Who would become a surrogate?

Intended parents ask us every day what motivates someone to become a surrogate.  It can be hard to understand why anyone would offer to carry a baby for someone they do not know.

So what is our experience?  The women we speak to who are considering surrogacy are typically mums who have completed their own families and been lucky enough to have found pregnancy easy.  Some have been touched by the plight of friends or relatives who have struggled to create their own family.  Some have seen something in the media about surrogacy which has moved them.  More often than not, surrogates tell us that they could not imagine life without their own kids, and know how important it would have been to them to have had help if they had needed it.  There is something wonderfully powerful about the idea of an ordinary woman being able to provide the answer that has evaded medicine, or to create the family a same-sex couple never thought possible.

Some of the surrogates we talk to have already been through the fertility process in some way, perhaps as an egg donor, while others have never been near a fertility clinic before.  Some are egg donors who have helped create a family through donation and now want to do something more.  Some are lesbian mums who built their family through the generosity of sperm donation and now want to give something back themselves.

But whatever the background, becoming a surrogate mother is a daunting prospect.  Where do you start?  How do you decide whether it’s for you?  How do you choose who to help, with so many in need?  And how do you open a conversation with intended parents without getting their hopes up, and then manage that relationship successfully?

At Brilliant Beginnings, we help surrogates with all these issues and more.  We provide impartial advice to help women decide whether surrogacy is right for them, and we provide support every step of the way if they do decide to proceed.

If you are thinking of becoming a surrogate, there is more information on our website including FAQs and much more.  Or please do give us a call for a chat.

And if you are an intended parent who needs the help of a surrogate, have faith – they do exist.