61-year-old grandmother gives birth to granddaughter
A 61-year-old woman has given birth to her granddaughter after carrying the baby for her son and his husband.
Cecile Eledge, 61, successfully delivered Uma Louise Dougherty-Eledge last week in Nebraska, US after carrying her granddaughter for nine months.
Cecile told KETV she readily agreed to serve as a gestational carrier when her son Matthew Eledge and his husband Elliot Dougherty were looking to expand their family.
“There was no moment of hesitation, it was natural instinct,” said Cecile.
The baby, who was born 2.6kg, was conceived via in-vitro fertilisation using Matthew’s sperm and eggs from Dougherty’s sister, Lea Yribe.
“Carried and birthed by her 61 year old Grandmother, and created by her two Dads and loving Aunt, Uma is surrounded by an immense amount of love,” wrote photographer Ariel Panowicz, who captured images of the birth.
Matthew told CNN he and Dougherty felt “lucky” to have the help of the women in their family. “When you are gay and married and want to have a kid, you go into it with knowledge that you are going to have to create a family in a special way,” said Matthew.
“We are really grateful that both Uma and her grandma are here, happy and healthy. For the time being, we’re just going to relax and enjoy this moment.”
According to Fertility Associates, all surrogacy treatments in New Zealand need to be approved by the Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ECART) before they can start.