JOY AS PAL IS SURROGATE TO HER BEST FRIEND

STROKING her pregnant best friend's bump, Georgia Barrington can barely contain her delight.

- BY EMMA DUNN

This is more than the usual happiness for a close pal - for Georgia was born without a womb, and Daisy Hope is carrying her child as a surrogate.

And when the time comes, Georgia, 28, a midwife, will deliver her own baby. The excited mum-to-be says: “If all goes to plan, I'll be there to catch the baby at the end. I can't wait.”

The surrogacy is the fulfilment of a long-held promise between the pair. When Georgia was 15 she was diagnosed with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome, meaning she was born without a womb and can't carry her own baby.

Georgia says: “It felt like the end of the world at the time. It was always my dream to be a mum. When I was diagnosed, Daisy wasn’t super maternal and said 'I'll carry your baby'. It was kind of a joke, but that promise always stuck.”

Daisy, 29, who is head of a school weekend programme, adds: “I was always meant to do it. At 16, I genuinely did mean it when I offered.

“Now, I realise how incredible it is to be a mum and if I'm able to do it, Georgia deserves it.”

The pair have been friends since they were toddlers and now live 20 minutes apart in Maidstone, Kent, seeing each other every week.

When Daisy had Emilia in April 2022 - her daughter with partner Oliver Millson - Georgia was the only person she wanted as her midwife.

Georgia says: “Daisy did amazingly and it was so special that I got to be a part of that day. She told me, ‘You have to experience this’. And she meant it.”