But I only wanted one more!

John Stebbing, Camargue Director: General Liability.

Seonita Avery, Claims Manager at Camargue.

Any guy will tell you that trying for a baby is much more fun than actually getting one. And let’s face it, what could be more fun than desperately trying for a baby after having had a vasectomy.

Mr Nowyouvedunnit* thought that having two children was more than enough. Best of all, Mrs Nowyouvedunnit** agreed. All was well in the Nowyouvedunnit love nest where they were able to satisfy themselves without fear of the pitter-patter of new baby steps. Unfortunately everything changed when the very lovely Miss Upgrade came along. One thing lead to another and Mrs Nowyouvedunnit got traded in for the younger, more aesthetically pleasing alternative.

Having tied the knot, she assures him with an “I love you.” He responds with, “No, I love you more”. But it all goes wrong when she says “You can’t possibly love me more. If you did, you would give me a baby!” Fortunately, Mr Nowyouvedunnit was smart enough to know that before you cut your bridges you need to have a “just in case plan” in place. As all nice men do when faced with a “you can’t possibly love me more, I want a baby!” outcry, he agrees. After all, he planned for just such an eventually. He agrees to “give her the baby”, just not in the way she had planned.

You see, before the vasectomy was done, he had the foresight to freeze some of his sperm. So off they go to the specialist to have the frozen sperm implanted. All she wanted was a daughter. Having four boys, two each from their previous marriages was not enough. Nine months later not one, but two little babies are welcomed into the world. “But I only wanted one,” she gasped.

Those of our readers who, on occasion, have consumed too much liquid refreshment will know that seeing double is usually not a good thing. It’s actually quite different from having a double pay-check or winning the lotto jackpot two weeks in a row. Having overcome her shock, she was now ready to complain. And complain she did. She complained that the doctor who did the artificial insemination did not warn her that her chances of having more than one baby was greatly increased due to the procedure. She complained that he also did not warn her that due to them already having twins, chances of her having more than one baby was also increased.

Although complaining is fun, it’s much more fun when there is financial remuneration to smooth things over. And so a claim was made for wrongful birth i.e. she wanted one baby and got two. She wanted a baby girl but got twin boys. They face the cost of now maintaining six kids instead of five.

Lastly, let us not forget the emotional and psychological trauma.

Just recently a 65 year old woman gave birth to quadruplets also through in vitro fertilisation. There is an inherent risk of multiple births when this option is taken. In most cases this is welcomed by the parents as they are childless and want to have children.

Perhaps the lesson here is to be grateful for what you have because you never know what Mother Nature has in store for you when you push the proverbial envelope.

* Not his real name. We apologise to any other person bearing this name and offer the assurance that any apparent similarity is purely coincidental.
* Not her real name (at least, not at the time of writing.)