Meet Michelle!
“I had a great experience with FSC. If I were to be a surrogate again, they would be my first choice hands down.“
Michelle is an incredible surrogate who delivered a baby girl for a family in February 2024.
Q: What led you to become a Surrogate?
I never felt quite finished with being pregnant, though my husband and I had completed our own family. I also wanted to do something really big with myself, and once I found out I was eligible to be a gestational carrier, I was all in.
Q. Who was the most significant support person throughout your journey?
My most significant support person was my husband. My journey wouldn’t have gone as smooth without him. I needed him for my injections and be my rock through the hormonal changes that come with IVF/ pregnancy.
Q. What made you decide to choose your Intended Parents?
Honestly, my IPs had very familiar energies to my husband and I and we meshed almost instantly. They were humble and grateful and incredibly respectful through the whole journey.
Q. What are some of the highlights of your journey?
I wanted to have open communication with my IPs and and we updated each other on life as well as the pregnancy. I sent weekly baby bump pictures and video chatted all of the ultrasound appointments. Our relationship grew stronger as their baby did too!
Q. Do you have advice for women who are interested in becoming a gestational surrogate?
If you are interested in becoming a gestational surrogate, my advice would be to get your questions answered by someone who has gone through it. There are a lot of misconceptions out there that I feel might discourage someone into surrogacy.
Q. How do you feel about your experience working with Family Source Consultants?
I had a great experience with FSC. If I were to be a surrogate again, they would be my first choice hands down. I never felt alone, and my case manager was very supportive and informed of my journey.
Q. What did you find was the biggest misconception people had about surrogacy?
A lot of people felt like it was going to be hard delivering a baby that wasn’t mine. That it was going to feel like I have [to give] up my baby. And that was not the case at all. I loved being pregnant and have love for that baby, but never felt she belonged to me and wasn’t weird at all
Q. What would you like other people to know about surrogacy?
It is so much more than being pregnant. I extended, or in a way, added to my own family and it is an amazing experience that I honestly don’t think anyone would fully understand unless they experienced it themselves.
Q. What was the funniest/strangest/most common question you were asked as a surrogate? How did you answer?
A lot of people assumed I was genetically connected to the baby. Assumptions that I was inseminated, and I was giving up my own baby.
What a perfect time for a mini lesson on IVF and embryo transfers!
Q. How has becoming a surrogate impacted your life?
I have a new passion for family building. I truly want to have a career in this field. I don’t want my journey to end, and I want to help other IPs and Surrogates on their journeys because it is truly a unique experience and a blessing that it’s even a possibility!
Q. What would you like someone who is considering working with a surrogate to know?
For a potential Intended Parent, know that surrogates are embarking on a journey only to help and fulfill the dream of growing your family and want you to be a part of this journey more than you know.
Learn more about becoming a surrogate by submitting a request for information, or start your surrogate application today!
Staci Swiderski, CEO and owner of Family Source Consultants has been involved in the field of reproductive medicine since 2002. Staci has vigorously grown the comprehensive egg donation and gestational surrogacy agency to become a worldwide leader in the third-party reproduction field. Staci is a former intended parent herself. She and her husband welcomed their son via gestational surrogacy in 2005. Additionally, Staci had the experience of assisting an infertile couple (AKA Recipient Parents) build their family through her efforts as an egg donor, with her donation resulting in the births of their son and daughter.
