|
A 36-year-old Swedish woman born without a uterus made medical history when she gave birth by womb transplant in late September. The woman received a womb donation from a friend who had undergone menopause several years earlier, the BBC reports. The baby was born prematurely, just 32 weeks into the pregnancy, and weighed 3.9 lb (1.8 kg). His parents christened him Vincent, a name that means ‘to conquer.’ “As soon as I felt this perfect baby boy on my chest, I had tears of happiness and enormous relief,” the woman told the Associated Press Saturday. “I felt like a mother the first time I touched my baby and was amazed that we finally did it." Vincent was delivered via cesarean section and was kept in the hospital for ten days before being released. The mother, who preferred not to disclose her identity, learned that she didn’t have a uterus at age 15 but that she still had functioning ovaries. A decade later she discovered that womb transplant research was being conducted at the University of Gothenburg and Stockholm by Dr. Mats Brannstrom, a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She then signed up for research without thinking twice. Newsweek Magazine is Back In Print For the procedure, she received a womb transplant from a friend, 61, who had previously given birth to two sons. She is now Vincent’s godmother. The woman underwent in vitro fertilization and produced 11 frozen embryos, then had the womb transplant with the help of researchers at the University of Gothenberg, according to BBC. One year later, researchers inserted one of the embryos into the woman’s womb, and she was then able to conceive. Three separate medications had to be administered so that the womb wouldn’t be rejected. | 
