to hire someone Carrying babies to birth is a fast-growing business. The surrogacy market is expected to grow to $129 billion by 2032, due to aging parents, increasing infertility, and an increase in same-sex families. Silicon Valley is also contributing to this growth, with technology companies like Google, Meta, and Snap contributing up to $80,000 toward the six-figure cost of the process.
But “borrowing the womb” (as detractors call it) remains controversial. one human rights expert That’s because the United Nations says commercial surrogacy “usually amounts to the sale of children.” Critics say the practice exploits poor women who are not fully informed about the risks. In fact, the United States is one of the only developed countries that allows commercial pregnancies.
The typical gestational carrier is a stay-at-home mom who wants to earn an income without leaving her children. Many surrogate mothers fit that mold, but their backgrounds and experiences vary widely. A West Coast surrogate mother who transported two sets of twins to their parents in California and China reveals what it was like for her.
In 2010, my My best friend died of an accidental overdose and I discovered his body a few days later. After that trauma, I went through a long period of considering my purpose. As a mother, I thought it would be great if I could give others a reason to get up in the morning. I also loved being pregnant. Surrogacy seemed like the best part-time job in the world.
I underwent rigorous physical and psychological testing. I then read a bunch of files from the intended parents and waited for that “click”. Lastly, I’m an older single guy, let’s call him Greg. As a queer woman, I felt a strong community obligation to bear children for gay men. For some people, surrogacy may be more accessible than adoption. Greg said to me: “I’m an older gay single father. Do you know how difficult it is for me to adopt a baby?”
The doctor implanted three embryos into my uterus expecting one, but all three were found. For 13 weeks, all I did was literally eat, sleep, and raise humans. I was healthy, but considering the risks to the baby, Greg ultimately decided to reduce the triplets to twins.
I delivered my twins vaginally, although the doctor had me deliver in the operating room in case anything went wrong. 20 minutes after kicking them out, I got up from the table, headed to bed, and asked for a sandwich.
A few years later, an agency called and told him that a Chinese couple was offering Scrooge McDuck buckets of money. I had student loans, so getting pregnant was a purely financial decision. Surrogacy has become very popular in the United States because the baby automatically becomes a citizen. The Chinese couple was especially selective about the girl’s gender, which was cool. These twins were a little small to begin with, so I didn’t feel like I was walking around with giant Clydesdale babies. My parents also told me, “Please give birth on this day because it is auspicious.” I said: Just eat a croissant. ”
For 6 weeks after birth, I pumped breast milk and kept an eye on the baby. My family made fried dumplings. It was a very good situation. I still take pictures of the girls.
