My Surrogacy Story – Helping Another Mother Welcome Her Baby
For any readers who are unfamiliar with our story, my name is Gennifer Rose. I am a proud mama to my two kids, and last year I helped another woman have her baby girl by being a surrogate. It was an incredible bucket list experience and I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to make it happen. For anyone curious about how surrogacy works, here’s my story!
How It All Started for Me
My connection with surrogacy all began after I delivered my second baby. My daughter was nearly 3 years old when my son was born, and I had spent the last 4 years being a stay at home mom. I had previously worked in tech in San Francisco for large companies, but after being home with the kids for years in Sacramento, going back into the workforce was challenging. Luckily I was hired by a local surrogacy agency who were actually looking to hire moms to work in their office (instead of seeing the fact that I was a mom as a negative!).
Fast forward two years and I am still happily working at the surrogacy agency and at this point I have seen over 100 babies born to new parents through surrogacy. I follow along their journeys, meet the surrogates, meet the parents, and basically watch these miracles unfold. In a nutshell, I had major FOMO (fear of missing out!). My son is now 2 years old and I am ready to be pregnant again, but not necessarily wanting another baby of my own. I am ready to help another family welcome their baby!
The Process of Applying to Be a Surrogate
Finding a woman you trust to carry your baby until birth is no small task. The women who are interested applying to be surrogates must complete several rounds of screening. From physical health, medical records, psychological evaluation to a lifestyle review, applying to be a surrogate is an in-depth process. Once you’ve made it through the required screening, it’s time to match with intended parents!
Matching with My Intended Mother
When it came time to match with intended parents, I was open to helping anyone (same sex couple, gay couple or single parent). As it turns out, I had a coworker who was working on a case to match a very sweet single woman.
Sophie* was a single woman who had endured many years of infertility and failed IVF. She had been in a long term relationship for many years, but it ended without being able to conceive a baby. She decided to take matters into her own hands and find an egg donor, sperm donor and a surrogate to make her motherhood dreams come true. I really admired Sophie’s determination and I loved the idea of being the one to deliver her baby. It felt like us together were making it happen against all odds!
Starting IVF as a Gestational Carrier
After we completed the surrogacy contracts, it was time to start IVF. All modern day surrogates are gestational carriers, meaning that they are not genetically related to the baby and their own egg is not being used to make the embryo. Embryos are made separately, either with the egg of the mother or a donor.
We started IVF medications and then planned for the embryo transfer. Unfortunately our first embryo transfer failed, but the second one was successful and we were pregnant with a baby girl!
The 9 Months of a Surrogacy Pregnancy
After you’ve completed IVF and baby has a strong heartbeat, you graduate to a regular OBGYN to continue the pregnancy. I live in Sacramento and the baby’s mother spent most of her time in Paris and Los Angeles during my pregnancy. We had a group chat that included both of us and our surrogacy agency case manager.
We sent many photos, videos and stories back and forth for 9 months. Of course anytime I had ultrasound photos, videos and baby progress I promptly shared them with the. group. Both she and I are foodies who like to cook, so we shared a lot of photos of meals too. During the holidays and birthdays, Sophie sent gifts for my kids. They felt like they had a cool new aunt!
A Surrogacy Labor and Delivery
Throughout this entire process, everything is leading up to the big day when baby is born. Sophie came to stay in Sacramento for a month before delivery and we were able to spend some quality time together. We had picnics in the park, took the kids to the playground, went baby shopping at Target, etc. She also attended the remainder of the doctor appointments and we did a tour of the birth hospital too.
Baby girl was born exactly on her due date July 26th at 40 weeks. It was a very long delivery which started with an induction. When baby girl was finally born, Sophie cut the umbilical cord and held her baby doing skin to skin. We shared our hospital room for a few hours until they moved into our own maternity recovery rooms.
Ultimately Sophie and I spent 5 days in the hospital together, and then she went back to her rented apartment with baby girl and I went home to my babies. We spent time visiting back and forth until she returned home to Paris after about 5 weeks of being in Sacramento.
Our Relationship Over Time
As I write this now, baby girl is about to turn one year old in a couple weeks. I am nearly 12 months postpartum and feeling like my old self. Our group chat from our surrogacy journey is still very active, and we share photos and videos of both of our kids. Baby girl is doing amazing! She is such a little cutie, and her mom is rocking motherhood. She has already started the process to have a second baby through surrogacy with another amazing surrogate. Baby girl will have a little brother!
Would I Recommend Surrogacy?
Yes, I would absolutely recommend surrogacy—both for women considering becoming a surrogate and for intended parents hoping to grow their family. For women who feel called to help others in a deeply meaningful way, surrogacy is a profoundly rewarding experience that allows them to give the priceless gift of parenthood. It’s a journey filled with purpose, support, and the joy of making dreams come true.
For intended parents, surrogacy offers a hopeful and often life-changing path to building a family when other options may be limited. With the right match and a supportive team, the surrogacy process can be a beautiful collaboration rooted in trust, compassion, and shared goals.
