Thaindian News

London, Apr 7 (ANI): A woman in Britain gave birth to her own cousin after she agreed to become a surrogate mother to help her aunt, who had been struggling for 15-years to conceive.

Emma Vaughan, 29, a barmaid, gave birth to baby Maia after she used her uncle Chris Barlow’s sperm to produce the little girl by caesarean section for her aunt Sandra.

The mother-of-three carried the baby during an eight-month pregnancy.

Keeping it in the family means that Maia, born in February last year, has Vaughan’s hazel eyes, and the same hair colour too.

But Maia is “the double of her dad”, according to Sandra, 42, whose struggle to conceive involved Emma moving in to the family home in Maidstone, Kent.

“Surrogacy seemed like our only hope. I did some research and looked at a surrogacy agency website,” the Daily Mail quoted Sandra as saying.

“I was in awe that people did these amazing things for complete strangers but I wanted to do it within the family. I started to think who could help us. I’m not sure what made me think of Emma,” she said.

Vaughan met her 38-year-old husband Alan when she was seven months’ pregnant with Maia.

“It was my choice and I knew I could do it. When I was in the delivery room the doctor said to me, ‘You’re about to become a mum’,” she said.

“I just pointed to Sandra and said: ‘No, this is the mum. It’s her baby’. Even when Maia was born I didn’t feel anything for her. It was just a job,” she added.

Although some would consider the arrangement unorthodox, it is not unique or illegal.

“I can’t thank Emma enough. She has given me the greatest gift in Maia,” Sandra stated. (ANI)