Mom offers to be surrogate for daughter, gives birth to granddaughter at 50
When Chalise Smith’s daughter Kaitlyn struggled to have a second child, the mother of eight made a decision that, in her mind, was a no-brainer. At 49, she was still physically capable of giving birth, so why not be a surrogate for her daughter?
“I just felt like this is something that I could do for her, a gift that I could give her.”
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Because there were so many things that could go wrong at her age, the decision wasn’t made lightheartedly.
Chalise prayed on it for a while and relied on her faith to guide her.
She told Good Morning America, “It was on my mind daily. I thought about it. I prayed about it, just wondering and asking if this was a direction or path for me, and before I even told Kaitlyn and Miguel or my husband, I just kept these thoughts to myself.”
Her 25-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn Munoz, had no idea that her mom was even considering becoming a surrogate. She was too busy trying to keep her kidneys healthy after an autoimmune disorder (Sjogren’s Syndrome) left them damaged.
But then she got some devastating news that almost put a stop to her dream of expanding her family.
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Kaitlyn wrote on Instagram, “In January 2021, I got the news that my kidneys were not healthy enough to safely endure a pregnancy. I was devastated. I wondered and prayed to know how I was going to continue my family.”
When her mom made the surprising offer, it was as if her prayers had been answered.
But Kaitlyn mentioned three things that needed to happen before she would decide to move forward.
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First, “My mom wanted to be sure that this was not an emotional decision as and she wanted to be sure medically it was safe for her to be our surrogate.”
And second, “My dad had to be 100% on board and supportive, not even 90%.”
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Lastly, Kaitlyn had to be certain that her husband, Miguel, was actually okay with her mom carrying their baby for them. After all, it’s not a topic of conversation that usually comes up when new couples talk about getting married and having kids!
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In September of 2021, the couple’s embryos were transferred. Two weeks later the baby stork delivered some good news – Chalise was pregnant with her own grandchild!
However, she did have some minor concerns about carrying a baby at her age.
She told Fox13, “[I was] going to be 50… I have a bad right leg, [and] just with pregnancies, the sciatic nerve gets pinched off.”
It turns out she didn’t have anything to worry about, as it was one of her easiest pregnancies ever!
In May, Chalise gave birth to a healthy little girl at the age of 50, and the experience has brought this mother and daughter even closer together.
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As for Kaitlyn bonding with her own daughter, she’ll certainly have an interesting story to tell her when she grows up.
“I always tell people it’s crazy because she was grown in the same uterus as me, just 25 years later. It’s kind of crazy.”
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Source: Good Morning America, FOX13, Kaitlyn Munoz, Chalise B. Smith