It can be difficult to understand why anyone would become a Gestational Surrogate. Not only do Surrogates put their lives and health at risk, they willingly manage the discomforts of fertility treatments, suffer morning sickness, heartburn, and frequent urination, and then they give birth! All to pass the baby along to someone they probably did not know prior to pursuing surrogacy. So why would any one go through so much for a strange or strangers?
Let’s just get the biggest question on everyone’s mind out of the way:
No one becomes a Surrogate for the money.
Why? Because surrogacy in Canada is altruistic. Gestational Surrogates do not get paid for their pregnancy or any other part of their surrogacy journey. Surrogates freely give this incredible gift. If that doesn’t make you believe in the good in the world, I do not know what will.
To clarify, it doesn’t cost the Surrogate any of her own money to be a Surrogate either. All of the expenses related to surrogacy are paid for by the Intended Parents including child care costs related to surrogacy, travel to fertility clinics, maternity clothes, medications, etc. To keep everything legal and transparent, receipts are provided and expenses are recorded.
Alberta women are choosing to become Surrogates for a number of reasons.
A woman may choose to become a Gestational Surrogate because she loves being pregnant and is finished having children of her own.
Surrogates may choose to embark on the journey of surrogacy for the experience. They want to feel the joy of doing something special for someone else. They want to gain cultural experience through their relationship with their Intended Parents. Surrogacy is unlike any other experience. It’s not every day that you get to do something truly significant and remarkable.
There are Surrogate Mothers who have chosen surrogacy because they too had difficulty becoming a parent. Some people have trouble getting pregnant without the help of an Egg Donor, Sperm Donor, IUI (Intrauterine Insemination), or IVF(In Vitro Fertilization). These people are healthy and able to maintain a pregnancy and give birth to a healthy baby. They understand the heartbreak and difficulty of infertility. Perhaps someone helped them to become a parent, too and they want to pay it forward.
There are women who choose to become Surrogates in Alberta because someone they know has had difficulty becoming a parent. Either someone they are close to has faced infertility, or struggled to adopt, become a single parent, or build a family as a same sex couple.
Surrogacy in Canada is a representation of the good in the world. The altruistic model of Canadian surrogacy brings out the most loving and beautiful women who truly want to help others.
If any of these reasons resonate with you, or you have your own reason for becoming a Surrogate, please reach out to us through our Surrogacy Interest Form on our Gestational Surrogates page.
Why did you choose to become a Surrogate?
