How Surrogacy Improved My Life - Jennifer's Story
By Jennifer Halleran-Dingwall
When my husband and I made the decision to surrogate for another family, surrogacy was literally the last thing on my mind. Honestly, it was quite a foreign subject to us.
I hold the stereotypical corporate career and even before having my own daughter, didn’t think I would even have children. My life was consumed with advancing in the workplace. After my daughter was born, I realized that women can do both. I could continue to progress in a career that I loved AND be a great mother at the same time.
I was sitting at home with my husband one evening when I came across a page on surrogacy. It just so happened to coincide at a time in my life where I realized that life is so busy, and yet still, I wanted to give back in a way that I knew I could. My pregnancy with my daughter was, for all intents and purposes, pretty comfortable after all. And after having read the article on surrogacy, I just had this feeling that I knew it would be perfect for us.
As I began to take steps towards my own surrogate journey, I was working many hours, but this was the pace I had grown accustomed to over the last decade. Very soon after, we met the most amazing couple who were searching for their surrogate, and it was love at first sight!
Together, my husband and I knew we could change their lives forever just as much as they would change ours. We began our journey together, and as the saying goes… the rest is history.
My life continued to move forward in the best way. My pregnancy did not slow me down, nor did it take a toll on my family’s lifestyle as we were accustomed. In fact, at almost exactly the 12 week mark after our transfer, I was offered a promotion with another company. It was a substantial move but I was still confident that I could do both.
During the remainder of my pregnancy I made a commitment to myself that I would become the healthiest, happiest and most successful version of myself I could be. And I did just that.
I was able to excel in my new position, lose 25 pounds with a very healthy lifestyle under doctor supervision and grow a beautiful and healthy baby girl to full term.
I laboured just under 3 hours to deliver this baby to her parents. They were right beside me the entire time. I’m not sure how I can express adequately the emotions happening all at that time. I’m not a very emotional person to begin with, but I can say this - I entered surrogacy unsure of what it would look like, but confident that I could do it. The calling to do something greater than myself was strong. This experience has not only created a new family and changed their life but also changed my families life forever. A surrogacy story is the greatest love story of all.