A 53-year old grandmother who is a teacher by profession gave birth to her own granddaughter in the city of Florianopolis in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. The decision to carry her daughter Ingrid's baby was taken after the 29-year-old was advised by doctors not to undergo pregnancy as it would be too risky due to health problems. Back in 2014, Ingrid suffered a pulmonary embolism and a deep vein thrombosis, so doctors feared that a pregnancy could kill her due to potential blood clots. The baby was conceived by IVF, with Rosicleia acting as the surrogate. Rosicleia said: "I believe the closest word for it is gratitude. She will be spoilt in the same way, with the only difference being that she came out of the same belly as her mother once did."Maria Clara was born on August 19, at 37 weeks, measuring 19in and weighing 7.30lbs, in a private maternity hospital. The birth was witnessed by Ingrid and her husband, Fabiano Chaves. He said: "It's a dream coming true. It's a love that has no words. It's like everyone says: just being a father, seeing that moment, it cannot be described."
The family raised an estimated £5,000 to carry out the IVF and surrogacy by crowdfunding and selling face masks and dish cloths. Ingrid said: "My mother's gesture was one of greatness, of a noble woman. I think that even if I try to mention or describe it in words, I'll never be able to specify how valuable she is to me." But mother and daughter had discussed that possibility long before Ingrid got her diagnosis. After watching a report on TV, where a woman gave birth to her daughter-in-law's baby, Ingrid asked Rosicleia if she would ever do it for her- to which she replied ''of course I would!' So after Ingrid was told it's too risky to get pregnant, the family knew exactly what they'd do. There has been a significant rise in in vitro and other "assisted reproductive technologies" in Brazil, according to a study published by JBRA Assisted Reproduction in 2020. The first such birth came in 1978 in the United Kingdom. For the unversed, the older surrogate mother became pregnant through in vitro fertilization, a process in which mature eggs are fertilized by sperm in a laboratory, and the embryo is then transplanted into a woman’s uterus.