A look at the lives of women who give birth to other people's babies

A small but growing number of couples in the United States and Europe are turning to gestational surrogates to help create their families. Today, the demand for qualified surrogates far outpaces their availability; the women typically receive $20,000 to $25,000. Who are these women? Some are stay-at-home moms, others are career women. They range in age from their early 20s to their early 40s. Many have children of their own. And all of them share a desire to help those that can't carry their own children create families. NEWSWEEK spoke with dozens of gestational surrogates. A look at a few of them. Photo: Gillian Laub for Newsweek

 
 
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Member Comments

  • Posted By: helpn @ 05/11/2009 9:43:14 PM

    i am 34 and am thinking of being a surrogate... I have been a egg donor and had all the tests done. contact me if interested.....

  • Posted By: damoore @ 05/04/2009 5:28:05 PM

    Saw your posting. My wife and I are in the very early stages of thinking about using a surrogate mother. If you have a moment and would like to correspond about this, please send an email to my home email address: dmoore534@gmail.com

    Since I am former military, we would be especially comfortable making arrangements with a woman who is a military family spouse and who has already had children. We live in Washington DC area. Thanks, David and Stefanie

  • Posted By: jdemario @ 03/12/2009 3:23:30 PM

    I was a gestational surrogate for a friend of mine and it was an absolutely amazing experience. While it's not right for everyone, we were all very clear what our expectations were from the beginning and had very open communication throughout the whole process. Those are two absolute necessities for anyone considering this process, whether the surrogate parents or the intended parents. My boys are now 5 and 7 and the surrogate "baby" is a beautiful 18 month old girl, the absolute love of her parents lives. There has to be trust, love and faith in each other and the process. I never had any confusion of what my role was and neither did they and I had total support from my partner.

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