Three local women share what it’s like to go from caring for mothers to carrying those mothers’ babies.
Surrogates are like a thing of mommy lore. We may know of a couple going through surrogacy or have mutual Facebook friends who became the intended parents (“IP” is the industry term), but the person who played the vital role in building these families is usually cloaked in mystery. We don’t see a rash of images of her budding belly or sweat-beaded face as she lay crumpled out on the hospital bed, post-delivery. And that’s intentional; it’s not an overlooked aspect of the process. Surrogates just aren’t the showy type.
“Surrogates are women who foster animals, volunteer at their kids’ schools, give blood,” says Shannon Curry, surrogate business development manager at ConceiveAbilities, a surrogacy agency. “They work at ObGyn clinics, they are nurses, they are teachers …. And they have a lot of empathy for people who can’t carry a child as they find mothering to be one of life’s greatest experiences.”
When you consider the overlap between surrogates and health care providers, there’s no eureka moment—it makes complete and utter sense. At their core, health care professionals and surrogates embody a giving, self-sacrificial spirit. And humbled as they are, they’ll just tell you they’re here for the ride.
