Lesbian couple pregnant with quintuplets without IVF

A lesbian couple in Australia have beaten odds of more than one in 60 million to fall pregnant with quintuplets without the aid of IVF.

Melissa Keevers, 27, and her Irish girlfriend Rosemary Nolan, 21, used a sperm donor from America to conceive, but were stunned when their doctor announced that they would be having five babies, not one.

"I was in shock for weeks," Miss Keevers, who is carrying the babies, said. "It took me a long time to get my head around what was happening. But now I've come to terms with it, I'm excited."

The couple, who live in Brisbane, Australia, learned that they were having quintuplets during Miss Keevers' five week scan.

They had decided that they wanted a sibling for their one-year-old daughter, Lilly, who was also conceived using sperm donation, but were shocked to hear that they would be getting far more than they bargained for.

"The doctor asked us if we wanted the news, but as he looked pale, we were worried that something was wrong," she told Woman's Day magazine.

"He then told us he had found five gestational sacs meaning, if all went well, we'd have five babies. We can't repeat what we said next!"

The pair found the biological father, a 27-year-old US law student, through an internet fertility company based in America. He has signed away any rights to the children and will never meet them.

"He was doing it to help himself through college," Miss Keevers told the magazine. "We will never meet him ... we have all signed a waiver to say it's anonymous."

However, the children will know that they were conceived with the held of a sperm donor.

"We will say that we couldn't make a baby and so we went to the doctor and he helped," Miss Keevers said.

The couple said they were aware of the dangers of attempting to carry five embryos to full term, but were confident that all of the babies would survive.

"We know it's a risk," Miss Nolan, who is a twin herself, said.

"We had the option to terminate one or more, but how can you choose?

"Nature decided to give us these babies, so nature can decide for us."

As well as medical concerns about the quintuplets, the women are daunted by the financial cost of raising five children. Miss Nolan said that the thought of buying five car seats and cots was "overwhelming" and that they could be forced to rely on the generosity of friends and family to cope.

They have estimated that they will need 70 nappies each day and will have to import a special six-seater pram from America.

"People don't know whether to congratulate us or commiserate, " Miss Nolan said. "But we think it's a miracle and we couldn't be happier."

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/8041346/Lesbian-couple-pregnant-with-quintuplets-without-IVF.html