Tuesday Tradition
My friend Rebecca and I meet every first Tuesday of the month. We get our 5- year-old girls together at the play area of the Mountain Meadows Mall. Today, Rebecca told me that she had some news to share, and I was really excited to hear about it.
Becoming a Surrogate
When I arrived, Rebecca was there with Stephanie, and the girls held hands as they ran toward the play area. As we kept an eye on both girls and sipped on our coffee, Rebecca told me that she and Cesar were thinking of getting pregnant again. I thought that was wonderful news. Then she said, “Susan, it’s not the pregnant that you think.” My eyes opened wide. “I know this is going to sound weird, but Cesar, Stephanie, and I are going to start a surrogacy journey.” I’d heard about Surrogacy before, but I’d never really thought about it. I immediately wanted to hear more about it.
The Surrogacy Agency
She told me that she and her husband did not want any more children after Stephanie, but that she loved being pregnant. I remember how much she enjoyed that. They had been wanting to travel back to South America where Cesar was from, but they never seemed to have the money for it. So they began to look for sources of compensation. As a result, they researched surrogacy agencies and found one called Omega Family Global. It was close to where they lived and it seemed to have had excellent ratings. The pay was good as well.
Why do you have to be a mother prior to becoming a surrogate?
My daughter Beth needed to use the bathroom, so I got up and asked Rebecca if Stephanie needed to go as well. I took both girls, and when I got back they returned to the play area. I was eager to hear about the requirements to become a surrogate. As she showed me their website, I noticed one requirement that caught me off guard. “Given birth and have had at least one full-term, uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery.”
“Why do you have to be a mother to become a Surrogate? Wouldn’t you just have to be willing to have a child for someone else?”
Her eyes softened and she said that she, too, had had the same question. As she did her research, she found that the most helpful information came from Omega Family Global’s website. She also had medical information that her own OB/GYN had given her.
The reasons behind having to be a mother
1. You must be familiar with your body
The information she found stated that if you have not been pregnant before, you have no idea how your body is going to react to pregnancy. In addition, you would not know if you are prone to risks such as preeclampsia that could endanger yourself and the child.
When I found out I was pregnant, I asked my mom what sort of conditions she faced. She relayed that she had to be on bed rest because she is a small woman and it was hard for her to carry. In my case, my iron level went so low that I had to have a special diet that was high in iron. I couldn’t have known this had I not had Beth.
2. You must be able to show that your body is able to carry a baby to full term
People who look into surrogacy, more often than not, have had physical problems preventing a successful pregnancy. Therefore, they need to make sure that their surrogate has already been successful in having a child. Intended parents do not want to put their surrogate at risk either emotionally or physically to have a child for them.
Friends of mine have said that each pregnancy is different. Each pregnancy has its own personality. So the surrogate pregnancy may be very different from your past ones. Therefore, Omega Family Global provides professionals who make sure that the pregnancy and birth go according to plan.
Girl-time’s Up
Both of our girls had now sat down. They looked bored which was our cue that it was time to go. Rebecca and I laughed and promised that we would continue our conversation next time. She said she’d keep me posted on her process with Omega Family Global. We gathered our belongings and headed toward the parking lot.
