A Woman Who Carried Babies for Celebrities Reveals the Unknown Realities of Surrogacy

year ago

There is a growing number of celebrities who are welcoming their children via surrogacy, and most of them openly talk about it. But we rarely hear from the surrogates themselves, and we are usually oblivious to their experience. A woman who has carried babies for celebrities decided to share her journey, including the good and the bad parts. Disclaimer: The names of the celebrities in her story have been changed to protect their identities.

Surrogacy is becoming a popular pregnancy alternative.

There are many reasons why people opt to go for surrogates when expanding their families, the main one being medical issues or infertility. Celebrities are also turning to surrogates to help them realize their parenting dreams.

These include Paris Hilton, who welcomed her firstborn this year, Kim Kardashian, who used surrogates for 2 of her children due to pregnancy complications, and Neil Patrick Harris, who shares twins with his husband, David Burtka.

Surrogacy is also becoming a route for females who don’t have any medical problems but prefer not to go through a pregnancy. Some models, for example, fear that carrying a child may negatively affect their career. As one doctor said, “Money talks. If you have money, you’re going to have a baby. It’s sad, but it is the case.”

Shanna St Clair decided to be a surrogate to help people who have difficulties with pregnancy.

42-year-old Shanna already had 3 children of her own when she came across a magazine article talking about how surrogacy can help others. “It wasn’t because I needed to pay my bills — we were okay financially,” she said. “I looked at surrogacy as a gift I could give another woman.”

After joining a surrogacy agency, Shanna got a call from a celebrity couple — let’s call them Jennifer and Mark. She had a pleasant experience with them, saying the couple made the effort to get to know her and her family.

The pregnancy went well, and Shanna delivered Jennifer and Mark’s baby. She received $50,000 as payment for her services, including transportation costs to the IVF clinic, hotels, food, and any income she lost from her day job as a hairdresser.

Jennifer and Mark were so grateful to her that when their celebrity friend Catherine (not her real name) needed a surrogate, they referred Shanna.

Shanna’s second surrogacy experience was not as enjoyable as her first one.

According to Shanna, Catherine hails from a famous family. “I loved her story about being in her early forties and trying to have a baby with her own eggs and a sperm donor. She had been trying for years and had used other surrogates, but the pregnancies had failed.”

“She was going to be a single mother, but that didn’t influence my decision at all — I didn’t judge — and I decided to go ahead.” The 2 women agreed to 3 IVF attempts — or the process of implanting Catherine’s fertilized egg in Shanna’s uterus.

The first 2 tries were unsuccessful. Finally, on the thirdattempt, they detected a positive pregnancy. When Shanna called Catherine to deliver the good news, she was surprised to find out that Catherine just had a baby. “Listen, I wanted to tell you before you see it in the news. I was using another surrogate, and she has just given birth,” the celebrity told her.

Shanna was unsure if Catherine still wanted the baby she was carrying, but she continued with the check-ups. A month later, she found out that she had a miscarriage. “It was like a very, very heavy period.” She informed Catherine about it, whose only reply was, “Shanna, our relationship has ended... Forward your bills.”

After this painful experience, Shanna gave surrogacy one last try.

Shanna carried twins for a non-celebrity couple, and it ended up being a high-risk pregnancy. She had a stroke, seizures, and was confined in intensive care for 7 days. “After the third surrogacy, I nearly lost my life. It shows that there’s risk in every pregnancy — but it all turned out okay in the end.”

“I think I needed something good to wash away the mortifying experience with Catherine,” Shanna added. “I’ve had 2 beautiful surrogacy experiences, and one that was terrible and transactional.”

Shanna shared her thoughts on surrogacy, saying how some people may be taking it too lightly.

“Obviously, there are times when a woman has a medical condition where she physically can’t carry a child — but that’s not all that’s happening. I think when you have money and privilege, there’s a danger of people thinking, ‘I can get someone to grow a baby for me,’” Shanna explained.

“I feel sad for women who grow these wonderful lives for 9 months, passing it to someone else, and that the trials they went through are not acknowledged.” Shanna concluded by saying that women who carry babies for others are heroes. “It’s a wonderful thing to do, as long as both sides know exactly what they’re getting into.”

If you want to read more about surrogacy and other pregnancy-related stories, you can check the following articles:

Preview photo credit Westend61 GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo