Delivering the best gift
THE SURROGATES
BBC1, 11.15pm A GROWING number of women are having other people’s babies.
Surrogacy is banned in some countries but in Britain it’s legal so long as women aren’t paid for it.
These days there are even apps and agencies set up to match people who are desperate for babies with women who are keen to help. This fascinating three-part documentary follows five women all embarking on the complex journey of being a surrogate, with all the emotional and physical sacrifices that entails.
“If someone needs something and you are in a position to give it to them, then you would,” says 26-year-old Caitlin.
The mum-of-two agreed to have a baby for her boss Kate and her partner Matt, who have been trying to conceive for a couple of years. “It’s become a bit of a joke in the office that I’m trying too hard to be the favourite,” laughs Caitlin.
Kate, who has been devastated by the loss of three babies, is trying to be matter of fact about it.
She says: “When your heart has been broken quite that badly, you never put it back on the line.”
Elsewhere, we meet 23-year-old single mum of one Emma, who is 12 weeks pregnant with a baby for Kevin, 35, and his husband Aki, 40, after they connected through a surrogacy app.
Emma will be the biological mother of the baby and, since surrogacy is not legally binding, has the right to change her mind after the child is born.
But she says: “You go into it with a certain mindset – you know it’s not your baby.”