A 51-year-old woman just gave birth to her own grandchild.
Julie Loving gave birth to her daughter’s daughter earlier this month, and 29-year-old Breanna Lockwood is happy beyond belief.
In an Instagram post announcing the birth, Breanna wrote,
“My mom was an absolute rockstar through a difficult delivery. The sacrifices she took to bring this little slice of heaven into our world takes my breath away. Holding my daughter in my arms my heart is bursting. The feeling of how I would do absolutely anything needed for this child is radiating through me when I look at her, and reflects back on what my mom did for me.”
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“It’s been a textbook pregnancy,” Julie told TODAY. “Everything’s been perfect.”
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Breanna also announced her daughter’s name – Briar Juliette Lockwood – in loving homage to her own mother.
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Unsurprisingly, all this joy comes after a long period of emotional struggle. The reason why Julie became the gestational carrier was that her daughter was infertile for years. Breanna and her husband Aaron had been trying to have a child for a long time but it didn’t work out for them. She had gone through 476 injections, 64 blood draws, 4 unsuccessful embryo transfers out of 8 IVF frozen embryo transfers, 7 surgeries, 1 miscarriage, 1 twin miscarriage, as well as an ectopic pregnancy, according to the Instagram post. Following a pregnancy removal procedure that left her with damaged scar tissue in her uterus, Breanna and Aaron had no other choice but to find a gestational carrier.
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And that is when Julie came to the rescue. Needless to say, Breanna was skeptical at first.
“My mama came to me multiple times offering to carry for us. My response? I laughed. “you crazy!?” lol… I did not think that was even possible. My mom, Julie, is 51 years old and had already been through menopause! But she was persistent. One thing about my mom is when she sets her mind to something, she goes for it. She’s a hardcore athlete, who’s completed multiple Boston marathons and super into heath and fitness. She sets a goal and she goes for it,” Breanna wrote in her post.
Breanna’s fertility specialist, Dr. Brian Kaplan of Fertility Centers of Illinois said,
“Most Americans cannot afford a gestational carrier. It’s over $100,000.”
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But even he was not fully on board with the idea.
“My immediate reaction was, ‘This is not a good thing.” the doctor said. “Normally a gestational carrier should be under 40 years, but in medicine you have to look at an individual and personalize it.”
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After a number of tests, the doctors determined that Julie was fit to be a surrogate mother, CBS News reported.
Even though Breanna had miscarriages, Julie was totally sure of her ability to carry the baby, and so she did.
“Fortunately she got pregnant the very first time with the very first embryo,” Dr. Kaplan said.
Both Julie and baby Briar are “fantastic and healthy”, Breanna said in her update.
For CBS News’ report on the story please see the video below.
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