By hiring someone Carrying babies to term is a booming business. The surrogacy market is expected to expand to $129 billion by 2032 due to aging parents, increased infertility, and increased same-sex families. Silicon Valley also contributes to growth. Tech companies like Google, Meta, and Snap quote up to $80,000 for the process.
But “renting the womb” (as its detractors say) remains controversial. one human rights expert The United Nations says commercial surrogacy “is usually tantamount to child trafficking.” Critics argue that this practice exploits poor women who are not fully aware of the risks. In fact, the United States is one of the only developed countries that allows pregnancy for profit.
A typical surrogate mother is a stay-at-home mother who wants to earn an income without leaving her child. Many surrogates fit that mold, but their backgrounds and experiences vary widely. A West Coast surrogate mother who gave birth to two sets of twins for parents in California and China shares what it was like for her.
In 2010, my My best friend died of an overdose, and I found his body a few days later. After that trauma, I went through a long period of reflecting on my purpose. As a mom, I thought it would be great if I could tell other people why they wake up in the morning. I also loved being pregnant. Surrogacy sounded like the best part-time job in the world.
They went through rigorous physical and mental testing. Then, I read countless files sent by prospective parents, waiting for the “click.” Finally I met an older, single man. Let’s call him Greg. As a queer woman, I felt a strong communal obligation to have babies for gay people. For some people, surrogacy may be more accessible than adoption. Greg told me this: “I am an older gay single dad. Do you know how difficult it would be for me to adopt a baby?”
The doctor transferred three embryos into my uterus, expecting one, but we got all three. For 13 weeks, literally all I did was eat, sleep, and raise a human. Although I was healthy, because of the risk to the babies, Greg ultimately decided to reduce the triplets to twins.
The doctor had me labor in the operating room in case something went wrong, but I delivered both twins vaginally. Twenty minutes after pushing them away, I got up from the table, walked over to the bed, and asked for a sandwich.
A few years later, an agency contacted a Chinese couple offering to pay Scrooge McDuck. Because I had student loans, getting pregnant was purely a financial decision. Surrogacy is very popular in the United States. Because the baby automatically becomes a citizen. The Chinese couple specifically chose girl as their gender, which was really cool. The twins were naturally a bit smaller, so I didn’t feel like I was lugging a giant Clydesdale baby around. My parents also asked me to give birth on a specific day because I was lucky. I said, “Okay, do whatever you want. “I’ll just eat croissants.”
For six weeks after giving birth, I would pump out my expressed breast milk and watch the babies. My family made me fresh dumplings. It was a very good situation. I still get pictures of the girls.
