pregnancy

"I'm going to give birth to my own son's baby."

If you’re looking for advice about options surrounding fertility, pregnancy or counselling, always consult your doctor.

An Australian grandmother has vowed to carry her son’s child, after doctors told his partner another pregnancy could potentially be life-threatening.

Daniel Hearnden, 27, and his partner Kyia Kuiper, 25, tragically lost their baby daughter last year following complications from her premature birth.

Little Ryah was delivered via emergency C-section weighing just 620g after blood clots in the placenta halted her growth. She died just six months later.

“I woke up one morning and I just felt something was wrong,” Kuiper told The Daily Mail. “I raced to the hospital at 2am and I just knew. She passed away while I was holding her in my arms. Dan and I were both there.”

After the loss of a subsequent 10-week pregnancy, the Wollongong couple were told that having another child would be highly inadvisable for Kyia, and potentially even fatal due to the risk of further clots.

“It’s too dangerous for me and the baby,” Kuiper said. “I was very lucky I survived last time.”

Enter Daniel’s mother, Michelle Hearnden.

Image: Facebook/Daniel Hearnden.

The 47-year-old has made the selfless offer to help her son grow his beautiful little family by serving as a surrogate.

"As a mother of nine, I could never imagine not being able to have children," Hearnden told The Daily Mail. "They needed someone who would be a surrogate and I said 'why not me?'"

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The couple said they were blown away by Hearnden's proposal.

"I burst into tears," Kuiper said. "She's just an amazing person to just selflessly say 'I'll do it'."

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Keen to turn the plan into reality, Daniel Hearnden has started a GoFundMe campaign, appealing for donations to assist with IVF costs.

"Being on a single wage with a mortgage and car repayments makes it impossible to save," he wrote on the fundraiser's page, "and mum is getting closer to the big 50 mark, so I thought I would see if we can speed all this up."

The child will be conceived using Hearnden's sperm and Kuiper's egg, which will be artificially implanted into Mrs Hearnden.

"If it was for myself I wouldn't have any more children," she told The Daily Mail. "But I only have to go through the pregnancy and labour and I'm all good with that."

After that, she will revert to her role as a grandma and, of course, be available for babysitting.

Mamamia's Infertility Week shines a light on the joy, the pain and everything in between when it comes to creating  families. To read more from Infertility Week, click here.