'I had a baby for 2 dads after my own miracle children - it's a dream come true'

24 February 2024 , 12:56

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Natalie Kelly holding baby Lyra (Image: Mark Radford/Sunday Mirror)

The moment the pregnancy strip turned positive, Natalie Kelly knew that once she'd had her own babies, she wanted to help others fulfil their dream of having a family.

Because Natalie, 38, was told a health condition put her chances of conceiving a child at next to none. So when she beat the odds and had her own son and two daughters naturally, she vowed to help someone else struggling to have a baby.

And in November she gave birth to healthy 6lb 11oz tot Lyra – making the dream of having a family come true for gay couple James and Matt Pritchard-Evans. Natalie, a volunteer teaching assistant, says: "I've helped make a family for someone else and that is what I've wanted to do for years. It's a dream come true for me, too."

Natalie was told she would struggle to get pregnant naturally (Mark Radford/Sunday Mirror)

It was when she was 21 that Natalie was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries – a condition that can affect fertility. Doctors said she would need another woman to carry a baby for her if she ever wanted to be a mother.

Natalie recalls: "Being told I needed a surrogate to have a family was devastating as, even at 21, I knew I wanted to be a mum one day." A few months later, she was still coming to terms with that heartbreaking news when she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma - the most deadly form of skin cancer possible - after a mole on her arm turned black and scaly.

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The operations to remove it went well - but there was another blow to her motherhood plans, as Natalie was advised not to start fertility treatment or to begin looking for a surrogate for two years while her skin cancer was closely monitored. When two years had passed with no sign of cancer returning, Natalie dared once more to hope that a family could be within her grasp.

She'd met a new partner a few months earlier - but before she started to investigate the world of surrogacy, to her amazement she fell pregnant naturally. She says: "It was such a shock, I'd never expected it. Despite the doctors telling me I would never be a mum myself, I was actually pregnant. As I stared at the positive test in wonder, I vowed to myself that one day I would help someone else to have a baby.

"I vowed that I would be a surrogate and make someone else's dream of having a family come true - as I knew what it felt like to think you could never be a parent."

Baby Lyra is pictured with her Dads James and Matt Pritchard Evans, Natalie and her three children - Amber, Chloe and Archie (Mark Radford/Sunday Mirror)

After a smooth pregnancy, her son Archie, now 12, was born. "Holding him in my arms was the most amazing moment," Natalie says. "I'd beaten the doctors' predictions and beaten skin cancer too to finally become a mum."

And, after going on to have Amber, now nine, and Chloe, seven - also conceived naturally - Natalie kept her promise to help others. She says: "I felt incredibly lucky to be a mum of three. Now I wanted to give a little bit of that luck to someone else." She joined the organisation Surrogacy UK in March 2020 and got chatting to civil servants Matt, 35, and James, 34, from Gloucestershire, at a social event.

Natalie says: "From the moment we started talking, I felt an instant connection with them. They married in September 2015 and had been desperate to start a family together ever since. So I offered to help them and they were thrilled."

Matt and James went to a fertility clinic and used an anonymous egg donor. Sperm from one of the men was used and an embryo was put into Natalie's womb in December 2022. Devastatingly, the first transfer didn't work but a second, last Easter, was successful.

James said it was so 'emotional' when Natalie got pregnant (Mark Radford/Sunday Mirror)

James says: "This time, Natalie found out she was pregnant. It was so emotional. There were tears all round. We couldn't believe we were going to be daddies!" As the pregnancy progressed, the dads attended all the scans and shared the whole experience.

Natalie, from Erdington, Birmingham, says: "They told me which one of them fertilised the egg, but they are not telling anyone else, as they don't want one of them to be seen as more of a dad to Lyra than the other. They are both Lyra's daddies and I totally understand and respect their decision."

When Lyra was born by caesarian section at Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham, Matt and James were there, as well as Natalie's birthing partner Rena Miras-Pye from Surrogacy UK. Natalie says: "They were all an amazing support. Lyra was handed to Matt and James for their cuddle, and it was the most amazing thing to see. Lots of people say that they couldn't have done what I did, and asked how I felt when I gave the baby away. But she wasn’t mine to 'give away', really - I only carried her for a pair of very dear friends."

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Natalie was told she herself would need a surrogate (Mark Radford/Sunday Mirror)

Natalie, who is no longer with the fathers of her own children, says her kids love James, Matt and Lyra, with whom she remains very close and spends a lot of time. For the dads, meeting Natalie was one of the best moments of their lives.

Grateful James says: "We first met Natalie on Matt's birthday and it was the best birthday present we could have asked for." Matt adds: "We talk together all the time, and Natalie is watching Lyra grow up with us. It's a fantastic friendship and we can't thank her enough for what she has done by giving us our daughter."

And Natalie's surrogacy journey will not stop here – as she has offered to carry another baby for the couple, to give Lyra a brother or sister. She adds: "We will do that together when the time is right. I couldn’t have helped to create a nicer family and we will be friends for life."

Lucy Laing