The medical research community is making serious strides in fertility treatments, making it possible for parents with rare genetic illnesses to have healthy babies, and even one Swedish woman born without a womb to have a baby.
When Emelie Eriksson was 15 and still hadn’t gotten her period yet, she consulted with doctors who found that she had been born without a womb, and thus, would never be able to get pregnant and give birth.
But two years ago, Eriksson, now 30, gave birth to a healthy baby boy, the Associated Press reports. The birth was made possible through a womb transplant; the donated uterus came from her mother.
The transplant was performed by trailblazing Swedish doctor Mats Brannstrom—so far the only doctor who has been able to deliver babies from women with donated wombs. Though the procedure is still quite novel, Dr. Brannstorm says that it isn’t unlikely that one day it will become routine.
“I thought this was something that could only happen [far] in the future”
“I thought this was something that could only happen [far] in the future,” her mother Marie Eriksson told the Associated Press. "But then I said to Emelie, 'I'm so old, I don't need my womb and I don't want any more children. This is your only chance to have a child and you should take it'."
Read more about this amazing story on the next page.
Eriksson’s husband Daniel Chrysong went along with his wife’s plans, but didn’t let his hopes get too high.
“I thought [we had] a bigger chance of winning the lottery,” he said.
After Dr. Brannstorm transferred a single embryo created by Eriksson and her husband through in-vitro fertilization, the first pregnancy test gave a negative result, but then gave a positive result a week later.
“I hope this will be a reality for everyone that needs it”
Still, Eriksson wasn’t convinced of the success of the procedure until 2014, when she heard her newborn son’s cries in the delivery room. Her husband was so overwhelmed that he fainted on the floor of the hospital room, and had to be attended to by the anesthesiology nurse.
Eriksson agreed to share her story with the Associated Press to encourage and inspire other women who are having trouble conceiving.
“I hope this will be a reality for everyone that needs it.”
READ: New research shows fertility treatment is more effective than ever
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