Between becoming one of the most celebrated celebrities to ever compete on SAS Australia, juggling her career as a doctor and raising four kids, Jana Pittman has solidified herself as a bona fide supermum.
However, her passion for obstetrics goes beyond a simple career choice, and on an episode of Australian Story, Jana has explained how deeply her passion for reproductive health goes.
Jana spoke in depth last night about the experiences that led her to her current career in medicine, where she works in women’s reproductive health.
Her exposure to the world of obstetrics led her to want to help others, and she decided to donate an egg to her close friends who were in a same-sex relationship.
Jana decided to donate an egg to her close friends who were in a same-sex relationship.
(Image: Instagram)The couple gave birth to a daughter, Màili, via a surrogate in November, 2019.
“I’m known to Màili as Auntie Jana. I’m obviously her biological parent, and we see each other – COVID-pending – as often as possible, and to think that I have the opportunity to be involved in their family, we call it our rainbow family – is quite a privilege,” Jana explained.
Màili is just one of five – soon to be seven – of Jana’s biological children.
Her first son, Cornelis, was an only child for some nine years before Jana was diagnosed with CIN3 – abnormal cells in her cervix which can become cancerous. She ended up having part of her cervix removed as a result.
The diagnosis led her to pursue the decision to have more children via sperm donor, in case she lost her ability to have more babies in the future.
“All of a sudden I was there, a single mum already, and thought, ‘why not look at the options of having children on my own’,” Jana said.
Jana took her son to look at donors, and they picked one with a strong resemblance to themselves, so that the family would all look similar.
Via the sperm donor, Jana gave birth to Emily, and then her second daughter Jemima a little later.
Emily and Jemima are full-blood siblings, and Jana confirmed that further down the track the girls will be given the opportunity to meet the sperm donor and get to know him.
Jana’s fourth child, Charlie, was born earlier this year to Jana and her second husband, Paul Gatward.
Jana’s plan is to become an obstetrician and gynecologist. She is currently completing her PhD in obstetrics.
(Image: Instagram)However, she is now pregnant with twins – meaning Jana will soon be the biological mother to seven different children, and the birth mother to six.
“I actually found out I was pregnant with the twins by ultra-sounding myself,” she explained.
“Soon I’m going to have six children, so it’s certainly going to be a busy household next year.”
Although her life is about to – somehow – get even more hectic, Jana seems to have found great contentment in her work in reproductive medicine.
Her long-term plan is to become an obstetrician and gynecologist and work in women’s health, and she is currently completing her PhD in obstetrics.
This article was originally published on our sister site WHO.
