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Woman to Give Birth Using Her Mom’s Transplanted Womb: Cool or Creepy?
A Swedish woman is going to great lengths to try and give birth to her own baby
A woman in Sweden was born without reproductive organs, but she’s not letting that stop her from giving birth — with a little help from her mom.
Sara Ottosson, 25, will undergo surgery to have her 56-year-old mom’s womb transplanted in her so that she can try to have a baby of her own. And yes, it will be the same womb that carried her. (Take a minute to digest that thought.)
If the surgery is successful, it will be the first time a mom has transplanted a womb into her daughter.
Ottosson is a biology teacher and sees the womb as an organ just like any other, even thought her mom asked her if she thought the whole thing was “weird.” She said her real worry is her mom undergoing the operation.
The surgery is complex and is expected to take place in Sweden next spring if mom and daughter pass the pre-surgical testing process. If it works, Ottosson will have her own fertilized eggs (using her boyfriend’s sperm) implanted into the womb.
But the whole process is way more complex — Once the transplant is complete, Ottosson will take medicine to ensure her body doesn’t reject the womb. If all’s well after a year, she’ll undergo IVF. The baby would be delivered via caesarean at full term. The womb will be removed when she’s done with it.
The same surgery was done once before in 2000 in Saudi Arabia, but the womb had to be removed ultimately because of complications.
Ottosson was born with a syndrome, Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser, which means that she was born without a uterus.
“My daughter and I are both very rational people and we both think it’s just a womb,” her mom said.
If this doesn’t work, she plans to adopt.
Do you think this is a beautiful attempt to have children naturally or a little weird and she should try to adopt now instead?
Image: Wikipedia
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13 Comments
Anonymous commented on Jun 13 11 at 3:48 pmIt’s easy for me to see how some might perceive this scenario as weird or creepy. However, having also been born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome, I completely understand Sara Ottosson’s desire to carry her own child. Adoption is beautiful, and I have no hesitation to take that path myself when I begin having children. Nevertheless, it’s difficult to be told that the one basic function of your female body (or, at least, a seemingly basic function), bearing a child, isn’t going to work as you had anticipated your entire life prior to that fateful moment of medical discovery. I wish Sara and her mother all the best as they undergo their respective procedures.
shontina caudle commented on Jun 13 11 at 4:34 pmi think its a beautiful way to become a mother. its not ‘traditional’ but now a days thats how it is a lot. i hope everything goes well =) hats off to the mother willing to do this for her daughter… thats love right there
Amber commented on Jun 13 11 at 4:36 pmI think it’s lovely! Science is awesome!
However, I’d first offer to carry a child for my daughter rather than putting us both through an experimental surgery.
tina commented on Jun 13 11 at 4:43 pmwell i think if my daughter needed anything i would give it to her it only shows how great a mothers love is good luck i hope it works ……
Liz L. commented on Jun 13 11 at 4:59 pmI am so grateful for the fact that me and my husband have no fertility problems and conceived our 2 children easily. I cannot imagine what it must be like to not have the option of having biological children, so I will not judge this woman at all. I have not walked in her shoes. Adoption is beautiful. I do not think this takes away from that fact at all.
Teri commented on Jun 13 11 at 4:59 pmThe idea is great but I have to say if you go through all of this & it doesn’t work she plans to adopt…what about surrogacy? Still would be your child, and you could go through everything with them?? But I am hoping for the best for you!!!
Nichole commented on Jun 13 11 at 5:12 pmTo each his/her own. If they’re ok with it and happy I can be happy for them.
Amber commented on Jun 13 11 at 5:31 pmi think that it great the medicine can do this to help them have a child. I know that for those people that cant do this there is always finding a woman to carry your child throughout pregnancy and then the baby would be of your blood and have your genes.
Diann commented on Jun 13 11 at 5:32 pmI think its beautiful!!! However ,, I have to ask,,,why doesnt your mom just carry the baby for you,,, then have a c section and youll have your baby,,seems less complicated,,, I wish you both the best of luck,, I too dont have fertility problems,, and I cant imagine what your going through!! God Bless!!
april commented on Jun 13 11 at 6:13 pmi think that is just a womb that a mother wants to giving here child. i would do the same thing for my child
Amanda commented on Jun 13 11 at 6:42 pmI think this is amazing! There isn’t anything like carrying a child, it’s beautiful that she will god willing have the opportunity to experience it!
Best wishes &Good Luck to both the mother and daughter!
Bunnytwenty commented on Jun 14 11 at 9:23 am“However, I’d first offer to carry a child for my daughter rather than putting us both through an experimental surgery.”
This seems like a much more logical course of action. It just seems strange to go through so much just to have the experience of birth. Either way you wind up with a child, which is the desired outcome, right?
bubbles commented on Jun 14 11 at 3:11 pmGestational surrugacy is prohibited in Sweden (as well as in several other European countries), so transplantation would be the only way for a woman with uterus-factor infertility to reproduce if she lives here. In this specific case I gather that the mother is a UK resident and in the UK surrogacy is allowed in certain cases, perhaps even in this case. However, if they go through with this procedure and it fails, that option is obviously lost.
I am very ambivalent towards this procedure; On one hand – we have quite easily embraced other advanced medical techniques to help infertile couples to reproduce, techniques and practices that are not without risk. And most of us are willing to take those risks, since reproduction is such a fundamental component in our lifes. Who could then argue that a transplantation would be morally or ethically wrong? It is just another technique for assisted reproduction?
On the other hand – is it a blessing or a right to become a parent? I can sometimes feel that we’re beginning to see it as a right and that one cause for the heartbreak of being infertile lies here – it is right that we’ve been denied. I would not like to judge any individual, it is our collective mind that perhaps has changed as a consequence of medical advancements. Difficult issue, to say the least!
Anyhow – I wish all involved good luck with the project and hope for a happy ending.
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