Cecile Eledge was 59 when she offered this to her son Matthew and his husband, Elliot Dougherty: she would carry the baby the couple couldn’t have. At first, they thought it was a joke.
Cecile had already gone through menopause. Even so, her blood tests, cholesterol, stress levels, mammogram, and ultrasound all came back favorable. The doctors warned her about health risks, but she never had any doubts: she saw no reason to think she couldn’t have the baby.
The egg was donated by Elliot’s sister, and the sperm came from Matthew. Cecile became pregnant on the first try with in vitro fertilization, and the pregnancy went smoothly.
On March 25, 2019, Uma Louise was born at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha: five pounds and 13 ounces, and healthy.
At 61, Cecile had carried the baby while being her grandmother, the mother of her biological father, and the mother-in-law of the egg donor all at once.
