Experience: my babies were born seven weeks apart

"We went to a fertility specialist, and the tests on both of us came back clear, but then I couldn't get pregnant at all. By the time we married in December 2018, Alex and I had been on a relentless treadmill of fertility interventions for three years. I'd held my breath during my third pregnancy in May 2017, devastated when it ended, only to be followed by a fourth loss a year later, at 10-and-a-half weeks."

"It was after my fifth miscarriage, in mid-2019, and with one embryo left in the freezer, that my doctor suggested surrogacy. I felt so many conflicting emotions hope that it might work, sadness that I was giving up on my body, and relief that the entire responsibility of a pregnancy's success wouldn't be on my shoulders. In Canada, where I live, surrogacy is altruistic, although, as in the UK, expenses are paid."

"We went through an agency, and when I saw Trish's photo I felt an incredible connection. The fact that she lived in New Brunswick, an 18-hour drive away from us in Ontario, didn't faze us. We developed a deep bond after spending five days together for her medical clearance tests. Then, in August 2021, I became inexplicably angry with Alex. Aware that pregnancy and PMS felt the same to me, I stomped off to take a test."

A woman experienced five miscarriages and prolonged infertility beginning at age 34. Fertility tests for both partners returned normal results, but repeated attempts failed. The couple underwent fertility interventions for three years, including multiple pregnancies that ended early, and married in December 2018 during ongoing treatments. Infertility affected social relationships and emotional well-being, making friends' pregnancies painful. After a fifth miscarriage in mid-2019 and with one embryo remaining, her doctor suggested surrogacy. The woman felt hope, sadness, and relief. The couple chose an altruistic surrogate from New Brunswick, developed a deep bond during medical clearance, and then she unexpectedly became pregnant in August 2021.

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