Have you ever wondered what would happen if you couldn’t conceive a child? Wanting to be a mother or father so badly and knowing that you are physically or biologically unable to become one.
This question is a stark reality for countless people and families, to the extent that their social, emotional, professional and personal fulfillment spheres are affected by this situation. According to a study conducted by the World Health Organization, one in six people experiences infertility at some point in their lives. We start from a point where both women and men share this feeling and desire for parenthood which can be incomprehensible to some, yet they continue to grapple with the harsh reality day by day.
Many of them spend years of their lives trying to conceive a son or daughter, enduring losses such as disappointments, and the result is exhaustion and suffering that becomes increasingly painful exacerbating anguish, frustration and depression. Some of them go through this entire journey in silence, unable to accept the situation and asking themselves, “Why me?” Others, who are more fortunate, have a support network that encourages them to keep trying, but like everything else, the desire and excitement ware.
In today ́s society, within the very core of it, the family, a wide diversity of models can be found. Both single-parent and homo- parent families have the right to feel and experience parenthood. Therefore, nothing should hinder this longing and desire, which, while unimaginable years ago, can now hold a ray of hope and reassurance with the support of reproductive medicine.
Every day, there is a significant increase in the number of individuals, couples, and families turning to reproductive medicine in their quest to conceive a baby. Despite all the efforts, fertility treatments, medical, psychological and hormonal procedures, many of them remain unsuccessful. It is not unnoticed that each new attempt can result in a painful loss, further intensifying physical and emotional, ultimately extinguishing those hopes desires.
As a result, various assisted reproductive techniques have emerged today, one of them being gestational surrogacy. This technique has provided a glimmer of hope for all those who have spent years of their lives trying to become parents. I won’t limit myself to listing the ways they have tried, from medical procedures to adoption, and have not succeeded due to biological, governmental, or lengthy waiting list reasons that can span years. Gestational surrogacy has made this dream a possible reality
Surrogacy offers the opportunity for all individuals to experience their complete family, to provide all the love and affection to their future son or daughter. As a result, the biological barrier to gestation impossibilities is shattered.
This assisted reproductive technique is one of the most praiseworthy forms I have witnessed because it requires a gestational carrier, a woman who is mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy and who selflessly contributes her ability to gestate. So that once the baby is born, they can be welcomed into
the arms of the individuals and families.
I find the work of all these gestational carriers truly admirable because, thanks to my profession, I have witnessed the bonds and connections that arise from the profound connection formed
between gestational carriers and intended parents. These connections transcend borders, break down language barriers, and are bonds that last a lifetime. It’s a feeling that is described as indescribable, according to the families I have had the privilege of meeting.
There are two moments that have marked my professional career as well as my journey in gestational surrogacy. One of them is when I was with an intended parent couple, and they explained that their journey began five years ago. Throughout this journey, they had visited a hundred specialists, gone through three unsuccessful embryo transfers, and as they gradually shared their story, one of them choked up, tears welled up in their eyes, and they told me they couldn’t bear another failed attempt. They didn’t want to give up on their dream of becoming parents, but the disappointments were wearing them down. Today, they are pregnant, and all this waiting has been worth it.
It is the responsibility of all to understand and convey that individuals who turn to gestational surrogacy are solely pursuing a common goal: to respond to the statement “We want to be parents, but we can’t.” Because, even if you don’t know it yet, in the future, you could be among those who daily wonder, “Why me?” And thanks to gestational surrogacy, you could change that question into the statement, “I want to be a mother or father, and I can be!”
