A lesbian couple have become the first to both carry their child in their wombs, using a revolutionary procedure.
Jasmine Francis-Smith, 28, gave birth to son Otis after undergoing IVF treatment at the London Women's Clinic earlier this year.
The ground-breaking Anecova process sees one partner contribute and incubate the egg - rather than the normal artificial setting - while the other carries the foetus to term.
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And while more than 100 babies have been born to lesbian couples using artificial incubation, this is believed to be the very first 'shared motherhood' which has involved both partners participating.
Speaking about the incredible feat, Jasmine's wife Donna, 30, who incubated the egg, said it brought the couple together.
Lance Corporal has Donna Francis-Smith has been in the army for 11 years and has served in Afghanistan.
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Speaking to The Telegraph, she said: "We're overwhelmed to be honest, it's blown up massively.
"You get a lot of same-sex couples where one person is doing the whole thing, and the one person is getting pregnant and giving birth, whereas with this we're both involved in a massive way.
"It's definitely brought us closer together emotionally. We're a close couple anyway but we both have a special bond with Otis as well which was helped by the way we've done it.
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"It's my egg, and then they did the egg collection from me and then put it back into my body for 18 hours before being put into Jasmine's body, and she became pregnant."
Jasmine gave birth to their child on 30 September in Colchester, Essex.
The couple have been together since first meeting online in 2014 and she says the procedure made them feel 'equal in the whole process'.
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She said: "The Anecova procedure has really made me and Donna feel equal in the whole process and has emotionally brought us closer together, we are a true family. If we had to go through the process again there is nothing we would change."
Doctors involved in the birth believe it is the first time a child has been born after being in two wombs.
Nick Macklon is the medical director at the hospital where Otis was born.
He said: "This is the first time this has been done. It's very exciting because it means that for lesbian couples wanting to have babies together both of them can be involved in actively creating the embryo and then creating the baby."
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