Woman gives birth... to
own granddaughter
June 3, 2004
iol
Rio de
Janeiro - A woman in Brazil has given birth to her own
granddaughter by serving as a surrogate mother for her
son and his wife, news reports said on Wednesday.
The
53-year-old woman, who has already undergone menopause,
gave birth to Bianca Sunday in Belo Horizonte, the
capital of Minas Gerais state.
Her daughter-in-law is infertile and unable to conceive,
and the grandmother eagerly accepted the couple's
suggestion that she serve as a surrogate for her
grandbaby, the news reports said.
The embryo was produced in the laboratory of the Vila da
Serra clinic in Belo Horizonte by using the semen of the
father and eggs of the mother and then was implanted in
the grandmother.
Doctors at the clinic said the birth proceeded "without
any problems" and Bianca was born without any health
problems and had already been released from the hospital
and allowed to go home.
There are, however, problems with Brazilian law. Because
it only recognises the woman who delivers a baby as its
mother, the grandmother is legally the child's mother.
The biological parents, however, intend to fight for
legal recognition in the courts, the news reports said.
- Sapa-DPA
