A Surrogacy Story | Amanda Meyer | TEDxYouth@ASBarcelona

The narrator's surrogacy journey

• The narrator's first paid job was babysitting, but they didn't enjoy it, especially after a challenging experience with one of the children (20s).
• years ago, the narrator became a gestational surrogate for their friend Jamie and her husband, carrying twins who are not genetically related to them (40s).
• The decision to become a surrogate seemed straightforward, but the narrator has since received many questions about the practice, revealing that surrogacy is mysterious to many people (1m18s).
• The narrator's friend Jamie had experienced a miscarriage and the loss of a child due to an underdeveloped heart, and her autoimmune condition made it risky for her to carry a pregnancy (3m8s).
• Jamie and her husband started looking for alternative options to start a family, and the narrator offered to be a surrogate, which seemed like a natural decision given their close friendship and the narrator's own experiences with pregnancy (3m48s).
• The narrator had two sons of their own and didn't plan on having more children, but they wanted to help their friend and felt that carrying a baby for Jamie and her husband was the right thing to do (4m18s).
• The narrator learned that what they had offered was called gestational surrogacy, where the doctors mix the intended parents' cells to create an embryo, which the surrogate then carries (4m32s).
• The narrator explained the process to their own children, aged 5 and 8, in simple terms, saying that the doctors would mix Jamie and Ben's cells to create a little embryo, which they would then grow in their body (4m39s).
• The process of surrogacy involves a female surrogate carrying an embryo fertilized by the father's sperm, with the surrogate not being genetically related to the child, as seen in the case of the speaker carrying embryos for Jamie and Ben (4m56s).

History and prevalence of surrogacy

• The practice of surrogacy has a long history, dating back to ancient times, with examples found in Babylonian law, the biblical story of Hagar, and Hindu mythology (5m15s).
• The first gestational surrogate pregnancy on record took place in 1985, and over 30,000 surrogate pregnancies occurred in the United States in the 14 years leading up to the speaker's own surrogacy experience (5m30s).
• Many surrogates enter the experience for altruistic reasons, with a UK study in 2003 finding that 91% of women interviewed entered surrogacy to help a childless couple (5m47s).
• Other reasons for becoming a surrogate include enjoyment of pregnancy, self-fulfillment, and financial gain, although paid or commercial surrogacy is a concern for many who oppose the process (6m1s).

The surrogacy process and IVF

• The surrogacy process begins with the intended parents, in this case Ben and Jamie, undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) to create embryos (6m49s).
• During IVF, the mother takes hormone injections to stimulate her ovaries, and the eggs are retrieved, screened for quality, and injected with the father's sperm to produce embryos (7m5s).
• The embryos are then transferred to the surrogate's uterus, which requires the surrogate to undergo hormone injections and antibiotics to create a welcoming environment for the embryos (8m17s).
• The decision of how many embryos to transfer is a crucial one, as transferring two embryos increases the odds of successful implantation but also carries risks during pregnancy (8m50s).
• In the speaker's case, she opted for a double transfer, which increased the chances of successful implantation, and the embryos were transferred into her uterus using a long thin tube (9m23s).
• After the embryo transfer, the process involved acupuncture, rest, and relaxation to help the embryos settle and grow, with the goal of carrying twins, a boy and a girl, to term in January 2013 (9m44s).

Risks and challenges of surrogacy

• The pregnancy was relatively free of complications, but studies have shown that there are medical risks associated with being a gestational carrier, including hypertension, anemia, increased likelihood of cesarean delivery, and higher chances of postpartum hemorrhage (10m15s).
• For the intended parents, Ben and Jamie, there were challenges such as anxiety and fear of loss, as well as potential financial stress, as some costs for IVF and embryo transfer might not be covered by insurance (10m43s).
• Additional costs can include health insurance for the carrier and legal fees and documentation related to surrogacy (11m13s).

Legality and regulations of surrogacy

• The question of payment for surrogacy is a common one, and the legality of surrogacy varies globally, with some countries allowing commercial or altruistic surrogacy, while others have no regulations or prohibit it altogether (11m31s).
• In the United States, the legality of altruistic and commercial surrogacy varies from state to state, and some countries allow for commercial surrogacy while others do not (12m8s).
• The regulation of surrogacy is a complex issue, with arguments against it often centering on exploitation and commodification of reproduction, while some people see it as a personal choice and freedom (12m34s).
• A recent high-profile case in Spain, where surrogacy is illegal, involved an actress hiring a surrogate in the United States to carry her deceased son's child (13m23s).
• In India, commercial surrogacy was promoted from 2002 to 2015, but the lack of regulation led to concerns about exploitation, although some surrogates see it as a personal choice to improve their quality of life (13m37s).

Personal experiences and reflections on surrogacy

• The experience of being a surrogate can vary greatly, and one person's experience may not be representative of all, as highlighted by the speaker's own experience as an altruistic surrogate who chose not to be paid (14m29s).
• A contract was constructed with a law firm to outline agreements between the surrogate and the intended parents, covering various aspects such as travel costs, medical appointments, and maternity clothing, to prevent financial complications and ensure clear expectations (14m46s).
• The surrogate took hormones and carried the babies for almost 36 weeks, despite potential health and legal complications, and the babies were eventually delivered via C-section due to one of them being in a breach position (15m44s).
• The babies, Sam and Claire, were born on January 7th, 2013, with both parents present in the delivery room, and the surrogate did not feel any urge to think of the babies as belonging to her (16m20s).
• The surrogacy experience opened the surrogate's heart to a new appreciation of love and family, and she developed a deeper connection to her own family while working to bring two members of the intended parents' family into the world (17m10s).

The aftermath and ongoing relationships

• The intended parents, Jamie and Ben, have told their children about their brother Lucas, who died before they were born, and the surrogate, Amanda, who carried them, and the twins receive books from Amanda every year on their birthday (18m1s).
• The surrogate reflects on the experience with no regrets, feeling fortunate to have had the right support and people around her to make it possible, and encourages others to think about how they can offer a small part of themselves to initiate a positive change for someone else in their community (18m43s).

The impact of choice and love in creating family

• A personal sacrifice of time or talent can have a significant impact on others (19m30s).
• The example of Sam and Claire, and Jamie and Ben, shows how an active choice of love and hope can create a family despite the odds (19m36s).
• These individuals made a deliberate choice that ultimately led to the formation of a family (19m40s).