Woman, 58, due to give birth to her own granddaughter
Julia Navarro, from Utah in the US, is serving as a gestational surrogate for her daughter and son-in-law after the couple struggled with fertility problems.
Navarro’s daughter Lorena McKinnon said she began trying to have a baby with her husband, Micah McKinnon, three years ago.
The 32-year-old said she has had about a dozen miscarriages, with the longest pregnancy lasting 10 weeks.
After several tries, the couple began looking for a surrogate.
McKinnon said a friend and sister both considered carrying her baby, but decided against it.
That’s when her mother offered to step in.
“As a family, we have to help each other,” Navarro told The Salt Lake Tribune.
Navarro had to undergo hormone shots for three months before an embryo fertilised by her daughter and son-in-law could be implanted. Because of her age, doctors had warned there was only a 45% chance the implantation would take.
However, the procedure was a success, and Navarro said she has had a smooth pregnancy, carrying a girl.
As with other surrogacy arrangements, the couple and Navarro needed three months of counselling.
“The psychologists wanted to make sure we knew what we were getting into — that we were mentally prepared,” McKinnon said. “Mostly, surrogacy contracts are with people you don’t know. It was weird to have a contract with my mom.”
McKinnon said she was overwhelmed by her mother’s offer, which eases some of the obstacles and financial burdens for parents using a gestational surrogate.
According to Utah law, surrogates must be 21 or older, financially stable and must have already given birth once. Couples must be married and are allowed to offer a reasonable payment to a surrogate.
On average, a couple can spend about $60,000 (€44,000) on procedures and paying the surrogate, but McKinnon said her mother’s offer to help is saving them about half of that.
The baby girl is due in early February.
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