovering in the air between them. Brian, 62, and Melvyn, 65, also spent a great deal of their childhood apart. They also recalled growing up in a household that wasn't particularly loving, which made it even more emotional when they celebrated taking their first photo together in years, and vowed to go on more joint holidays. One of the most motivational people on this year's series has been Caroline, 60, who shocked her 21-year-old son Tom when she revealed how being a housewife made her feel as though her value only lay in being 'useful at home'. She's thrown herself into the race with vigour and determination, finding a sense of purpose that she's been missing for a long time. Knowing her backstory has made me cheer her on all the more. I hope that by sharing her story, she'll help to instill that same confidence she's found in other womenwho are questioning their value. Without the 'sob stories', Race Across The World would still be entertaining to watch, but this extra layer serves as an important reminder that every single person you cross paths with in life has struggles that you might not know about. For me, the moment that cemented how incredibly special Race Across The World is took place on last year's series, when Betty spoke to her brother James about being diagnosed with MRKH, a rare congenital condition that left her 'without a womb' and unable to have biological children. It was the first time that the siblings had discussed it, and when James later spoke directly to the camera about it, he broke down in tears and asked the camera operator to give him a hug. In a rare moment for a reality TV series, the crew member didn't hesitate to come on screen and console the 21-year-old. Just thinking about that moment over a year later still gives me chills. It made me wonder how I'd fare if I went on Race Across The World with my older brother. How we'd face obstacles together, whether being on the road would prompt us to open up about things we've never spoken about. Would it change our relationship forever? The emotional bits of the show are thought-inspiring. Without them I doubt I'd consider my own life in this way. Whether I'd stop to think about my goals, my relationships, and whether there's anything deep-rooted in my psyche that's been holding me back from achieving my aspirations in life. Contestant's openness has made me realise that it's OK if you don't have everything figured out, no matter your age. That you can be thrown into a situation that you are completely unprepared for, and not only make it through, but thrive. It's certainly made me want to see more of the world, but also reminded me that I need to appreciate all of the wondrous moments of everyday life at home. More Trending So before you complain, I'd urge you to consider – if the sob stories were removed from the show, what would distinguish it from all of the other travel shows out there? Would you come away from each episode feeling inspired or moved, or would you simply have a new destination to add to your travel wish list? To say that Race Across The World would be better if it were focused more on travelling and less on the personal stories of the contestants is missing the point entirely. View More » Race Across The World is available to stream on BBC iPlayer, with the finale due to air next Wednesday at 9pm on BBC One. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Donald Trump's travel ban isn't actually about protecting Americans MORE: The Virgin Island hate is atrocious – season 2 will prove me right MORE: Doctor Who fans fume that character was 'butchered' as actor speaks out on exit
Irish Examiner
08-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Born without a womb: 'It may take time to adjust, but you're still you'
The heartwarming story of the first baby born in Britain as a result of a womb transplant recently made global headlines. Grace Davidson, 36, who has a rare condition, Mayer Rokitansky Küster Hauser Syndrome (MRKH), was born without a womb. However, medical advances allowed Davidson's sister to donate her womb, and, two years later, she gave birth to a daughter, Amy Isabel. Consultant paediatric and adolescent gynaecologist Nikita Deegan runs a clinic in Dublin's Rotunda Hospital for girls and women diagnosed with MRKH. 'MRKH affects approximately one in every 5,000 female births,' she says. 'It's a condition in which women are born without a womb, cervix, or upper vagina. There are two types. Type one affects just the reproductive organs, while type two often means girls are also born with differences in their spine, heart, kidneys, or hearing.' The Rotunda is the only specialist multi-disciplinary clinic in Ireland for MRKH patients aged 15 and older. A multi-disciplinary service in CHI Temple St sees patients up to the age of 16. No such services were available when 35-year-old Anna*, from Dublin, was diagnosed with MRKH 18 years ago. She remembers her shock when a gynaecologist told her she had no womb and would never be able to carry a child. 'I couldn't take it in,' Anna says. 'I just wanted her to stop talking, so I could get out of there.' When she left the consultation room, there was nowhere to go for support. 'MRKH is a strange diagnosis, because you're not sick and there's nothing you immediately need to do about it,' she says. 'You're in the same body you've always been in, but you have upsetting new information about it. There were no services for people with MRKH in Ireland back then, and I used to wonder if I was the only person in the country with it.' Her path to diagnosis had begun as most do: She hadn't ever had a period. Undated handout photo issued by Womb Transplant UK of Grace and Angus Davidson with baby Amy Isabel, and her aunt Amy. Grace Davidson, who received a womb in the UK's first womb transplant, gave birth to a baby girl. Picture: Joe Daniel/Womb Transplant UK/PA Wire. 'That made me feel different even before my diagnosis,' she says. 'All of my friends had got theirs. Why had mine not come yet?' Her GP referred her to a gynaecologist and a follow-up MRI found that she had no womb. 'I was just distraught when I heard this and couldn't stop crying,' says Anna. 'It felt totally earth-shattering.' Because people with MRKH have normal external genitals and ovaries, they typically experience puberty like everyone else. 'They develop breasts and body hair, but they don't get a menstrual period, and it's only when they haven't had one by their mid-teens that anyone realises there's cause for concern,' Deegan says. 'Anyone who hasn't had a period by age 15 should see their GP. It doesn't mean they have MRKH. There are other possible reasons, such as diet, weight, or exercise. But tests need to be carried out to check.' MRKH patients are informed about the physical implications of the condition. 'They are told they won't have periods, won't be able to become pregnant spontaneously, or carry a pregnancy, and will likely have difficulty with penetrative vaginal sex, due to the underdevelopment of their vagina,' says Deegan. Debbie Browne, the clinical midwife specialist in adolescent gynaecology at the Rotunda, points out that it's still possible for women with MRKH to enjoy sex. 'For most women, sexual pleasure comes from the clitoris more than the vagina and the anatomy of the vulva. Clitoral function and ability to orgasm in individuals with MRKH should be the same,' she says. 'But if they would like to have penetrative vaginal sex, we will explain that they can lengthen their vagina to make that sex more comfortable and pleasurable. We will also guide them through the process of doing that.' This process is called vaginal dilation, and involves women inserting a dilator (a plastic mould) into their vagina every day for months to stretch the vagina's skin gradually. The psychological impact If it's difficult to grapple with the physical implications of MRKH, it can be just as challenging to deal with the psychological impact. 'Adolescence can be tough enough as teenagers explore their identity and sexuality,' says Dr Susan Carroll, a senior clinical psychologist who works with Deegan and Browne in the Rotunda. 'If you suddenly learn you're infertile and your vagina had developed differently, it can be devastating. Adding to that, teenagers like to fit in. It can be hard not to feel part of conversations about periods or to feel your experience is not that of your friends.' Disclosing their diagnosis isn't always easy, either. According to Carroll, this can require overcoming two significant barriers. Firstly, there's the fact that many people are shy or embarrassed about discussing their bodies. They don't have much experience of doing so and can consequently lack the vocabulary required to talk about MRKH. Secondly, they are likely to be worried about how the other person might react, particularly if that person is a romantic partner with whom they hope to be physically intimate. Other problems can emerge later in life. 'There can be a sense of grief and loss, and friends having babies can trigger difficult feelings,' says Carroll. 'And if women with MRKH decide to try to have children, their path might not be straightforward, which can have a psychological impact, too.' Intimacy fears Anna struggled in the years following her diagnosis. 'For a long time, I felt as if the light had gone out in my world,' she says. She found it difficult to form romantic relationships, because she felt uncomfortable in her own body. 'I became withdrawn and felt like I was on the outside looking in,' she says. 'I still did the usual things — going to school and college, spending time with friends, and playing sports — but I didn't enjoy it. And I found it impossible to talk about MRKH. I didn't know who would understand how I was feeling.' She eventually found Facebook groups and attended support days in Britain and the US. They proved to be transformative for her. 'I didn't have to explain myself to these people,' she says. 'They got it — I no longer felt so alone. I've since made great friends within that community and they have helped me become more confident and comfortable in my body. 'I used to feel shame at what it couldn't do, but I'm entirely unashamed now. The light inside me has turned back on.' Aware that the psychological toll of MRKH is compounded by the isolation many sufferers feel, the team at the Rotunda now organise an annual MRKH support day in Ireland. The next one is scheduled to take place on September 26. This is not the only support the team offers to MRKH patients. Their multidisciplinary service includes gynaecology, fertility, genetics, nursing and midwifery, and clinical psychology. Operation 'a risk' The paediatric, adolescent, and complex gynaecology team at the Rotunda celebrated the news of the birth of baby Amy Isabel. 'MRKH takes away people's choices, and it's great when developments like this give them more options,' says Carroll. 'Womb transplants are still experimental in the UK and could well be a viable option for Irish women with MRKH in the future.' However, Deegan thinks that a transplant will always remain a significant medical procedure that involves risks for both the donor (if they are living) and the recipient. 'Both would need to be fit and well and undergo a rigorous assessment to see if they were suitable candidates,' she says. 'Not everyone would be, and not everyone would want to put themselves through such a physical ordeal.' She believes it's unlikely the surgery will ever be available in Ireland, given that the number of people with MRKH here is small, and the number of those who would want to be, or would be, suitable for a womb transplant would be even smaller. 'Complex surgery like this should be performed by a team in a dedicated centre with the expertise and volume to ensure the best possible outcome,' she says. 'For Irish people, that means the procedure being done abroad.' A womb transplant isn't the only way people with MRKH can have a biological child. Because most people with MRKH have functioning ovaries and a normal egg reserve, IVF can help them create embryos. Those embryos can then be transferred to a gestational surrogate to carry the pregnancy. Deegan would like for it to be made easier for people with MRKH to access these alternative routes to parenthood. The team at the Rotunda would like to see changes in how MRKH is understood and treated in Ireland. 'Increased education about the condition would mean that MRKH was more widely recognised by the public and healthcare professionals,' says Carroll. 'People with MRKH would then be directed to support services more quickly. We would like more doctors and patients to know that our services are there for them.' Additional resources and funding would also be helpful. 'We want everyone with MRKH to have access to specialist services and not be put on a waiting list to receive them,' says Deegan. Browne adds that her wish is for those who are diagnosed to realise that MRKH does not define them. 'This diagnosis doesn't change who you are,' she says. 'It may take time to adjust to this new information about your body, but you're still you.' As for Anna, time and therapy have helped her come to terms with MRKH. 'I don't have a partner at the moment, but I am open to meeting someone,' she says. 'I'm not sure about having children, but my life is full of meaning, joy, and laughter. There are moments when it can be hard, but I have people around me who can help, and I'm not afraid to ask when I need it.' * Name has been changed What to know about MRKH It's a congenital condition in which female children are born without a womb, cervix or upper vagina. There are two types of MRKH. Type one affects just the reproductive organs. Type two affects the reproductive organs while type two affects the reproductive organs and other parts of the body, such as the spine, heart, kidneys and the hearing system. No official figures exist regarding the number of girls and women with MRKH in Ireland but internationally, it is estimated that the condition affects one in every 5,000 female births. Girls with MRKH have normal external genitals and ovaries and typically experience puberty like everyone else, developing breasts and body hair, for example. The lack of a womb means these girls will never have a period. They won't be able to get pregnant without assistance, and they will be unable to carry a pregnancy. Women with the condition may also have difficulty with penetrative sex due to the underdevelopment of their vagina. They can still enjoy clitoral stimulation and orgasm. Vaginal dilation can alleviate the discomfort of penetrative vaginal sex. MRKH can take a significant psychological toll on girls and women. They can struggle with feelings of grief and loss or feel they are different or deficient in some way, which can affect their relationships with others, particularly romantically. Women with MRKH can undergo IVF, and a gestational surrogate can carry the resulting embryos. If they are suitable candidates, they can now also consider a womb transplant. Read More Why you should always trust your gut when it comes to coeliac disease
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Miracle' baby girl is born from a womb transplant to mom born without a uterus
A British woman born without a uterus has given birth to a healthy baby girl — making the little bundle of joy the first baby in the UK to be born from a womb transplant. Grace Davidson, 36, was diagnosed as a teenager with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome — a rare condition marked by the absence or underdevelopment of the uterus. Determined to experience motherhood, Davidson underwent a womb transplant in 2023, receiving the organ from her older sister, Amy Purdie, who no longer needed it. In February 2023, after undergoing an 18-hour surgery in Oxford, Davidson became the first woman in the UK to achieve a successful womb transplant. She then went through IVF to receive one of the seven embryos she and her husband, Angus, had frozen prior to the transplant. In February 2025, she gave birth to her daughter, Amy Isabel, via Caesarean section at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London. The baby — named Amy after her aunt — was healthy, weighing 4.5 pounds at birth. 'It was just hard to believe she was real,' Davidson told The Times. 'We have been given the greatest gift we could ever have asked for.' 'The moment we saw her was incredible, and both of us just broke down in emotional tears — it's hard to describe, it was elation,' her husband said. 'The room was just so full of love and joy and all these people that had a vested interest in Amy for incredible medical and science reasons.' It was the end of a long fertility journey for the Davidsons — and the crowning achievement for Professor Richard Smith, a consultant gynecological surgeon who founded the charity that funded the initial procedure, Womb Transplant UK. 'I have to say, I walked out of the room in Queen Charlotte's [hospital] with tears streaming down my face. It's quarter of a century — a good proportion of my career,' Smith told The Times. 'I feel great joy, actually, unbelievable — 25 years down the line from starting this research, we finally have a baby, little Amy Isabel.' Amy's middle name honors Isabel Quiroga — the other consultant surgeon for the womb transplant — who said she was 'humbled' by the decision. About 1 in 5,000 women around the world are born without a functioning uterus. Globally, around 50 babies have been born following womb transplants since the first successful procedure in Sweden in 2014. Britain's National Health Service (NHS) said it was delighted by the birth of this 'miracle' baby and expected the medical milestone to offer hope to other women wishing to conceive.
The Independent
08-04-2025
- Health
- The Independent
The miracle babies born following life-changing womb transplants around the world
Amy Isabel became the first child in the UK to be born following a womb transplant, joining dozens of other miracle babies around the world thanks to the pioneering surgery. Grace Davidson gave birth after receiving a womb transplant from her older sister, Amy, in a groundbreaking procedure. She was born by planned NHS Caesarean section on February 27 at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London. Mrs Davidson said she felt 'shock' when she first held her daughter, adding: 'We have been given the greatest gift we could ever have asked for.' The 36-year-old was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH), a rare condition that affects around one in every 5,000 women, meaning they have an underdeveloped or missing womb. The ovaries are intact and still function to produce eggs and female hormones, making conceiving via fertility treatment a possibility. However, this is not the first baby to be born following a womb transplant. The first was in Sweden in 2014, when a 36-year-old mother who was born without a uterus received a donated womb from a friend in her 60s. The woman, who remained anonymous, gave birth to a child prematurely weighing 1.8kg (3.9lb), according to the British medical journal The Lancet. Since then, around 135 such transplants have been carried out in more than a dozen countries, including the US, China, France, Germany, India and Turkey. As a result of these pioneering surgeries around 65 babies have been born around the world. In March 2023 Prue Craven, who lives in Melbourne, Australia, received a womb transplant. A year later, the 37-year-old said she felt 'whole' when she welcomed her daughter Rose into the world. Ms Craven discovered she had never developed a uterus aged 17 and was diagnosed with MRKH syndrome. After attempting surrogacy in Thailand and looking into adoption in the UK, Ms Craven and her husband Tom moved back to Australia where they explored transplants. Ms Craven's mother was first in line to be a donor, but she was not a match. However, Lifelong friend Madonna Corstorphan, 57, stepped in. The women endured a marathon 14-hour operation to complete the uterus transplant. Following the birth of her baby she told the BBC: 'I could never have imagined when I was 17 that I would have a uterus transplanted into me and I would carry a baby to live birth and now have a child from it. 'Mentally and emotionally, it is like a part of me is being filled that has always been missing.' Peyton Meave, 24, was the third mother in the US to deliver her baby, a girl named Emersyn Rae, in June 2019, after a womb transplant. The mother who lives in Oklahoma, said having a child through participation in a US trail had been a 'life-changing' experience, The Guardian reported. However, her pregnancy was not straightforward, at 22 weeks she had unexplained bleeding, which doctors said was due to her having an incompetent cervix, which can cause it to open early – risking miscarriage and premature delivery. Following bed rest she gave birth at 30 weeks. 'She's four now – as busy as can be and super healthy. She's just the light of our lives,' she told the newspaper. But due to the complex pregnancy, she decided to have the transplant removed. Maria Montes was the second mother in Spain to welcome a child into the world following a womb transplant. The baby, Manuel, was born at 37 weeks via a caesarean section and weighed 2.9kg, according to the Clinic Barcelona website. It was all made possible thanks to Ms Montes' mother who donated her uterus which was transplanted in April 2022. Just two months after the surgery, Maria Montes had her first period and, after a few months the fertility treatment began. Four days after the c-section, Ms Montes, Tono – the baby's father - and Manuel were able to go home and start their new life.
