'I gave away my eggs to a stranger so my wife and I could have our miracle baby'

Cuddling their baby daughter Quinn, this is the moment that Jess and Charlotte Hunt thought they may never enjoy.

The couple’s joy was only made possible ­because Charlotte gave away her eggs to a stranger to help pay for the cost of IVF for Jess.

It meant she could have the treatment for £4,000 instead of £7,000.

Jess got pregnant after one of her eggs was ­fertilised by donor sperm and placed in her womb.

The 35-year-old said: “We can’t believe we are parents. It was an unusual way of doing it, but it cut the cost for us by nearly half.

“We decided to do it this way as Charlotte didn’t want to be pregnant, and I did.

“Using my eggs in my own body we felt would give us a better chance, too.

“To have Quinn now is a miracle. Being in a same sex relationship I had never thought having children was going to be possible for me.

“I’m from a big ­family, so I’d always wanted them, and thanks to the fertility treatment, it has been made possible.

“It’s great sharing motherhood with Charlotte. And doing it this way, by Charlotte donating her eggs to ­someone else so we could have the treatment, has really worked for us.

“It’s allowed us to have the treatment more quickly, as we didn’t have to fund the entire cost ourselves. And it ­allowed Charlotte to feel part of it all too.”

The couple, of Northampton, met 13 years ago at a party. They had a first attempt at fertility treatment in 2017 at CARE Fertility in the town.

But Jess miscarried at six weeks. She had her second treatment at the ­beginning of last year, using an embryo kept frozen from the first cycle.

That was a success and Quinn was born in November weighing 10lb 3oz.

Jess, who is a designer for a gas and electric company, added: “It felt ­amazing to be pregnant, especially after the ­miscarriage.

“It was nerve-racking in case we lost this baby too. But luckily the pregnancy went really smoothly.

“The labour wasn’t as smooth, I was 12 days past my due date, so Quinn was huge. I was induced and it took three days for me to give birth.

“She got stuck in the birth canal. I lost a lot of blood and was very poorly. I had to have a blood ­transfusion afterwards, but ­luckily Quinn was fine.”

Care Fertility’s Professor Simon Fishel said: “It’s a very special way to start a family.

“Shared motherhood is a new option for ­lesbian ­couples. This way both ­women feel involved.”