A 61-year-old grandma gave birth to her own granddaughter in Nebraska on Monday, after volunteering to be a gestational carrier for her son and his husband’s child.
When Matthew Eledge, 32, and Elliot Dougherty, 29, began considering IVF as an option for conceiving a child two-years-ago, the couple say they were amused by Eledge’s 61-year-old mother’s offer that she’d happily be their surrogate carrier.
Having last given birth more than 30 years ago, Cecile Eledge, who went through menopause 10 years ago, assured the couple that she ‘loved being pregnant’, and, if she could, she’d ‘do it again in a heartbeat’.
Meeting with a reproductive endocrinologist in their hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, Matthew shared his mother’s ‘crazy’ declaration with Dr. Carolyn Maud Dougherty, who assured him there’s nothing crazy about her idea at all.
Cecil Eledge gave birth on Monday to her granddaughter Uma (pictures courtesy of Ariel Pancowicz)
Incredibly, she birthed the baby completely naturally and didn’t need a C-section as doctors anticipated
Matthew Eledge (middle), 32, and Elliot Dougherty (left), 29, laughed off Cecil’s offer to be their surrogate at first, and they could barely believe their eyes on Monday
The couple described the experience as visceral and overwhelming
Matthew (pictured with Cecil and Uma) commended his mother’s strength and resilience, calling her ‘a warrior’
Matthew and Elliot have been together since 2012, having met on a film set
Cecil last gave birth more than 30 years ago, but said the journey was ‘so worth it’
Calling Cecile in for a series of tests, including a Pap smear, blood and cholesterol tests, a mammogram and an ultrasound, doctors confirmed her to be in remarkable shape and fully capable of carrying a baby full-term.
‘She has lower blood-pressure than all of us [her children] combined and she’s 61,’ Matthew told DailyMail.com.
‘I don’t know how to describe her; she’s remarkable. I have such a deep respect for her and am so gracious that even as a grown adult she continues to go above and beyond for me.’
With Cecile identified as a suitable host, Matthew and Elliot were once again blown away by another act of kindness from within their family, this time, it was Elliot’s 26-year-old sister, Lea Yribe, who offered the couple her eggs, having just given birth to her second child.
Cecil then went under a series of hormonal treatment to re-induce her menstrual cycle, a prime her for pregnancy.
Using Eledge’s sperm, doctors implanted several fertilized eggs in Cecil’s uterus, and remarkably she fell pregnant on the first attempt.
And, following a grueling nine-months – riddled with heightened morning sickness and frightening blood pressure spikes as a result of her age – her pregnancy finally came to an end on Monday.
Doctors were stunned when Cecile was able to give birth to Uma naturally, instead of the C-section procedure they’d anticipated.
Photographer Ariel Panowicz captured the emotional moment Matthew and Elliot glanced down at their daughter for the first time, as grandma Cecile clutched the baby in her arms.
The pair are animated in their emotion throughout the labor, crying inconsolably into one another’s arms one moment, and beaming with pride the next, as a resilient Cecile stared back at them lovingly.
With Cecile identified as a suitable host, Matthew and Elliot were once again blown away by another act of kindness from within their family, this time, it was Elliot’s 26-year-old sister, Lea Yribe (left), who offered the couple her eggs, having just given birth to her second child (pictures courtesy of Ariel Pancowicz)
Using Eledge’s sperm, doctors implanted several fertilized eggs in Cecil’s uterus, and remarkably she fell pregnant on the first attempt
And on Monday, a grueling nine-months of pregnancy – riddled with heightened morning sickness and frightening blood pressure spikes – came to an end for Cecile, when she gave birth to baby Uma naturally
Matthew says Cecile didn’t find it hard to hand Uma over. What motivated her throughout the process, the high-school teacher says, was the very moment she’d be able to place her ‘grandbaby’ into her son’s arms
Matthew says he can’t wait to see the special bond Uma and Cecile will share in the years to come
The whole family were present at the hospital for the birth on Monday
The couple say that Uma’s birth ‘literally took a village’ to bring together, but they couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of being parents for the rest of their lives
Uma is now at home with the couple as they begin their journey into parenthood
‘The whole experience behind it all has been so special,’ Matthew said. ‘The acts of kindness that went into this all, and all of the support has been truly humbling’
(Pictured: Baby Uma)
‘Growing up we would always tease my mom,’ Mathew said. ‘She’s very cute and sweet, so she let us get away with it. But in the midst of all the joking you can forget what someone is really like at the core of themselves.
‘But being in that room [during the labor] was such a visceral moment. All the joking had stopped. She was like a warrior – so strong. I just have such a deep respect for her and the incredible woman she is.’
Matthew says Cecile didn’t find it hard to hand Uma over. What motivated her throughout the process, the high-school teacher says, was the very moment she’d be able to place her ‘grandbaby’ into her son’s arms.
‘She said throughout the whole process that she didn’t see Uma as her baby, she saw it as her grandbaby,’ Matthew said.
‘In fact she was so exhausted after the pregnancy and birth she said she was actually glad to hand her over before the real hard work began,’ he jokingly added. ‘She said the whole process was “so worth it” in the end.’
The couple say that Uma’s birth ‘literally took a village’ to bring together, but they couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of being parents for the rest of their lives.
‘The whole experience behind it all has been so special. The acts of kindness that went into this all, and all of the support has been truly humbling.
‘Uma will now have some incredible female role models to look up to in Lea and my mother. I can’t wait for her to develop an incredibly special bond with them both.’