Mother Carries Grandaughter As Surrogate For Daughter Who Struggled With Health Issues

Jun 12, 2022 by apost team

In a very 21st century way, one Utah family shared with their family and friends that they would be welcoming a new member into their family. After years of trying to add to her family, a woman named Kaitlyn Munoz decided to go an alternative route. Munoz and her husband, Miguel, had a healthy baby boy in 2019. Sadly when the family wanted to add another child to their family Munoz was told she wouldn’t be able to carry a baby due to an autoimmune disease.

According to Healthywomen.org, 80% of people with autoimmune diseases are women. So when Munoz came to terms with not being able to carry a second child, she was devastated. Sitting in a Costco parking lot, Munoz received a call that would change her life. As she answered the phone with her own mother on the other line, she was shocked to hear what her mother was proposing. Her mother offered a once-in-a-lifetime offer to carry Munoz’s child, her grandchild. 

With the couple having done IVF, they still had two embryos left that could be used. Her mother, Chalise Smith, had to be cleared after already having eight pregnancies, she was cleared to carry her grandchild via IVF. In May of 2022 Smith gave birth to her granddaughter, Alayna Kaitlyn Chalise Munoz, in Utah. 

According to the Today Parents the delivery of a sweet baby girl was extremely emotional and touching. With the newborn and her parents living in Texas and her grandparents back in Utah, the family said they are now closer than ever after this unique experience. 

When Smith called her daughter to discuss this important choice she said it was the easiest decision she had ever made. “I said, ‘I know you have two embryos left from IVF — and I want to carry those embryos if you would like me to, and be your surrogate,’” Smith said.

“Kaitlyn was like, ‘Mom, do you realize what you’re saying? This is a huge deal,’” Smith recalled. “I explained that it wasn’t a rash decision,” she added. 

“The timing of my mom’s phone call was crazy,” Munoz admitted. “I was having such a rough day. It’s like she sensed it,” Smith’s daughter said.

When the day finally came to deliver her grandaughter, Today reports there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

“They felt the power of the love. They felt power of selflessness and sacrifice,” Smith said. “It was very emotional. We just had a moment of glory on this earth, just a moment of heaven,” the grandmother shared. 

Seeing as this was Smith’s ninth pregnancy, she shared that she was shocked when her recovery was better than her past experiences. She revealed that it was her easiest recovery yet.

“The next day I didn’t even feel like I had a baby,” Smith admitted. It was like a physical tender mercy,” Smith said. "My recovery was nothing."

After giving birth the families had to go back to their normal lives. Munoz would now be a mother of two and Smith would be a happy grandmother back in Utah. After receiving a special gift from her mom, Munoz said separating was very hard. 

“We had a hard time saying goodbye,” Munoz said. “My mom gave me the greatest gift in the world.”

apost.com

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