Woman who was genetically a man gives birth to TWINS

Hayley with husband Sam and twin girls Avery, left, and Darcey

A woman told she was genetically a man with no reproductive organs when she was 19 has given birth to twin girls.

Hayley Haynes, 28, had miracle babies Avery and Darcey after she grew a womb thanks to hormone therapy. Gazing lovingly at the baby in her arms, Hayley can’t believe that all her dreams have come true.

On the day of that devastating diagnosis she recalls staring at herself in the mirror and struggling to understand. She looked like a woman but was told she would never have children as she had no womb, ovaries or fallopian tubes.

But now, nine years on, she has given birth to her twins after IVF treatment using an egg donor. She and husband Sam, both 28, are overjoyed to become parents, but it has been a long hard road.

Hayley, from Bedford, had no idea she was different growing up. But at 19 she still had not started her periods despite going through other signs of puberty.

After months of hospital trips and blood tests, specialists told her she had been born with XY chromosomes, meaning she was genetically male. She had no reproductive organs thanks to a condition called androgen insensitivity syndrome.

She says: “When they told me I had no womb I was so confused I felt sick. My biggest fear was never having children.”

One man she could tell was her friend Sam. They had been close since 16 and he comforted her throughout her ordeal.

Sam recalls: “She told me no man would want her. I told her that any man worth having would. At the time I said it as a friend – it’s quite romantic that man turned out to be me.”

A ray of hope came in 2007 when 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,” says Hayley. “He was optimistic it would grow. I still couldn’t conceive naturally but I could have the option of IVF.”

The first step was a course of hormone tablets to give her the right levels of progesterone and oestrogen. They would stop her suffering osteoporosis and create an environment where her womb could grow.

Determined not to give up, they paid £10,500 – more than half their savings – for IVF treatment at a clinic in Cyprus, plus flights. And last April they flew 2,000 miles to pursue their dream.

But everything went well and in December her doctors decided to induce her two weeks early. And on Christmas Eve she gave birth naturally to Avery, at 5lbs 3oz, and Darcey, 4lbs 6oz. Although they were premature, the girls were healthy. ...DailyMirror