Honoring The Many Paths To Parenthood

Here at Magnolia, I have always been a believer and supporter of all of the different pathways to parenthood. Helping people to fulfill their family vision has always been at the heart of our mission. I have worked with many women who struggle with infertility, but what about those circumstances where fertility massage and/or IVF aren't enough? I had a chance to sit down with ConceiveAbilities Surrogacy Educator, Shannon Curry, to talk about her personal experience with pregnancy and ultimately surrogacy.

Q: Shannon, what brought you to connect with Magnolia to share your story? A: Well, when I was about 22 weeks pregnant with my first son, I was diagnosed with a rare eye condition that threatened my sight. The stress and anxiety around getting to full term with my vision intact was almost too much to bear. A friend suggested prenatal massage as a coping mechanism to manage that stress and wow, was she right. I got a prenatal massage every week to keep me calm and centered through the remainder of my pregnancy. And I made it! I got to 39 weeks with my vision - was it the massage? I will never know, but it definitely didn't hurt. Q: How scary for you, but so glad you found a safe way to manage your stress! How did that lead you to surrogacy? A: Once we had our son, it was clear to me that we needed to go a different direction if we wanted to have more kids and still have my vision. We explored adoption and surrogacy and ultimately landed on going the surrogacy route for our second kiddo. Q: I think we all understand the basics of surrogacy, but what are the common misconceptions about it? A: There are a handful of myths out there about surrogacy that are important to talk about. Many people believe that the child is genetically related to the carrier. This is not the case. With Gestational Surrogacy - which is 99% of what is done today - the embryo is created outside the body then implanted into the carrier so there is no genetic relationship between the surrogate and the baby. Another common myth is that surrogates do this for money. We have done alot of research about this and have found that, although money is a factor, women actually do this to "bring joy"! How lovely is that? Q: Surrogacy is so interesting to me and I have even considered becoming a surrogate myself! What makes a great surrogate? A: On a physical level, there is a very thorough screening process to become a surrogate. But if you are between the ages of 21 - 43, are a mother who enjoyed pregnancy, and are a US citizen, you can take the first step of finding out if you qualify by taking a simple 5-minute questionnaire here: https://share.conceiveabilities.com/christine. Now, on a more existential level, surrogates are women who love to help others. They are known to volunteer, foster pets or help out at their kids' schools. They want to help someone in a way that is bigger than themselves. If this sounds like you, I encourage you to find out if you qualify. You could have the chance to change someone's life forever.

Shannon works for Chicago-based surrogacy agency ConcieveAbilities as a Surrogacy Educator. If you have questions about becoming a surrogate or want to learn more about the surrogacy journey, you can reach her here: Scurry@concieveabilities.com Curious if you qualify to carry? Take the first step to find out: https://share.conceiveabilities.com/christine

Learn more about fertility enhancement massage, click here.

To learn more about prenatal massage, please click here.

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