‘I was born without a womb – and am relishing my first Mother’s Day’

Melissa Jackson was born without a uterus and now — thanks to a selfless surrogate — is celebrating her first Mother’s Day.

Melissa Jackson and baby Harvey. Mala Moon Photography

After a long and traumatic journey, Melissa Jackson was 19 when she was diagnosed with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome and discovered she was born without a womb.

Her mother was going to donate her uterus for what would have been Australia’s first uterus transplant trial – until covid put a stop to that.

Desperate to become a mother any way she could, Melissa and her husband Harry did IVF in the hope surrogacy was the answer. They tried to adopt, tried to foster – until their prayers were answered in the form of selfless surrogate, SA woman Rachael. In August, they welcomed their miracle baby Harvey into the world – and next week, Melissa will celebrate a day she thought she never would – her first Mother’s Day. Today, the former Central Coast 29-year-old is studying Biomedical Science to become an embryologist and one day work in an IVF clinic to help women like her.

Here is her story.

Melissa Jackson and baby Harvey.

Mel and Harry with baby Harvey.

“I first went to the doctor when I was around 14 as I started to experience severe pain in my pelvic area every month. However, I was told repeatedly over the years that I was just a “late bloomer” but to expect a period at any moment. I had my first ultrasound at 16 – the sonographer thought things looked a little “odd” but basically just assumed I had a uterus and, that it was just “difficult” to see. So many medical professionals did not believe it could be possible to be born without a womb hence why it took so long to receive a diagnosis. I later found out I was born without a uterus but still have ovaries, fallopian tubes and a normal female karyotype – I’m no different to a woman who has had a hysterectomy in a sense.

When I finally received the diagnosis, I was in shock – as was my mum. I just could not believe it after all these years of being told that “everything is OK” to suddenly being told I was born with a rare congenital condition. It was truly hard to fathom. When I later had a laparoscopy to confirm my diagnosis, I was devastated and heartbroken. There was so much grief associated with the fact that I would never be able to experience a pregnancy, carry a baby, choose when and how many children I would like to have and just to feel like every other woman and be able to relate to other women my age. My choice and options were taken from me. I was always determined to become a mother and knew that one day, my dream would come true. I knew that I would do whatever was possible to become a mum and would never give up no matter how impossible.

Baby Harvey. Picture: Mala Moon Photography

In late 2019, I came across the news of a uterus transplant trialthat was just starting to look for potential donors and recipients at RPA hospital in Sydney. Without hesitation, my mum – who was 64 years old at the time – immediately offered to donate her uterus to me. So, we decided to reach out to the uterus transplant co-ordinator and the screening process started immediately. My mum and I both had to undergo pre-transplant blood tests, ultrasounds, MRIs, CTs, psychiatric review, counselling and sometimes weekly appointments for several months at a time. We later received the news that my mum was a tissue match and her uterus was very healthy – we were both deemed suitable candidates for this trial. I was originally meant to be the first uterus transplant recipient in Australia. However, a few months later, covid made its debut and the trial came to a complete halt – we could no longer continue and ultimately, had to withdraw from the trial as my mum would be out of the age bracket by the time the trial resumed.

In December of 2020, my husband and I decided to relocate to Adelaide and later became members of the South Australian Surrogacy Community group. We regularly attended events and catch ups and really tried to put ourselves “out there” for several years.

Melissa Jackson, Harry and baby Harvey.

In 2021 we decided to undergo a round of IVF to create some embryos using my eggs and my husband’s sperm and freeze them in the unlikely event that we would have someone offer to be our surrogate. I was initially hopeful that we could at least have some embryos frozen.

We ended up having a disappointing outcome with only two eggs being retrieved and resulting in only one embryo being frozen. There was so much heartache and grief after this failed cycle that I did not want to go through that again – at least for a while. In late 2022, the longingness to become parents and have a little family together grew stronger and stronger. My husband Harry and I decided to look into foster care as a potential option. We had an interview with a case worker and ticked all the boxes. However, we were asked if I we had ever undergone IVF or had fertility struggles and, of course, the answer was yes. We were then told that we would be unable to foster due to this fact and could possibly be reconsidered in a few years. This was yet another hurdle and more grief – we just felt like giving up and felt we may just have to accept the fact that our dreams may never come true. However, something completely unexpected and unbelievable happened just a few short weeks after our rejected foster care application. Harry and I have been part of the national Australian Surrogacy Community page on Facebook for a number of years and regularly see posts from surrogates and other intended parents sharing their story. I came across a post from a woman named Rachael who had shared a bit about herself and how she was hoping to become a surrogate a second time for another couple – she was also located in South Australia! I loved what Rachael was saying so I simply “liked” her post among hundreds of comments from others in the group.

Melissa Jackson, husband Harry and baby Harvey with surrogate Rachael.

A few hours later, I received a message from Rachaelwho had clicked on my name and read through my previous posts in the group – and the rest is history. I met up with Rachael a week later and there was an instant connection.

She met with myself and my husband the following week and then offered to be our surrogate. We could not believe a total stranger could offer to do such a big, kind, selfless thing for people she barely knows.

We were so used to disappointment that initially we thought Rachael would change her mind or wouldn’t want to proceed any further. After Rachael offered, we started the process straight away as it can be a rather long process and there’s so much involved. First, my husband and I had to undergo another round of IVF to freeze more embryos and were able to freeze four perfect embryos, so we now had five.

Rachael had her first embryo transfer in July 2023, which resulted in a very early miscarriage. She then had her second embryo transfer in October 2023.

After anxiously waiting 10 days we were told the test was negative. We were really starting to lose hope. The next transfer was later scheduled for December 2023.

Hoping for a Christmas miracle, we endured another 10 days of waiting.

Melissa Jackson and Harvey.

We received the phone call just two days before Christmas that the transfer had worked and Rachael was pregnant! There were many tears of happiness yet shock that day. It was the best Christmas present we could ever receive! The moment Harvey was first placed in my arms was a very surreal moment. It was so hard to believe after so long he was finally here. I felt as though I was having an outer body experience … I still have to pinch myself at times even now – I feel so incredibly lucky and blessed to be a mum because of the help of a truly kind, selfless woman. Since Harvey entered the world, every day has just been amazing – it feels like we have won the lottery. For many years Mother’s Day was a very triggering day for me – my first Mother’s Day will be a day I will always remember because I’ve waited so long to be a mum, and that’s all that’s truly mattered to me.” ■