This narrative emerges from a candid conversation with Emily Westerfield, a woman residing in Celina, Ohio, who has dedicated much of her adult life to surrogacy. Her account, while carefully edited for clarity and brevity, provides a profound glimpse into an extraordinary journey that unites her personal experience of motherhood with her role as a gestational carrier.
Over the years, Emily has carried twelve pregnancies to term, a number that still astonishes her when she reflects upon it. Among these pregnancies, some involved single births while others resulted in twins. This total includes the baby she is currently carrying at twenty-two weeks, a child who will be her ninth surrogacy delivery, in addition to her three biological children born with her husband. The child she now carries is a girl, and this detail carries symbolic resonance: once she delivers, by February 2026 she will have brought into the world an equal number of sons and daughters—six boys and six girls in total.
Her role in this process has been strictly as a gestational carrier. This means that although Emily has delivered eight children for other families, including two sets of twins, none of those children share her genetic material. In contrast, she and her husband are the biological parents of her own three children—McKenna, now 14, Jack, aged 12, and Charlie, who is 11. Despite having lived through each pregnancy, Emily sometimes finds it difficult to fully grasp just how many children she has shepherded into the world.
Throughout all her pregnancies, Emily has given birth vaginally, even when carrying twins. Inevitably, people often ask whether experiencing so many pregnancies places her health at risk. She reassures them by explaining that, in her case, pregnancy tends to be relatively straightforward. Unlike many women who battle nausea or severe pregnancy-related discomfort, Emily’s early months are typically marked instead by mild food aversions rather than pronounced morning sickness. She considers herself fortunate never to have faced major complications, although pregnancies involving multiples were medically classified as high risk. Such cases carry a heightened possibility of premature labor, preeclampsia, or other maternal health concerns. To manage these risks, Emily subjected herself to rigorous observation at a clinic in Ohio and benefited from the expertise of a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, whose role is to closely monitor women facing complex or higher-risk pregnancies.
Even with her long record of smooth vaginal deliveries, Emily recognizes that repeated pregnancies are not without danger. She acknowledges the ever-present possibility of developing gestational diabetes or placenta-related complications such as abruption. These considerations linger in her thoughts each time she prepares for another transfer. Typically, she follows the established medical recommendation of allowing a recovery period of six months between delivering one baby and agreeing to a subsequent embryo transfer. However, there was one exception in 2018 when, with her doctor’s approval, she proceeded after only a three-month interval.
Despite these medical realities, Emily treats every pregnancy with extraordinary diligence. She carefully monitors her diet, prioritizing wholesome, balanced meals, and engages in daily gentle exercise to maintain her health and resilience. Family life remains at the center of her priorities, and she continues to shoulder household responsibilities regardless of how advanced her pregnancy may be. With a mix of perseverance and determination, she still performs tasks such as vacuuming and washing dishes, rarely allowing herself the luxury of extended rest. Her husband Max, a 43-year-old propane service technician, stands as a source of support and reassurance, understanding the depth of her commitment both to surrogacy and to her family.
Alongside questions about her physical capacity, Emily is often asked whether financial incentives or altruism drive her decision to become a surrogate. Without hesitation, she affirms that the dominant motivation is compassion and the desire to help others. For many individuals and couples struggling with infertility, the dream of parenthood remains otherwise unreachable. Few women are willing to assume the emotional and physical demands of surrogacy, and Emily considers it her privilege to bridge that gap. Although some intended parents begin as strangers, the intensity of the surrogacy journey bonds them in a unique and lasting way. To Emily, the joy of granting families the child they have long yearned for far outweighs any monetary dimension.
The culmination of each surrogacy journey comes on delivery day. Emily describes these occasions as moments brimming with anticipation and joy, likening the experience of witnessing the parents meeting their baby for the first time to the emotional magnitude of “a hundred Christmas mornings rolled into one.” Inspired by her own experiences and determined to ensure ethical practices, Emily founded her own surrogacy agency, Carrying Dreams, in 2022. Through this organization, she gained greater control over every stage of the process—from forming relationships with intended parents to ensuring a pace and structure that aligned with her values. She emphasizes transparency, moral responsibility, and education, helping potential surrogates understand what to expect, including how compensation is determined.
In her agency’s model, each surrogate establishes her own rate, which typically varies from approximately $30,000 for a first-time surrogate to about $65,000 for women who have already proven themselves capable carriers. Experienced surrogates often command higher compensation because they understand the demands of the process more clearly and because their histories show a strong, positive response to fertility treatments such as IVF.
Now, at the age of 39, Emily acknowledges the cumulative effects of so many pregnancies. She maintains periods of significant energy and drive, yet she also admits that exhaustion sometimes overtakes her, leaving her yearning for a day of uninterrupted rest. With this twelfth pregnancy underway, Emily believes her journey as a surrogate is drawing to a close. She anticipates that the baby she now carries will be the last child she delivers for another family, marking the conclusion of an extraordinary chapter defined by resilience, generosity, and an unwavering commitment to bringing joy to others.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/surrogate-nine-pregnancies-agency-cost-2025-10
