Have you heard of anyone who had her uterus removed becoming pregnant, assuming the ovaries are still there? Is it at all possible for someone who had to have her uterus removed due to cancer or malfunction to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization or any other means, and perhaps carry the baby? I've heard of an out-of-uterus pregnancy that was successful, but that was with a woman who still had her tubes, uterus, and ovaries. I hope you don't consider this a stupid question. If it is possible, where would someone go to find a knowledgeable doctor to help?

Anna

If your uterus has been removed, you will not be able to carry a pregnancy. While an ectopic pregnancy may lodge in a fallopian tube, the tube cannot sustain a growing baby. Unless the embryo is removed, rupture and possibly death may be the result.

A woman who has no uterus cannot carry a pregnancy, but if she still has her ovaries, it's possible that she may become a mother. If the woman is young, and her ovaries and eggs have not been exposed to chemotherapy or radiation therapy associated with treating cancer, her eggs can usually be harvested during an IVF procedure. These eggs can be fertilized in the lab with sperm from the woman's partner or another donor and then transferred into the uterus of another woman, called a gestational surrogate. The child will be genetically related to the woman whose eggs were used, not to the surrogate. This procedure is still controversial. For more information, see my earlier column Surrogate Mother.