This woman and her son were born from the same womb

Emelie Eriksson and her son, Albin, were born from the same womb

(Image credit: AP/YouTube)

Emelie Eriksson gave birth to her son, Albin, almost two years ago, and now she's ready to talk about the groundbreaking procedure that allowed her to have a child, using a uterus donated by her mother. Eriksson, who lives just north of Stockholm, tells The Associated Press that giving birth from the womb she was also born from is "like science fiction." Now 30, she was 15 when she discovered that she had been born without a uterus, and thanks to the operation performed by Swedish surgeon Mats Brannstrom, she became the first woman to give birth using a uterus donated by her mother. "This is something that you read in history books, and now in the future when you read about this, it's about me," Eriksson said.

Brannstrom is the only doctor to have delivered infants from transplanted wombs — he has delivered five of them so far, and a sixth due in January — but he says he believes the procedure will one day be routine. Baylor University hospital in Dallas just announced this week that only one of four uterus transplants it performed succeeded, though the woman is not yet ready to get pregnant, and a uterus transplant earlier this year at the Cleveland Clinic was rejected. Eriksson said she is talking about her experience now to give hope to women who were in her situation. "I hope this will be a reality for everyone that needs it," she told AP. You can watch Eriksson, her mother, and Dr. Brannstrom discuss this miracle of modern medicine in the AP video below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.