Surrogacy in Canada: My Second Journey
Our team and village is proud to honour JA Surrogate Carol. Carol is our first surrogate to complete TWO journeys with JA since our establishment in 2018. Many others have followed in her footsteps and we are so excited to have a number of their due dates on the horizon. We are grateful to have so many amazing women choose JA to walk this path with them time and time again.
By Carol Richards
Being a two-time surrogate was never the plan. I fully believed I would do one journey and be done. Boy, was I wrong. Not even 12 hours after the birth of my first surrogate baby, my fiance said, "I get it now. I understand your desire to do this and if you want to do it again, I fully support you". That's all I needed to hear to make my decision.
Four months later I was matched for my second journey. I looked through a few profiles before finding the perfect one. As soon as I saw their video I knew instantly, this was the couple I was meant to help.
The second time around I knew what to expect; what the medical screening looked like, how contract negotiations felt, and what to expect with medications and transfer. Despite all this, each step was still so exciting because I was able to witness my intended parents who were experiencing it all for the very first time. The positive pregnancy test, the first ultrasound, and the first time they heard the heart beat - all of these moments will forever stick in my mind.
In May of 2021, I completed my second surrogacy journey and gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. I am so glad that I decided to do this a second time and that I listened to my heart when it said ‘you’re not done yet’. I helped create another family. I helped create grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I have seen the purest of love on the face of a mother and father as they looked at their baby and as their dream became a reality. Surrogacy has changed my life and I will forever be grateful that I was blessed to experience it not once but twice.