Carrie Meyer (not her real name) is a married mother of two living in California. She is a stay-at-home mom raising her 18-month-old daughter and her nine-year-old son. What makes Carrie different from most stay-at-home moms? Carrie has been a surrogate mother several times, exclusively for gay couples. This is the story of how Carrie became a surrogate in California for the first time.
Several years ago, Carrie was working a dead-end job that was time-consuming and was making it difficult to spend time with her son. One evening, she watched an interview with the head of a surrogacy firm, and the idea of becoming a surrogate for the California firm appealed to her. Not only could Carrie make an income and raise her child, forgoing expensive daycare, but she could be pregnant again. Carrie did not wish to have additional children to raise, but she loved the feeling of being pregnant and missed it.
Carrie called the company to learn how to become a surrogate in California and spoke at great length with their representatives, and then spoke with her husband. Her husband was supportive of her idea, but was also understandably nervous about the legal process and the details. Ultimately, after meeting with the company and discussing legal options and the process to become a surrogate in California, Carrie and her husband agreed to “take the plunge.”
Carrie and her husband had dear friends who were gay and had been struggling for years with the adoption process. Finally, after ten years of trying to adopt a baby, they were successful. Their struggles inspired Carrie to offer to become a surrogate in California for same-sex couples who were yearning to have a baby together. The surrogacy agency connected Carrie with a gay couple who had been in a relationship for 17 years and who had a strong network of support from friends and family. They lived close to Carrie and so would be able to attend doctor’s appointments with her. They arranged a series of meetings and immediately bonded.
After a series of lengthy psychological, physical, and legal evaluations to determine her stability and health, Carrie and the couple made the decision to start the process for her to become a surrogate. The couple found an egg donor through the agency, and each man fertilized half of the eggs. Carrie was put on a huge round of hormones, including estrogen, progestin by pills, needles, and suppositories which lasted for three months. The process was uncomfortable and painful. After three months, however, her body was ready to accept the fertilized eggs. One egg fertilized by each father was transferred to Carrie’s body, and she was pregnant in two weeks.
Agency processes differ with regard to becoming a surrogate in California, but the amount of money Carrie was paid to become a surrogate was rationed over the course of 10 months. Surrogacy is a full time job, and once you are pregnant, there is no turning back! The couple that Carrie worked with treated her as a close friend, taking her to lunch, exercising with her, and attending every doctor’s visit with her. After nine months, Carrie delivered a healthy baby girl, with both fathers and her husband by her side throughout the entire process.
Carrie’s relationship with the couple has changed since the birth, which is to be expected. They still keep in touch and send pictures of the child, but Carrie feels no motherly feelings towards her surrogate baby. She loved her experience and has agreed to become a surrogate for other couples over the years. Surrogacy is not for everyone, but for someone like Carrie, to become a surrogate in California has been a positive and uplifting experience.
Become A Surrogate California – If you’re interested in learning if or how you could become a surrogate in California, the Center for Surrogate Parenting, Inc. has all the information and resources you’ll need. Contact our West Coast Office in Los Angeles at 818.788.8288 or visit http://www.creatingfamilies.com/home/content_detail.aspx?Id=61 for more information.