Audio By Carbonatix
A woman in her 50s will give birth to her own children after becoming a surrogate mother for her infertile daughter.
Cathy Donnelly, 58, is six months pregnant and will welcome her seventh grandchild into the world when she gives birth to her - before daughter Shannon Fischer raises the baby.
Mrs Fischer and her husband Jamie had been trying for two years when they discovered they couldn’t conceive due to scarring in her uterus.
So Mrs Donnelly mother of three and a grandmother of six, volunteered to be a surrogate mother for her daughter.
Mrs Fischer said: 'The day I came home from my surgery mum said "I'll do it". She didn't hesitate.'
Mrs Donnelly, from London in Ontario, Canada, said: 'I felt bad for them - I just thought what’s nine months of my life? They are going to have a child for the rest of theirs? It's not like I'm busy doing anything.'
Michael Murray, specialist at the Northern California Fertility Medical Center, says though there have been cases of mothers acting as surrogate for their daughters before it is typically something the medical community does not advise.
He said: 'Usually it’s a close friend or a sister that acts as the gestational carrier - women who are over 45-years-old are not normally in good enough health.
'Pregnancy for older women is much riskier. The most common complications are high blood pressure, gestational diabetes and premature child birth.'
But they were risks Mrs Donnelly was willing to accept and while she admits her pregnancy hasn’t been easy, she has had no complications so far.
'It was long process and involved a heavy dose of fertility drugs for both of us but in the end it all paid off.
'I was standing in line for a coffee when I got a call from my doctor confirming I was pregnant. I was just bawling - people must have thought someone close to me died.
'But it has been challenging. Now I’m showing I make sure people aren’t staring or looking at me because they’re probably thinking ‘look at that old lady.'
Mrs Donnelly said she did question whether she was doing the right thing and if everything would work out okay until she started to feel the baby move. Now her only concerns are about how she will feel once she has given birth.
'I don't know if I'll feel like I've lost her, I don't know how I'm going to feel,' Mrs Donnelly said.
Shannon plans to name her daughter Zoey Hope Catherine after her mother. And for her the whole experience has made her cherish their mother-daughter relationship even more.
She said: 'It just changes your relationship 360 degrees. We were close before but it’s just on a whole new level. I want to be like she is to my own daughter, that caring and willing to do stuff for her.'
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Ministry of Gender investigates alleged sharing of intimate videos by foreign national
3 minutes -
Cocoa must be treated as business, not politics- Nana Aduna II
9 minutes -
Barker-Vormawor urges scrutiny of COCOBOD reforms, warns of continued debt burden
16 minutes -
Prince Adu-Owusu: Beyond flowers and grand gestures — How do you want to be loved?
28 minutes -
Seven vehicles burnt as fuel tanker explodes on Nsawam-Accra highway
37 minutes -
Former COCOBOD administration spent syndicated loans on themselves, not farmers – Inusah Fuseini
1 hour -
Mahama vows to end export of raw mineral ores by 2030, shifts focus to local processing
1 hour -
Mahama meets UN Chief, discusses African security & democracy.
1 hour -
Livestream: Newsfile discusses cocoa crisis, galamsey complexity and election credibility in Ghana
2 hours -
Ghana stops cocoa Smuggling by narrowing price gap with neighbours – COCOBOD CEO
2 hours -
COCOBOD CEO admits pricing gap is costing Ghana cocoa sales
2 hours -
Solomon Owusu blames NPP for cocoa crisis, backs government’s new reform agenda
2 hours -
‘Behind The Lens with Queen Liz’ explores the true meaning of Valentine’s Day, Love, Lust or Legacy?
4 hours -
‘I wanted to be an architect but ended up as a nurse’ – Diana Hamilton reveals
4 hours -
From wards to worship: Diana Hamilton reveals how nursing school shaped her destiny
5 hours
