Expecting a baby can be a wonderful and joyous adventure, but it can also come with some complicated feelings when you’re expecting via surrogate. Kate Hazell knows that feeling, as she and her husband found out they wouldn’t have the opportunity for Kate to carry a sibling for their son. Since they wanted another child they looked into surrogacy, and as of September 2024, they were four months away from the birth of that child via a surrogate thousands of miles away from them.

Kate lives in Dubai, along with her husband and two-year-old son. The surrogate who is carrying the couple’s second child is in Las Vegas, Nevada, more than 8,000 miles away. She recounts the birth of her son in 2021 as “complicated” and when the Hazells tried for another child they knew they would have an uphill battle on their hands. After IVF, surgeries, and other treatments, Kate was told that surrogacy or adoption would be the only realistic options to grow their family.

Kate is from the UK and her husband is from Canada. Both countries have long waiting lists for surrogates, so it made complete sense for the couple to choose the United States, where surrogacy has been working successfully since 1976. The couple chose an agency in California that had an excellent reputation and a shorter timeline. That led to profiles and bios of potential surrogates and a video “date” with the one that Kate and her husband ultimately chose to carry their child.

Then came the legal meetings, FDA testing for the couple and their already frozen embryos, paperwork, counseling sessions, and more. It took six months from the first meeting with Summer, the surrogate the couple chose, to the reveal of a positive pregnancy test. Kate explains that it’s surreal, as she’s pregnant but not pregnant. Much like a man waits for his partner to give birth, she waits for their surrogate to birth her child.

There are some concerns over the initial bond with her child when it’s born, coupled with the immense privilege Kate feels to be able to use a surrogate. The more people like Kate speak out, the more normalized surrogacy will likely become for all the women and couples who want to explore how it can help them start or grow their families.

We aim to provide our clients with a straightforward breakdown of what might seem to be a complicated and daunting process so that they can enjoy the beautiful experience of bringing a child into the world through surrogacy. Contact us today to learn more!