Hayley Haynes was a born genetically male and she, together with her doctors believed that she would never conceive. But she defied the norm and created two miracles - twin babies Avery and Darcey.
The Daily Mail caught up with Haynes and talked about her miraculous journey. She struggled without periods during her childhood and doctors deduced that it was because she had no reproductive organs. This was due to a condition called androgen insensitivity syndrome.
Haynes was born without a womb, ovaries or fallopian tubes. At 19, doctors told her that she had XY chromosomes, which genetically makes her male. This also meant that she would never conceive.
"When they told me I had no womb, I was so confused I felt sick. My biggest fear was never having children," she told the Daily Mirror.
"Suddenly a huge piece of my life was missing. I felt like half a woman and was embarrassed. How I was going to tell a guy I was genetically male when I started dating?"
She even told her childhood friend Sam that "no man will want me." But this proved to be wrong because the two fell in love and later got married.
In 2007, a doctor gave her good news. A new specialist at Royal Derby Hospital found a tiny womb missed on previous scans. "It was only a few millimetres, but it was a start," she said. "He was optimistic it would grow. I still couldn't conceive naturally but I could have the option of IVF."
She was first given hormone tablets that would create the right levels of progesterone and oestrogen, and stop her from suffering osteoporosis. This would in turn create an environment in which her womb could grow.
But in 2011, her local National Health Service said they would not be able to fund her IVF treatment. The couple then coughed up £10,500 – more than half their savings – for IVF treatment. Doctors told the couple that they only had a 60 per cent chance of pregnancy, but they were willing to take a leap of faith.
"I was so nervous. We only had one shot and couldn't afford to go through it all again," she admitted. "I desperately wanted to be a mother and knew if there were no viable eggs or the implantation wasn't successful, I'd be distraught."
But the results that came back were positive and Haynes and her husband were beyond happiness.
It was an even bigger thrill after Haynes went for her six-week scan and discovered both eggs had taken and she was expecting non-identical twins. "I couldn't believe it," she said. "I freaked out, but I was over the moon at the same time. I had the chance to have a complete family."
She considers becoming mother as "the single most amazing moment of my life."
"When I held the babies in my arms for the first time, I was overwhelmed," she said.
