Gift-giver

Profile of a Surrogate Mother

By Jessica Williams

About a year before her daughter was born, Kat's best friend found out that she had endometriosis. During a conversation a couple of years later, her friend told her that if anyone had to carry a child for her, she would want it to be Kat. "That touched me in a way that I never thought possible, and it was then that I began to piece things together and realize that I could really do this for someone!" she says. "I wanted to be part of something so amazing – the birth of a child – the creation of a family!"

Even before this revelation, Kat had fleeting thoughts of surrogacy. "As I neared the end of my pregnancy with my daughter, I was thinking aloud one day and said, 'Wow, if there was a way that I could be pregnant and go through labor and delivery and not bring a child home, I would do it!'" she says.

So how does a mother of two approach her husband with such thoughts? With honesty and piles of information. "He had mixed feelings about it first," she says. "Most of his apprehensions came from not fully understanding the process as a whole. I took my time and explained everything I could." Kat researched on the Internet, joined e-mail groups and read many books about surrogacy.

Kat also discussed her desire to carry someone else's child with her family. "I was getting a lot of support," she says. "Most of my sisters have children of their own and understood where I was coming from in wanting to do this for someone."

Want to see more?

• The Surrogacy Search: Starting Out
• The Surrogacy Search: In Their Own Words
• Donor Decisions: Considering Donor Egg & Sperm
• Check out our Article Library.
• Talk about it!