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A 61-year-old woman, who acted as a surrogate for her son and his husband, has given birth to her granddaughter.
When Matthew Eledge, 32, and his husband Elliot Dougherty, 29 told Matthew’s mother, Cecile, they were planning to start a family Cecile happily volunteered to help.
“If you want me to be the gestational carrier,” she told Matthew, “I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
Although Matthew and Elliot, from Omaha in Nebraska, appreciated the gesture, they didn’t think it could ever happen, reports Fox 8 Cleveland.
As a postmenopausal 61-year-old they thought Cecile couldn’t possibly be equipped to carry and give birth to a baby.
However, when the couple met with reproductive endocrinologists to discuss surrogacy options, Matthew mentioned his mother’s joking offer — and their doctor didn’t think it sounded like a joke at all!
Although there weren’t any guarantees, the doctor was open to seeing whether Cecile might be a candidate for surrogacy, reports Daily Mail.
Reproductive health specialists at Methodist Women’s Hospital in Omaha ran tests including a pap smear, blood test, cholesterol test, stress test, mammogram and ultrasound, all of which revealed Cecile to be healthy enough to potentially carry a foetus to term.
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“When they made her run on a treadmill, even when it was turned up to the highest level, she wasn’t anywhere close to the danger zone,” Matthew revealed.
“I don’t know how to describe her, she’s remarkable. I have such a deep respect for her and am so grateful that even as a grown adult she continues to go above and beyond for me.”
Carrying one’s own biological grandchild may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but Cecile says she was honoured to do so.
“I thought if I could do it, I would do it. It was kind of a no-brainer.”
Matthew and Elliot were once again blown away when Elliot’s 26-year-old sister, Lea Yribe, offered them her eggs, having just given birth to her second child, reports Daily Mail.
Cecile then had a series of hormone treatments and using Matthew’s sperm, doctors implanted several fertilised eggs in her uterus.
She fell pregnant on the first attempt.
Following a difficult nine months she gave birth to Uma naturally on 25 March.
Photographer Ariel Panowicz captured the emotional moment Matthew and Elliot met their daughter for the first time, with grandma Cecile clutching the baby in her arms.
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Sources: Daily Mail, Fox 8 Cleveland, Buzzfeed
