14 DAY TRIAL // Doctors in Sweden are happy to announce that, last month, a womb transplant patient carrying the uterus of a 61-year-old delivered a perfectly healthy baby. The birth is hailed as a medical first.
The specialists who saw this case through say that the mother and her child were released from hospital shortly after birth, and are now at home. They are both in good condition but will be monitored for a while longer.
The womb transplant
It is understood that the 36-year-old mother, whose identity has not yet been shared with the public, was born without a uterus. This anatomic abnormality was caused by a rare genetic condition, Live Science informs.
Last year, a 61-year-old menopausal woman, said to be a close friend of the family, agreed to offer the 36-year-old her uterus. Thus, the mother-to-be underwent womb transplant surgery, which proved to be a success.
One year after this surgical intervention, doctors transplanted an embryo grown from the woman's own eggs into her body. The 36-year-old became pregnant, and eventually gave birth to a baby boy.
Not an easy birth
Information shared with the public says that this woman delivered her child in the 31st week of pregnancy, which means that the birth was a premature one. As explained by specialists, pregnancies should last for 39 weeks, and can hit 40 in some cases.
The woman's child was born via C-section. By the looks of it, doctors decided to operate on the woman and remove the baby boy after the mother started displaying symptoms associated with preeclampsia. In a nutshell, her blood pressure was elevated, and this put both her and her child at risk.
Despite being born prematurely, the boy is in good health condition, as is his mother. Doctors will keep tabs on them for several weeks to come, just to make sure that everything in OK. Presently, there is nothing the family need worry about.
Why perform womb transplants?
Medical experts say that about 1 in 4,500 girls is born without a uterus. What's more, reports indicate that about 40% of the women diagnosed with cervical cancer are struck by this condition when at a childbearing age.
Doctors say that, for many of these woman, receiving a womb transplant is their only shot at becoming pregnant and delivering a child. Last year alone, a total of 9 women in Sweden underwent such a surgical procedure. However, the 36-year-old is the only one to have until now birthed a child.