The 36-year-old mother, who was born without a uterus, received a donated womb from a friend in her 60s.

 

The British medical journal The Lancet says the baby was born prematurely¹ in September weighing 1.8kg (3.9lb). The father said his son was "amazing". 

 

Cancer treatment and birth defects are the main reasons women can be left without a functioning womb.

 

If they want a child of their own, their only option is surrogacy.

 

 

The identity of the couple in Sweden has not been released, but it is known the mother still had functioning ovaries.

 

The couple went through IVF to produce 11 embryos³, which were frozen. Doctors at the University of Gothenburg then performed the womb transplant.

 

The donor⁴ was a 61-year-old family friend who had gone through the menopause seven years earlier.

 

Drugs to suppress the immune system were needed to prevent the womb being rejected.

 

A year after the transplant, doctors decided⁵ they were ready to implant⁶ one of the frozen embryos and a pregnancy⁷ ensued. 

 

The baby was born prematurely, almost 32 weeks into the pregnancy, after the mother developed pre-eclampsia and the baby's heart rate became abnormal.

 

Both baby and mum are now said to be doing well.

 

In an anonymous⁸ interview with the AP news agency, the father said: "It was a pretty tough journey over the years, but we now have the most amazing baby.

 

"He's no different from any other child, but he will have a good story to tell.''

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