NE - Grandmother gives birth to her granddaughter at age 61, Gretna, 25 Mar 2019

[sweetcaro]

Nobody is looking at the fact that this kid might have hidden deleterious genes that will come out in the upcoming months and years, but are focusing on the fact that this woman went through post-menopausal IVF treatment. If the gay men did not want to adopt–and they have every right not to—they could have found another female surrogate. That is my problem. We don't know what recessive illness this child may have. Poor thing.

I think you are confused. One man's mother, the others sister. No shared dna. Nothing can pass on from grandma obviously.

 

[flute4peace]

Nobody is looking at the fact that this kid might have hidden deleterious genes that will come out in the upcoming months and years, but are focusing on the fact that this woman went through post-menopausal IVF treatment. If the gay men did not want to adopt–and they have every right not to—they could have found another female surrogate. That is my problem. We don't know what recessive illness this child may have. Poor thing.

Huh?

 

[jjenny]

Nobody is looking at the fact that this kid might have hidden deleterious genes that will come out in the upcoming months and years, but are focusing on the fact that this woman went through post-menopausal IVF treatment. If the gay men did not want to adopt–and they have every right not to—they could have found another female surrogate. That is my problem. We don't know what recessive illness this child may have. Poor thing.

Surrogate doesn't pass on genes to the child. There are not going to be any recessive illness.

 

[mickey2942]

I presume grandma really wanted to be a grandma in which case it's not really a sacrifice. With a gay son how was she going to become that grandma otherwise?

As unusual as this situation is, I prefer it over wealthy people "buying" an incubator for their child. It smacks of exploitation in the worst way.

Many countries have made surrogacy illegal, because the women who provided the service were often trafficked, and not willing participants.

 

[nightowl1975]

Nobody is looking at the fact that this kid might have hidden deleterious genes that will come out in the upcoming months and years, but are focusing on the fact that this woman went through post-menopausal IVF treatment. If the gay men did not want to adopt–and they have every right not to—they could have found another female surrogate. That is my problem. We don't know what recessive illness this child may have. Poor thing.

This baby shares exactly ZERO genetic material with the grandmother/woman who carried the baby. None. There is a ZERO percent chance that this baby will have some sort of “recessive illness” due to the fact that she was carried by a 61 year old woman. It seems a basic Biology course would be helpful for the sake of intelligent discussion.

 

[nightowl1975]

Color me not impressed. I get sick of hearing both remarks about people unwilling to adopt and then praise for situations like this. Someone used his sil's egg's and his mother's uterus to hold a baby they created in vitro because it's the only way humanly possible. Just because something can be done it doesn't mean it should be done. And being willing to go to great expensive scientific lengths to create a biological child rather than opening your home up to one of all the children in need doesn't lead me to assume this home will just have loads of love.

Do you believe assisted reproduction should not be used in any circumstance? Obviously there are children who need homes, so it seems to me that what you’re saying is nobody should use modern medicine to have a biological child. If they can’t get pregnant “the old fashioned way”, they should adopt? Is that your stance? No medication to help regulate hormones to produce viable eggs? No surgery to open blocked Fallopian tubes? No medication or surgery to treat low sperm counts? No artificial insemination, IVF, donor sperm, donor eggs, surrogates, etc? Or is it just gay people who should adopt?

People kill me with their “you should just adopt” comments. As if adoption is like ordering a number two at the Chick fil A drive through. Adopting a healthy newborn of the same race as a middle class heterosexual couple is hard enough... try doing it as a gay couple, or older couple, or couple who doesn’t have a ton of money, etc etc etc.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

This isn't the first time that a grandmother has acted as a surrogate for one of her own offspring, and it probably won't be the last. Here's a grandmother surrogate from 2016:

Grandmother gives birth to granddaughter - CNN

ETA - Triplets in 2005:

Surrogate gives birth to her own triplet grandchildren - BioNews

 

[Deleted member 50844]

Do you believe assisted reproduction should not be used in any circumstance? Obviously there are children who need homes, so it seems to me that what you’re saying is nobody should use modern medicine to have a biological child. If they can’t get pregnant “the old fashioned way”, they should adopt? Is that your stance? No medication to help regulate hormones to produce viable eggs? No surgery to open blocked Fallopian tubes? No medication or surgery to treat low sperm counts? No artificial insemination, IVF, donor sperm, donor eggs, surrogates, etc? Or is it just gay people who should adopt?

People kill me with their “you should just adopt” comments. As if adoption is like ordering a number two at the Chick fil A drive through. Adopting a healthy newborn of the same race as a middle class heterosexual couple is hard enough... try doing it as a gay couple, or older couple, or couple who doesn’t have a ton of money, etc etc etc.

I heart you.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

I presume grandma really wanted to be a grandma in which case it's not really a sacrifice. With a gay son how was she going to become that grandma otherwise?

There are other options available for the men to have a biological child. They could have used a non-familial gestational carrier and an egg donor. That is the usual way in which a same sex couple has a baby.

 

[kaen]

While I don't think I could do it, this grandmother gave to these men and this family a great gift. As an adoptive parent, I can say the process is long, hard, and, in many cases, expensive. This is an incredible family story of love and devotion. Congratulations to them all.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

There are other options available for the men to have a biological child. They could have used a non-familial gestational carrier and an egg donor. That is the usual way in which a same sex couple has a baby.

Not everyone can afford the hefty price tag for non-familial surrogacy services. Most of the information I've seen online is generally advertising for surrogacy agencies/services, so I don't want to post it here (against TOS).

ETA: Magazine article provides the basics of surrogacy, costs, etc.

Surrogate Pregnancy, Explained - How Much Does Surrogacy Cost

 

[jjenny]

There are other options available for the men to have a biological child. They could have used a non-familial gestational carrier and an egg donor. That is the usual way in which a same sex couple has a baby.

And? It would have cost a whole lot more to use a non-familial gestational carrier.
For what purpose would they pay a gestational carrier when grandma agreed to do it for free?
Some people also seemed to be confused. Grandma was just a carrier, she didn't donate her eggs. Frankly at 61 her eggs wouldn't work anyway. They did use an egg donor, which was a sister of the other man. The child is therefore a biological child of grandma's son and his husband's sister. It doesn't have any inbreeding in its DNA.

 

[jjenny]

Do you believe assisted reproduction should not be used in any circumstance? Obviously there are children who need homes, so it seems to me that what you’re saying is nobody should use modern medicine to have a biological child. If they can’t get pregnant “the old fashioned way”, they should adopt? Is that your stance? No medication to help regulate hormones to produce viable eggs? No surgery to open blocked Fallopian tubes? No medication or surgery to treat low sperm counts? No artificial insemination, IVF, donor sperm, donor eggs, surrogates, etc? Or is it just gay people who should adopt?

People kill me with their “you should just adopt” comments. As if adoption is like ordering a number two at the Chick fil A drive through. Adopting a healthy newborn of the same race as a middle class heterosexual couple is hard enough... try doing it as a gay couple, or older couple, or couple who doesn’t have a ton of money, etc etc etc.

Exactly. As a gay couple in Nebraska I think these two would have had a very hard time adopting a healthy newborn. It'd be likely be nearly impossible for them to adopt.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

And? It would have cost a whole lot more to use a non-familial gestational carrier.
For what purpose would they pay a gestational carrier when grandma agreed to do it for free?
Some people also seemed to be confused. Grandma was just a carrier, she didn't donate her eggs. Frankly at 61 her eggs wouldn't work anyway. They did use an egg donor, which was a sister of the other man. The child is therefore a biological child of grandma's son and his husband's sister. It doesn't have any inbreeding in its DNA.

By the way I know a surrogate is expensive. I was giving other options that the couple had other than using grandma because you said "with a gay son how was she going to become a grandma otherwise".

For the record, I'm aware of how it all works and not at all confused about the DNA of the child.

 

[jjenny]

By the way I know a surrogate is expensive. I was giving other options that the couple had other than using grandma because you said "with a gay son how was she going to become a grandma otherwise".

For the record, I'm aware of how it all works and not at all confused about the DNA of the child.

But if they didn't have enough money for non related gestational carrier, then it wasn't really an option. Which they didn't if you google. They are not well off. One of them also got fired for being gay.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

A look back at the case of Baby M: Baby M and the Question of Surrogate Motherhood

 

[human]

I really wonder about the health of a 61 year old woman.

I developed surprising issues when I was over sixty. Not even a cold for thirty years.

When I questioned my doctor, he said our body is like a car. Stuff starts wearing out.

A mother is considerd old af age 35 for having babies.

Hormones are scary scary things, Remember when it was the thing to give hormones for menopausal issues and then the issues came out?

It is scary enough for a healthy younger pregnant mother but add issues of age and chemicals. That is what worries me

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

To help gay son, 61-year-old woman gives birth to own grandchild

“I just never hesitated,” Cecile Eledge said about offering to serve as the gestational surrogate for her son and his husband.

A 61-year-old woman serving as the gestational surrogate for her son and his husband gave birth to her own granddaughter last week.

The woman, Cecile Eledge, delivered the nearly 6-pound baby, Uma Louise Dougherty-Eledge, at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha at 6:06 a.m. last Monday.

After her son, Matthew Eledge, and his husband, Elliot Dougherty, decided to expand their family, Dougherty’s sister, Lea Yribe, offered to donate her eggs. The couple planned to find another surrogate to deliver the child, but they found the process confusing and weren’t completely confident about navigating in vitro fertilization as gay men...

 

[jjenny]

I really wonder about the health of a 61 year old woman.

I developed surprising issues when I was over sixty. Not even a cold for thirty years.

When I questioned my doctor, he said our body is like a car. Stuff starts wearing out.

A mother is considerd old af age 35 for having babies.

Hormones are scary scary things, Remember when it was the thing to give hormones for menopausal issues and then the issues came out?

It is scary enough for a healthy younger pregnant mother but add issues of age and chemicals. That is what worries me

That certainly is a concern but doctors tested grandma and she was in tip top shape. They wouldn't have allowed her to carry the fetus otherwise.

 

[human]

That certainly is a concern but doctors tested grandma and she was in tip top shape. They wouldn't have allowed her to carry the fetus otherwise.

No one at age 61 is in tip top shape,