The birth of twins with different fathers is an extremely rare occurrence, but it happens about once in every 400 sets of fraternal twins, according to studies. This phenomenon, known as heteropaternal superfecundation, occurs when two different fathers fertilize two separate eggs during the same cycle.
For Simon and Graeme Berney-Edwards, a gay married couple from London, England, the journey to parenthood was unique. Both men wanted to be the biological father of their first child, and after much deliberation, they couldn’t decide who should be the one. “We couldn't decide on who would be the biological father,” Simon explained. “Graeme said it should be me, but I said that he had just as much right as I did.”
The solution? In vitro fertilization (IVF). However, for both of them to be fathers, they needed to find a doctor who would implant embryos from two separate fathers into the same surrogate. Since this wasn’t an option in the UK, they began searching for a doctor and a surrogate abroad.
That’s when they connected with Meg Stone, a Canadian woman who had recently split from her partner. Meg was already a mother of two children, Jeffrey and Max, and was looking for a way to help others. “I saw Simon and Graeme's profile on a surrogacy website and I thought they had lovely smiles,” she recalled. She agreed to carry their children, and after meeting her in Canada, the couple was sure they had found the perfect surrogate.
The couple traveled to Los Angeles, where Simon and Graeme fertilized eggs from an anonymous donor. Six months later, both Simon’s and Graeme’s embryos were implanted in Meg’s womb. After a nerve-wracking week, the couple received the joyful news that both embryos had implanted, and they were going to be dads to twins.
Simon shared the emotional moment: “She FaceTimed us from the scanning room. First of all, we saw one heartbeat, and our stomach clenched with nerves. Then we saw the other heartbeat. Graeme and I just hugged each other.”
As the pregnancy progressed, the couple stayed in close contact with Meg. At 31 weeks, Meg thought she was going into labor, prompting the fathers to fly to Canada. It turned out to be a false alarm, but they were relieved to know that Meg and the babies were fine. Five weeks later, Meg gave birth to Calder and Alexandra Berney-Edwards.
“It was the most amazing experience of our lives,” Simon said. “Alexandra was born first, and then Calder arrived minutes later. When we both held them for the first time, we couldn’t believe that we were both daddies.” Simon also noted that Calder looked just like Graeme, while Alexandra resembled him.
The couple stayed in Canada for seven weeks before they could bring the twins home to England. While they were overjoyed to have their babies, it was bittersweet to leave Meg behind. “It was sad to say goodbye to Meg. When we brought them home for the first time, it was just incredible,” Simon recalled.
The twins celebrated their first birthday recently, and Simon and Graeme invited Meg to join them for the special occasion. “Simon and Graeme are like brothers to me now,” Meg said. “They call me the twins ‘Tummy Mummy,' which I love.”
Now, the family is thriving, with Calder and Alexandra hitting all their milestones, and the bond between them, their fathers, and Meg continues to grow stronger.