Who is a Surrogate?

Most of the Surrogates in our community are all mothers themselves, and they love being mothers. The idea of someone wanting and being unable to have a child literally pains them, and they are moved to help.

What motivates a Surrogate? Many people assume it is the financial reward. Not so. Although that part is an important acknowledgement of her priceless contribution, it is rarely a motivator. For most women who take on the surrogacy journey, their imagined peak moment is seeing the eyes of the Intended Parents as the baby comes out of her and into their waiting arms.

Who are Surrogates? Most people not involved in any way with surrogacy would say that they don't know any Surrogates. But maybe they do. Maybe that expecting woman standing in line at the grocery store is a Surrogate. Maybe one or two of the women sitting in the doctor's office are Surrogates.

Surrogates in our community come from a variety of backgrounds. Some are

• Teachers
• Nurses
• Lawyers
• Accountants
• Civil engineers
• Stay-at-home moms

Any woman of childbearing age might be a Surrogate.

Here at Surrogacy Support, we see the whole woman who happens to be a Surrogate.

A Surrogate already has a number of roles to play even before she comes to surrogacy: mother, partner or wife, employee, daughter, community member. When she comes into a setting as intense as surrogacy where so much focus is on what is or isn't happening in her womb, it is easy to lose sight of the person beyond the belly. At Surrogacy Support we keep the focus on her, helping her to manage all the roles she fulfills while still being able to care for and nurture herself.

We also see that when a woman decides to embark on this journey, it's an opportunity for growth for everyone: the people intimately involved in the journey, the families of the people involved, the communities in which she lives. Her choice to be a Surrogate is often a catalyst for others as well as herself, to go deeper, to look again at the nature of connection and family. Surrogacy has the potential of being an enriching journey for anyone whose life she touches.

We at Surrogacy Support believe that becoming a surrogate is a courageous act, and a worthy one. And we offer a community to support, celebrate, acknowledge, and respect the women on the journey.