Pamela Butler has more reason than most grandmothers to think the new addition to her family is extra special.
Because her daughter Nichola was medically unable to have a child, the 57-year-old carried baby Josef in her own womb – in the process becoming the oldest surrogate mother in Britain.
Mrs Butler gave birth to healthy 5lb 12oz Josef by Caesarean section in August, at last giving Nichola and her husband Mathew Pagett the baby they longed for.
It took four heartrending attempts at IVF treatment – in which eggs were harvested from Mrs Pagett and fertilised with her husband’s sperm before being implanted into Mrs Butler’s womb – for Josef to be born.
Last night Mrs Butler said she had been worried about her age, but never hesitated to help her daughter, adding: ‘It was the greatest gift I could have given her. It’s wonderful to watch her being a mum now.
‘The doctors were wonderful and very reassuring. Luckily it was an easy pregnancy and it was the most wonderful moment when Nichola held her son for the first time.'
