Could You Be a Surrogate Parent?

Meredith Olafson, of North Dakota, is 47 years old and she just gave birth to her 15th baby on March 29th. But only four of them are her own, she has been a surrogate six times. She is known as a “super surrogate” and has delivered two sets of triplets, a set of twins, and three single babies for other families. Ms. Olafson announced on the “Today” show last week that she is retiring from being a surrogate.

The most recent statistics show that the number of babies born to gestational surrogates almost doubled from 2004 to 2008, to 1,400 infants born in the U.S. from 738.  Surrogate mothers can earn up to $250,000 for one pregnancy, but Olafson has not collected anywhere near that amount — she says she isn’t in it for the money.

“When you see those parent’s faces, when they see that ultrasound for the first time… that’s priceless right there,” she said on “Today”.

What about you? Could you be a surrogate for your son or daughter?

Grandmothers giving birth to their own grandchildren is not as uncommon as you might think. The first case of such an arrangement dates back to 1987 when a South African woman gave birth to her triplet grandchildren.

Jaci Dalenberg of Wooster, Ohio gave birth to triplet girls that she carried for her daughter in 2008. She was 56 years old at the time (my age!) But she isn’t the oldest surrogate grandmother I read about.

Kristine Casey, a 61-year old surrogate grandmother gave birth to her own grandson last year in Illinois.

How do you feel about surrogacy? Could you have a baby for someone else? Could you hire someone to have a baby for you? How would you feel if your daughter or son couldn’t have children and they hired a surrogate? Could you be a surrogate for your own grandchild?

If the surrogacy trend continues, and more than likely it will, more and more families will be asking  themselves these questions.