Grandma gives birth to her own grandchild
While it might be her fifth time welcoming a grandchild, the way this US woman has done so is a first for her and her family.
Nancy Hauck gave birth to her granddaughter Hannah last week, according to the New York Post, and did so for a special reason.
The 56-year-old from Utah offered to be a surrogate for her son Jeff and his wife Cambria after her daughter-in-law experienced a traumatic birth and underwent a life-saving hysterectomy.
Speaking to People magazine, Ms Hauck said giving birth to her granddaughter “went perfectly” and that they are feeling “so blessed to have her in our family”.
She said the nine-hour labour was a “remarkable and spiritual experience”, but admitted to feeling “some sadness” since the birth.
“Even though I know that the baby’s going to my son, I know there’ll be a little bit of that empty feeling,” she said.
Now, the grandmother plans to take a break from work and write a book about her experience.
Her son and daughter-in-law were high school sweethearts and always knew they wanted a big family.
“From the time I was a teenager, I knew that if I could only be one thing, I wanted to be a dad,” Jeff told People.
"We always had in our mind that we wanted four to six — whatever the Lord would bless us with, is what we would always say," Cambria added.
But, the couple struggled to fall pregnant for six years before having two sets of twins, four-year-old Vera and Ayva and 13-month-old Diesel and Luca, through IVF.
After giving birth the second time in 2021, Cambria was advised to have a hysterectomy and was unable to safely carry more children - which is when Ms Hauck stepped in.
Starting hormone treatments in January this year, Ms Hauck injected herself every day for 12 weeks with the help of her husband Jason.
A month later, a fertilised embryo created by Jeff and Cambria through IVF was transferred to Ms Hauck and she became pregnant with her grandchild.
According to the couple, baby Hannah’s name has a special meaning and is a tribute to her grandmother.
Jeff said that six days after the transfer, when his mother tested positive on a pregnancy test, she was “woken up in the middle of the night, and she heard a little voice that said, ‘My name is Hannah’”.
Ms Hauck was also convinced her grandchild was a girl even before testing, and soon convinced Jeff and Cambria as well.
Cambria explained that they discovered that “the name Nancy comes from Hannah” and that “they both mean grace”.
“I knew instantly that that was her name,” the 30-year-old added.
Since Hannah’s birth, Ms Hauck and her husband have been adjusting to the idea of being her grandparents.
“I hope that we won’t treat Hannah any differently,” Jason said.
“But we’ll always have that connection — that Nancy carried her for nine months. Just the magic of the whole experience will always be unique in our eyes.”
Ms Hauck added that she wants all of her grandchildren to know that they’re equally loved and she “would’ve done it for any of them”.
Image: @cambriairene (Instagram)