Labor of Love: Woman Carries Her Daughter’s Baby

A mother’s love can take many forms, and for 61-year-old Kristine Casey, it meant giving her daughter the chance to become a mother by carrying and giving birth to her grandson.

Grandmothers gift: Kristine Casey (left) poses with her daughter Sara Connell (right) during their surrogate pregnancy of Mrs Connell's baby boy

Casey, who had gone through menopause a decade earlier, became pregnant after undergoing hormone therapy and a second round of in vitro fertilization. She gave birth to Finnean, her first grandchild, at Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago last week. While Casey’s daughter, 35-year-old Sara Connell, couldn’t carry a pregnancy to term, Sara and her husband Bill used their own egg and sperm, making them Finnean’s biological parents.

Grandmothers gift: Kristine Casey (left) poses with her daughter Sara Connell (right) during their surrogate pregnancy of Mrs Connell's baby boy

Sara expressed how meaningful it was to have a family member willing to help in such a way: “The idea of having a family member being open to doing this for us was so extraordinary for us,” she said.

For Casey, who is retired, becoming a surrogate was a deeply personal decision. She shared that giving birth to her own three daughters had been some of the happiest moments of her life. She believed serving as a surrogate for her daughter was a spiritual calling. After giving birth, Casey experienced some kidney complications but they were quickly resolved.

Miracle baby: After undergoing infertility treatment, Mrs Connell became pregnant but delivered stillborn twins, and later suffered a miscarriage, before her mother gave birth to her son, Finnean

Her husband, William, added that the family would not be commenting further after their interview with the Chicago Tribune.

This isn’t the first time a grandmother has stepped in to help. The first known case of such an arrangement occurred in 1987, when a South African woman gave birth to her triplet grandchildren. More recently, 56-year-old Jaci Dalenberg from Wooster, Ohio, gave birth to triplets for her daughter Kim Coseno in 2008.

Grandma's first visit: Mrs Casey cradles her grandson, whom she carried to term for her daughter

While uncommon, stories like these highlight how families are finding new ways to grow and support one another through surrogacy.

Family joy: Mrs Connell said that she and her mother - who became the oldest woman to give birth in Chicago - held hands as Finnean was delivered by cesarean section
Scroll to Top