Cecile Eledge, 61, Woman Gives Birth to Her Gay Son's Daughter in a Surrogacy First

A Nebraskan woman has gone above and beyond to show support to her gay son. She offered to be the surrogate to give birth to her son’s daughter at the age of 61.

In March Cecile Eledge gave birth to her own granddaughter. She had chosen to be her gay son’s surrogate so that he and his husband could have a child together.

Cecile carried her son Matthew Eledge, 32, and his husband Elliot Dougherty’s child to term. The baby girl was named Uma Louise.

Cecile first made the offer to be a surrogate when her son and Dougherty, 29, mentioned their wish to start a family. Recalling the moment she said: "Of course, they all laughed.”

At the time she was 59 and her family assumed she was joking and didn’t take it as a viable option. Her son-in-law stated: "It just seemed like a really beautiful sentiment on her part. She's such a selfless woman."

Cecile added:

“I just jumped right in with both feet and was ready to help them in any way that I could. We do kind of joke because I did tell everybody there was a small part of me, when I did mention I would do it, I thought, ‘There’s really no way I could do this! I’m too old!’"

The couple, who live in Omaha close to Cecile and her husband, then began researching what options they had to have a baby. A fertility doctor told them Matthew’s mother was, indeed, a viable option.

"There was no reason whatsoever to doubt that I could carry the baby."

Cecile was then brought in for an interview and went through a series of tests. The results were all positive and her idea to be their surrogate was given the green light.

Cecile confidently stated: "I'm very health conscious. There was no reason whatsoever to doubt that I could carry the baby." Her son was the sperm donor and Dougherty's sister Lea was chosen as the egg donor.

Hairdresser Dougherty shared that in vitro fertilization (IVF) was the "only hope" they had to conceive a biological child. Matthew, a public school teacher added: "We always knew we had to be unique and think outside the box with this.”

The pregnancy was generally smooth for Cecile and her other two children suffered a slight "shock factor" over the news but they soon turned around and were supportive. Speaking about how Uma’s birth had been received her grandmother and surrogate said: "This little girl is surrounded by so much support, she's going to grow up in a loving family. This was how it was meant to be."

In a, somewhat, similar story Jill Noe, 35, carried twin babies for her fraternal twin sister Whitney Bliesner. Noe’s sister has a genetic disorder that left her with tumors and she had to go through chemotherapy.

Bliesner now has impaired hearing and eyesight. Noe went through IVF to carry her sister’s twins by using donor eggs and sperm from Bliesner’s husband.

On June 7, Rhett and Rhenley were born.