Hiring someone to Carrying a baby to term is a dynamically developing business. The surrogacy market is expected to grow to $129 billion by 2032, driven by older parents, rising infertility and more same-sex families. Silicon Valley is also contributing to the growth: Tech companies like Google, Meta and Snap are offering up to $80,000 to cover the six-figure costs of the process.
However, “renting the uterus” (as critics call it) remains controversial. One human rights expert The UN said commercial surrogacy “usually means selling children.” Critics say the practice exploits needy women who are not fully informed about the risks; in fact, the United States is one of the few developed countries that allows commercial pregnancy.
The stereotypical gestational carrier is a stay-at-home mom who wants to earn money without leaving her children behind. Many surrogates fit this mold, but their backgrounds and experiences vary greatly. A West Coast surrogate who gave birth to two sets of twins to parents in California and China shares her experience.
In 2010, mine best friend died of an accidental overdose and I found his body a few days later. After this trauma, I went through a long period of analyzing my purpose. As a mother, I thought it would be really nice if I could give others a reason to get up in the morning. I also loved being pregnant: surrogacy seemed like the best part-time job in the world.
I underwent strict physical and mental tests. Then I read a lot of files from the parents-to-be, waiting for that “click”. Eventually, I met an older, single man – let’s call him Greg. As a queer woman, I felt a powerful social obligation to bear children for gay men. For some people, surrogacy may be more accessible than adoption. Greg told me, “I’m older, gay, and a single father. Do you know how difficult it would be for me to adopt a baby?”
The doctor transferred three embryos into my uterus, hoping for one, but we managed to get all three. For 13 weeks, literally all I did was eat, sleep, and raise people. I was vigorous, but due to the risk to the babies, Greg ultimately decided to reduce the triplets to twins.
The doctor told me to give birth in the operating room in case something went wrong, but I delivered both twins vaginally. Twenty minutes after pushing them out, I got up from the table, went to the bed and asked for a sandwich.
A few years later, an agency contacted me and told me that a couple from China was offering Scrooge McDuck buckets of money. I had student loans, so getting pregnant was purely a money decision. Surrogacy has become very popular in the US because the children automatically become citizens. The Chinese couple specifically chose the gender for the girls, which was cold. These twins were naturally a little smaller, so I didn’t feel like I was lugging around giant Clydesdale babies. My parents also asked me to give birth on a specific day because it was cheerful. I said, “Okay, whatever you want. I’ll just eat croissants.
For six weeks after giving birth, I weaned off the expressed milk and monitored the babies. My family made me fresh dumplings. It was a very nice situation. I still have photos of the girls.