61-year-old woman serves as gestational surrogate for her son and his husband

Cecile Eledge, with her son Matthew Eledge and son-in-law Elliot Dougherty.
(Image credit: Ariel Panowicz via AP)

When she found out her son, Matthew Eledge, and his husband, Elliot Dougherty, were looking for someone to carry their baby, Cecile Eledge suggested a person she thought would be the perfect candidate: herself.

Cecile, 61, says they laughed at the idea, but once a doctor told them she actually was the ideal candidate, everyone got on board. "I was just so excited to be able to be part of this adventure with them," Cecile told NBC News, adding, "It was just unconditional love."

For their egg donor, Matthew and Elliot chose Elliot's sister, Lea Yribe, but they struggled when it came time to find a gestational surrogate. "Nebraska is a bit more conservative, and we were hesitant to go into agencies, and had a bit of fear that maybe some things would hold us back as a gay couple," Matthew said. That's when his mom stepped in, and the rest is now history.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Cecile safely delivered her nearly six-pound granddaughter, Uma Louise Dougherty-Eledge, last Monday at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Everyone is doing great, and the new dads are looking forward to one day telling Uma about her birth story.

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.