A 45-Year-old Teacher is Six Months Pregnant With her Gay Son’s Twins

By Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – At the age of 45, teacher Valdira das Neves in Serrana (São Paulo), is expecting twins Maria Flor and Noah. She carries her grandchildren in her womb, to permit her son, nursing student Marcelo das Neves Júnior, 24 years old, to have children.

The young man assumed his homosexuality at the age of 18 and always wanted to be a father. Single and without any long-lasting love relationship, he found in his mother the chance to fulfill his dream of  fatherhood and to help his mother overcome the loss of a newborn daughter.

Four years ago, Valdira became pregnant. However, seven months into her pregnancy, she suffered complications, and an emergency procedure was performed in an attempt to save Helena. The baby did not survive, but the teacher kept her desire alive to be a mother again.

The family searched for a clinic specializing in assisted human reproduction in Ribeirão Preto (SP). During the various consultations to understand the process, Marcelo Júnior expressed his desire to become a father and introduced the surrogacy idea to his mother.

In Brazil, a decision developed by the Regional Council of Medicine (CRM) establishes that a woman applying for surrogacy must be a blood relative up to the fourth degree with one of the partners interested in the process.

The teacher had no hesitation in accepting her son’s proposal. “I accepted quickly, more than quickly. I said I’m ready, let’s do it. I wasn’t scared at all.”

“It was something new even for us. To our knowledge, this is the first case in Brazil,” said doctor Camila Teles Vidal de Paula.

The doctor explains that Marcelo Junior’s sperm cells fertilized eggs from anonymous donors. The legislation does not allow the recipient and donor to know one another.

“It’s a very different pregnancy because I know they’re my grandchildren, not my children. Sometimes I think they’re my children too. It’s a mixed feeling. I’m carrying his children, and for me, this is very rewarding. It’s a different emotional experience,” says “Mommy Grandma”.

Marcelo Júnior says that people’s reactions when they learn about the surrogacy are positive and that they have not received any criticism.