Breanna Lockwood and her husband Aaron hoped to have a baby after their marriage in June 2016, however, attempts to conceive proved difficult.
After months of trying, the couple decided to seek help from a fertility clinic in Illinois, and the clinic recommended they should begin fertility treatment which they did, but unfortunately their pregnancy journey wasn’t a straightforward one.
Breanna suffered two miscarriages and later developed Asherman’s syndrome, a condition that is acquired from scarred tissue in the uterus.
At this point, Breanna’s doctor, Dr. Brian Kaplan, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist at Fertility Centers of Illinois, suggested surrogacy. The problem, however, was that it would cost the couple almost $100,000.
This has lead Breanna’s mom, Julie Loving, to offer them another solution by volunteering to carry her grandchild for them. And although her daughter was hesitant at first, Julie eventually won her over.
“I kind of felt like I went through this with her from the beginning,” Julie told OprahMag.com. “I felt all of her grief and her struggle. I knew that I was healthy as a 51-year-old, and I knew I could do this for her, I took good care of myself. I actually don’t feel 50, I feel 30!”
When she brought her mum in to visit Dr. Kaplan during one of her appointments, Breanna noticed he expressed some hesitation. “I could see a look in his eye and I could see his wheels beginning to turn a little bit,” Breanna said.
Later on, Julie exceeded all expectations by passing a series of tests, including ones that measured her cholesterol. She also underwent a range of psychological tests and had blood taken. Soon after, the mother and daughter were given the go signal.
Dr. Kaplan described it as a ‘very unique scenario’ that was only done after “very careful personalized medical, psychological and ethical considerations”
“The family dynamic, unconditional support, and sacrifice, and the resilience of the human spirit were humbling for me as a physician.”
Julie is now acting as Breanna and Aaron’s gestational surrogate, which means she’s carrying the couple’s biological child and her biological grandchild. “No doubt, no regrets, I would do that. I love her so much I just wanted to help her,” Julie said.
“I decided to go public with everything to celebrate my mum and everything she has done… I kind of always thought it was going to happen really quickly. You spend your whole life preventing and when you stop to preventing, it doesn’t happen right away,” Breanna said.
“I really struggled with talking about it; it put a strain on family and friends and your marriage. It’s something that really rocks someone’s world.”
Now, 21 weeks into the pregnancy, Breanna says she’s finally allowing herself to get excited after years of heartbreak and disappointment. Just last week, they felt the baby kick for the first time and found out they were having a little girl.