51-year-old mother serves as gestational surrogate for daughter struggling with infertility

A family that went viral on social media announcing a pregnancy through IVF and an unusual surrogacy have welcomed a girl into the world.

Breanna Lockwood and her pregnancy journey blew up on social media after she announced that her 51-year-old mom, Julie Loving, would be the surrogate carrying her child.

“They say, ‘It takes a village to raise a child,’ but for some it can take a village to HAVE a child…” she said in the post that went viral in June.

“Made with a lot of love, and a little bit of science… Baby Lockwood will be brought into this world via GESTATIONAL CARRIER, and this little miracle’s carrier is quite a special one. MY MOM.”

A gestational surrogate is a woman who is not the biological mother to the child but will carry the child after the embryo is implanted during in-vitro fertilization.

Lockwood has been documenting her mom’s journey throughout the pregnancy, and on Nov. 2, they welcomed Briar Juliette.

“My mom was an absolute rock star through a difficult delivery,” Lockwood said in her Instagram post.

“The sacrifices she took to bring this little slice of heaven into our world takes my breath away. Holding my daughter in my arms my heart is bursting. The feeling of how I would do absolutely anything needed for this child is radiating through me when I look at her, and reflects back on what my mom did for me.”

Lockwood has been upfront about her struggle getting pregnant and raising awareness for infertility.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 6% of married women 15 to 44 in the United States are unable to get pregnant after a year of trying. And 12% have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term.