Exploring Surrogacy

Jessica:

Yet AGAIN, I am coming on to apologize for "somebody here" and their bruskness. You, I am SURE have already discussed this with your family! Never mind her; I now believe it is that member's sole purpose to make others feel terrible about their choices because somewhere along the way she has been unhappy about hers. Assuaging some guilt, I'm sure.

I personally commend you for considering giving SUCH a beautiful gift to a family. I have no advice here, just want to give you support and a virtual ((hug)).

Hi Jessica,

I was a gestational surrogate and just had a baby he is four months old! I had a wonderful experience and it is something that I will NEVER regret doing. If you have specific questions I would be willing to answer any of them and help you along the way! I have two older children and they loved the experience and love there surro brother very much!! I posted on here when I was thinking of doing it and asked around A LOT!!! I got many mixed reviews. Some thought it was the greatest thing in the world, others were wondering what I was thinking. I would love to share my journey with you at any time

R.

____@____.com

Hey, no real advice, I just want to say you are so amazing for wanting to do this! Having been through 3 pregnancies, and knowing how hard they are, I would never have the strength to do that for somebody else. Also, having been adopted myself, I know how long my parents waited for a child. So many people want children and have their hearts shattered at the last minute in open adoptions when the parents keep the children. For you to give someone the gift of security that their child is coming is incredible. I hope you find all the help you need! Many blessings!

I've had some experience with this too. I actually posted something on here and got a lot of mixed responses too. I met with one couple and decided not to work with them. Then worked with another and did one embryo transfer which was not successfull. The couple decided not to try again. Haven't done anything since then, this was over the summer. Thought maybe it was a sign that I shouldn't be doing it, but am thinking about trying again. I was working with a really great lady at an agency if you were interested in the info. Good luck!

Hi Jessica,

What a wonderful gift to consider. I looked into it years ago before I had my own children. I wanted children of my own someday but was not in a position to have them yet, and wanted to help someone else realize their dreams. I decided I wanted to be a GS as I could not have done it using my own eggs and having a genetic link to the child, but was happy to carry a child not genetically mine. After finding an agency I was comfortable with I listed myself. I only ever met with one couple who in the end decided they were not ready. After about 2 years I decided I did not want to continue to pursue it. After I had my own kids, I looked into it again but I found I was now too old as they want you to be under 35 for GS and I think even younger for TS. There are apparently age restrictions now, or there may have been 10 years ago, but I may not have taken notice as I was younger then and in the right age range. Anyway, I would do a web search, there are some really good websites out there that explain everything. I think the website posted below was one where i got a lot of information. There are lots of stories you can read from both perspectives to see how it affects all the families involved. I would do some reading on it to see if this could be right for you and your family. Good luck!

I am in your shoes as well!! After a battle to conceive my first child, i realized that some people are NEVER able to carry a child, and that I wanted to give that gift to another. I am currently expecting our second and will be exploring surrogacy after he is born and a bit older (2 or 3). I did a little bit of research on this in the past, I would just look up surrogacy online and type in your city or nearby area and see what you can find. I found one fertility clinic in Malvern, PA that does have a surrogacy program explained on their website. One thing I remember is that you have to go through psychological counseling prior to getting pregnant and during as well. Good luck!

just found this link: http://www.surromomsonline.com/answers/1.htm