Kaitlyn and her mom, Chalise, holding baby Alayna. (PHOTO: Instagram/creatingourfam)
Chalise Smith (50), from Utah in the US, made her daughter Kaitlyn Munoz’s (25) dreams come true when she gave birth to her own granddaughter and her daughter’s baby girl.
Kaitlyn, the third of eight children, had always dreamed of having a big family of her own but health issues prevented her and her husband, Miguel, from conceiving.
After Kaitlyn was diagnosed with endometriosis, the couple began the emotionally taxing journey of conceiving through IVF. It all proved worth it though, when the couple had their first child, Callahan.
Recently, the Department of Health Research (DHR), under the Union Health Ministry, has constituted the National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board (NARTSB) headed by the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare as the chairperson. The constitution of the Board is part of the implementation of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 to regulate Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) clinics, banks and surrogacy in the country.
The ART (Regulation) Act was notified by the Central government on December 21, 2021and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act was notified on December 25, 2021. Under the Act, the NARTSB has powers to advise the Central government on policy matters relating to the ART, to review and monitor the implementation of the Act, rules and regulations, to lay down code of conduct to be observed by persons working at clinics and banks, to set the minimum standards of physical infrastructure, laboratory and diagnostic equipment and expert manpower to be employed by the clinics and banks. The board also has to oversee the performance of various bodies constituted under the Act and supervise the functioning of the National Registry and liaison with the State Boards and pass orders as per the provisions made under the Act.
A Utah mom has given birth to her granddaughter as a surrogate for her daughter, who was unable to carry her own child.
Chalise Smith – a 50-year-old mother of eight – gave birth to her granddaughter on 17 May, after her daughter Kaitlyn Munoz had struggled with infertility for three years.
Munoz, 25, was told she should not attempt another pregnancy after being diagnosed with endometriosis, and later Sjögren’s syndrome – a disease in which a person’s immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s cells and tissues.
Nationwide Egg Donation and Surrogacy in Meridian is seeing fewer women sign up to become surrogates, causing long waitlists for people hoping to become parents.
MERIDIAN, Idaho — Many people dream of becoming a parent, whether it’s a couple or an individual. Those who experience infertility, pregnancy loss, or cannot safely carry a baby to term, turn to surrogates to help them achieve that dream, but there aren’t enough surrogates to meet the current need.
“A surrogate is someone that is carrying somebody else’s biological child,” said Tiffany Valentine, president of Nationwide Egg Donation and Surrogacy. “So, the surrogate is not carrying a baby that does not have any genetic relation to her. She’s just the amazing person carrying it for a family.”
