It's an amazing gift

Debbie and David Howells, whose daughter Grace was provided by a surrogate mother two years ago, were one of the couples who took part in the City University study. Debbie, 33, and David, 34 - a former professional footballer with Southampton and Tottenham - are a good example of how parents who receive a child from a surrogate mother provide first-class care.

Speaking at her home in Send, Surrey, Mrs Howells said: "When you have a surrogate child, you tend not to take it for granted so much. David and I struggled for six years to have a child and so, when Grace was born, it was something truly special.

"Surrogacy is an amazing gift and I'm certain that I wouldn't love a child that was genetically mine any more than I do Grace."

The Howells also have an adopted son, and they keep in close contact with Jane Parfitt, the woman who acted as Grace's surrogate mother.

Six years ago, Mrs Howells had a hysterectomy after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Grace was born after the Howells contacted Childlessness Overcome Through Surrogacy, which introduced them to Mrs Parfitt - a 31-year-old mother of four at the time.

Mrs Howells admitted that, at first, she found it hard to reconcile the fact that the baby was not hers. But she said: "One day she reached out her arms to me, demanding to be picked up. She knew who I was: her mummy. I wasn't just someone who clothed and fed her. It was one of the best moments of my life."