NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)—While mothers will do almost anything for their children, Barbara Brennan probably has done a little more than most.
At age 54, Brennan gave birth to twins for her daughter.
She is the grandmother and surrogate mom of Meredith Taylor and Pryce Daly Bevins, born in April. Brennan was Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s first grandmother to give birth to her own grandchildren--and one of only a few in the nation. The role came naturally to Brennan, who had grieved when her daughter could no longer bear children.
“A lot of parents, they raise their children and they sacrifice for them,” says Brennan, who attends First United Methodist Church, Hendersonville, Tenn.
“You will do almost anything for your children, so why wouldn’t I do this?”
Brennan, a hospital administrator, offered more than six years ago to be a surrogate mom for her daughter, Lynne Bevins, 35, of Knoxville, Tenn., when complications during the delivery of her daughter’s first child forced doctors to do a hysterectomy. Bevins and her husband, both physical therapists, were crushed at the time because they thought they might want more children.
But they worried about how a pregnancy might affect Brennan at her age. The couple mulled the idea for years. They considered adoption but decided against it because Bevins still had her ovaries. They also considered having a friend be the surrogate but no one volunteered and they didn’t want to ask anyone.
Recently, Brennan reminded the couple of her age and said if she was going to do it, she had to do it soon. The couple finally agreed.
Brennan and Bevins began physical and emotional testing last year. Brennan underwent surgery to remove some fibroids, and both mother and daughter were drilled with their husbands on how they would react if the babies were lost and what they would do when the time came to hand over the babies. Because both work in health care, Brennan and Bevins were prepared for the risks, Brennan says.
“I didn’t see it as giving them up. I now have three lovely grandchildren who I can spoil,” Brennan explains. “I had a daughter I loved who went through a tragedy, and I couldn’t fix it completely, but I could fix it partially by giving her and her husband back the choice of whether they wanted to have children.”
Brennan had asked her doctor to make her daughter the first contact throughout the pregnancy because “it was their babies.” Bevins was the first to receive the news that her mother was pregnant and tearfully sent Brennan a 911 page.
“We were just shocked that it happened so quickly, that it happened on the first try,” Bevins says. “We were overwhelmed and excited because we had thought for so long that we wouldn’t have any more children.”
The pregnancy was not an easy one for Brennan. She had given birth to her daughter and only child when she was 18 after an easy pregnancy. This time she couldn’t eat from the start, and her ankles and eventually her legs swelled. She was at risk for high blood pressure, and she got funny looks as a 53-year-old pregnant woman.
But, she was surrounded by family. Her husband, daughter and son-in-law accompanied her to all doctor visits. She had a smooth delivery and her daughter and son-in-law joined her in the delivery room. Brennan relishes the memory.
“They cheered and cried. It was all really a joy,” she recalls. “I just sort of laid there and listened and watched, and it was fun actually watching my daughter and son-in-law.”
Now Meredith Taylor and Pryce Daly are growing fast but still not sleeping through the night. Brennan and her husband visit the Bevins in Knoxville almost every weekend, and they talk nightly by phone. Caring for twins is a lot of work, and Brennan is eager to help. Eventually the twins will call her Mimi, like Brennan’s older grandson. The family will explain to the twins how they were born as soon as they are old enough.
The family was featured on the “The Today Show” and other national news organizations. Brennan says she wants to share their story because she wants to help others in a similar plight. Their choice worked only with a lot of determination and prayer, she says.
“You said you wanted a baby, and by gosh you’re going to have two,” she remembers telling her son-in-law. “I’m very committed to my family, and I’m committed to whatever I do.”
*Green is a freelance journalist based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Korean News
