Becoming a Surrogate Impacted Every. Single. One.of My Relationships

It looks great on The Kardashians. But the reality can be...messy.

- SUNSHINE HANSON

My husband worried I'd die. My sister asked if my organs would get harvested. My mom said I was being unfair to our family. And another relative asked, quite literally, how I was different than a prostitute. So, yeah. It's safe to say that at first, my choice to become a surrogate-someone who gets pregnant for someone who can'twasn't popular with the people in my life. Like, at all.

Let me set the scene: It was 2015, and I was 33 and making $40,000 as an overworked English teacher. My husband, Kyle, was trying to grow a small business, and we owed thousands of dollars in student debt. We kept downsizing, moving around to save money, but it was hard on us, my son, and our dogs. So after seeing an acquaintance who'd been a surrogate flash the keys to her new house in a Facebook photo, I started researching.

What I found seemed pretty straightforward: Most surrogates get pregnant via IVF, usually with the intended parents' egg and/or sperm. If all goes well, the surrogate hands over the baby after giving birth. At the time, first-time surrogates were making between $20,000 and $30,000, on average, as base compensation. (FWIW, the range is around $40,000 to $60,000 today.) That was life-changing money for us, and I knew myself I'm pragmatic and I like a challenge. I'm good at regulating my emotions. I'd also been pregnant and given birth before (in high school, when I had my son), so I had an idea of what to expect. I contacted a surrogacy agency and, after a series of screenings, was matched with a couple in Australia who had two embryos and wanted twins. For carrying them, I'd make $28,000. I truly had no hesitation. Convincing Kyle was another story.