The Surrogate Journey: Part 2 "An Intended Family Story" — 062

About this Episode

Today’s guest, Sibyl Almonte de Cannella, has been a mother for a long time even though she has only held her baby in her arms for a little more than a month. She has had many miscarriages including several which came during the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process. After years of having doctors tell her she should be able to have a healthy pregnancy, a rare blood disorder was discovered in her system. This diagnosis led to her decision to investigate surrogacy.

During this extremely candid conversation, Sibyl shares the emotional, physical, and mental toll she experienced during her challenging motherhood journey. She also shares the details of finding a surrogate when surrogacy is illegal in most of the world and what it is like to have your baby born over 5,000 miles away from home.

You can feel Sibyl’s joy and anticipation in this honest exploration of what this controversial alternative path to motherhood looks like — and also how her experience, while seemingly rare on the surface, shares so much with every mother’s path.

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In This Episode:

• Not knowing why she was having multiple miscarriages at nine weeks
• The arduous process of IVF
• How she dealt with the emotional stress of being pregnant several times without carrying to term
• How she looked to adoption in her effort to have a family
• The mental anguish brought about by uncertainty and doubt
• How her body created antibodies which robbed her embryos of oxygen
• Why she kept the news of her pregnancies private
• Why she chose surrogacy over adoption
• Where surrogacy is a legal option
• The language barriers involved with international surrogacy
• What she did when her surrogate didn’t produce breast milk
• The joy of holding her baby girl after her exceptional journey
• The importance of making connections with others on similar journeys
• How to get a free one-month trial of guided meditations through Expectful

Show Notes:

Expectful — One Month Free Trial for MotherBirth Community Members