A same-sex couple have finally become mothers together after trying for three years and spending $21,000 (£16,500) to have children.
Kelly Pfieffer, 37, gave birth to twins in May and has revealed photos of her and her wife, Jaclyn, 34, breastfeeding the infants side-by-side.
The couple had tried to have a child for years, spending money on more than 20 rounds of insemination and having 58 eggs retrieved from both of their ovaries, as well as countless other treatments.
And last month Jackson and Ella were born healthy in Oviedo, Florida, with their mothers saying they 'couldn't believe' it had happened for them at last.
The couple say they are 'absolutely in love' with the newborns and being able to breastfeed them together because of induced lactation is 'surreal'.
Jaclyn (left) and Kelly (right) Pfeiffer have revealed they can both breastfeed their children Jackson (left) and Ella (right) at the same time because Jaclyn used induced lactation
The couple spent more than two years trying to get pregnant and finally succeeded with Kelly conceiving twins in 2018. The children were born in May this year by c-section
After meeting in 2012 through mutual friends, the couple started trying to conceive in January 2016. But their journey was more difficult than they anticipated.
'We thought it was going to be easy,' Kelly said.
'We initially wanted Jaci to carry, but after many failed cycles, and a diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome and polyps, we decided I would try.
'We both wanted a baby bad enough that giving up wasn't an option.
'There were times when it felt like we would never hold a baby, but looking back, they were worth every single shot and every failed cycle and we wouldn't change a thing.'
The couple tried inseminations at home and at IVF clinics, had to have polyp removals, numerous consultations, egg retrievals, embryo implantations and hundreds of injections in their bid to have a baby.
Jaclyn and Kelly said they spent $21,000 (£16,500) on fertility treatments as they tried desperately to have children. Jaclyn had children from a past relationship but Kelly did not
Kelly said: 'Since they have arrived, it has been both amazing and exhausting. We're still trying to get into a routine, but I can't think of a better reason to be exhausted – we're absolutely in love'
Kelly (left) had three children from a previous relationship, but Jaclyn (right), didn't have any. Pictured, the couple in the delivery room
Jaclyn (left) said: 'I can't even describe how I felt when I first saw them. I couldn't stop crying and instantly just felt so much love for them. I knew all of our struggles were worth it'
Kelly, a nurse, had three children from a previous relationship, but Jaclyn, a kindergarten teacher, didn't have any.
'I've always wanted to be a mom and carry a child of my own, so we decided I would try to carry first,' Jaclyn said.
Women who haven't had children themselves may still be able to breastfeed through induced lactation.
The body doesn't need a baby to be able to produce milk – the process is controlled by the hormones prolactin, progesterone and oestrogen, which all occur naturally.
One way of stimulating the production of more prolactin, which causes the body to start lactating, is the action of breastfeeding.
So using a pump to simulate the feeling of a baby sucking on the nipple can trigger production of the hormone over time, and a woman could effectively dry breastfeed until milk began to be produced.
Hormone therapy may be used if there is time, raising a woman's levels of oestrogen and progesterone to simulate the effects of pregnancy on the body and thus make the body prepare to produce milk. Pumping would still be used in this case as well.
