Mum gives birth to her Granddaughter

A Japanese woman in her 50s gave birth to a child she had carried for her daughter, who was unable to conceive as she had her womb removed due to cancer, an obstetrician said on Sunday.

The case is likely to further stir debate in Japan about births by surrogate mothers, which both the government and a key medical association oppose.

Yahiro Netsu, the head of a maternity clinic in the central prefecture of Nagano, told a news conference that the woman gave birth in the first half of 2005 using an egg from her daughter and sperm from the daughter's husband, both in their 30s.

Kyodo news agency said it was the first time in Japan that a woman has acted as a surrogate mother for the child of her daughter -- effectively delivering her grandchild.

Netsu said the baby -- whose gender has not been revealed -- was first registered as a child of the surrogate mother and later adopted by the daughter and her husband.