Jennifer Gobrecht, a woman, doctors told at the age of 17 that she couldn’t have a child because she didn’t have a womb, has given birth to her child after having a womb transplant from a dead donor.
Jennifer, 34, has Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome, a congenital condition that occurs in 1of 14,500 women.
She had no idea anything was wrong with her until she didn’t start her periods at 17. She went to the doctors and was sent for a scan which disclosed the devastating diagnosis. She was broken by the sad news because she did want to bear kids of her own. A few years later, she met Drew and they started dating. She was truthful to him about her condition and he knew what he was signing up for.
The couple got married in 2014 then people began to talk, asking when they were going to have kids. People told Drew he could have chosen someone better but he insisted it’s Jennifer he wants.
They both wanted children so started IVF in 2016, creating 10 frozen embryos. The began to talk to surrogate agencies.
Then Jennifer read about a new medical trial. She said;
“I’d read about some research into uterus transplants, never thinking in a million years it could be a possibility for us,” she said.
“Then in 2017, I read that there was a clinical research trial starting at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, just around the corner.
“They were looking for volunteers to receive a uterus transplant. I said, super excited, ‘How wild is this? I think I’m going to apply’.”
Fortunately, it worked, and Jennifer, who thought she would never have a child, was able to. Their son was born on January 9, 2020. She is the second in her country and is just the third in the world to give birth using the procedure.
Jennifer, whose, “miracle” baby is now 10 months old, is sharing her story to prove there’s hope for others like her.
She said: “I never thought in a million years that we would be here. For me to be the one who carried our child was an incredible experience, just pure joy. That he was finally here was a miracle.”
