Proud PARENTS
CRAIG AND MASSIMO HAVE BEEN TOGETHER FOR NEARLY 12 YEARS AND ARE THE PROUD AND LOVING PARENTS OF MARCO, WHO WAS BORN IN 2014 AND CONCEIVED THROUGH EGG DONOR SURROGACY IN THE USA
Like an increasing number of gay couples, Craig and Massimo wanted to be parents. They took the plunge and created their family through egg donor surrogacy in the USA. Craig and Massimo beam: “It was the best thing we’ve ever done.”
Pride Life asked Craig and Massimo about their journey to parenthood. When did you first think about starting a family? “For me it seems like always — Craig took his time before getting broody but then it hit. Seeing parents with their children in our neighbourhood park we’d image how it would be for us,” Massimo explains. “We were very busy with our careers and were conscious that we’d have to change our lifestyle, as we always saw ourselves as being very involved. We started asking questions. Should we adopt or try surrogacy?”
“The definitive date was October 2009,” remembers Craig. “We’d had dinner at our friends’ wedding and met a gay couple who had just completed the adoption of their second child. The next morning over brunch we said, ‘Right, we’ve been talking about this for a long time and we’re not getting younger, let’s seriously decide whether we’re going to do it or not!’”
“We’d had a Bloody Mary — and then we had one more for courage!” Massimo jokes. Why did you choose surrogacy? “We considered adoption initially but then decided to focus on surrogacy as the route for us,” Craig continues. “We had close friends in New York — gay dads with four kids through surrogacy — who had been encouraging us for ages, so we decided to explore surrogacy.
“I remember our first meeting with a US surrogacy agency — very ‘American’ — and I can say that as I’m half American!” he laughs. “But it seemed like everything was possible! It’s firmly established there, all the resources to do it safely are in place, and it works well. It left us feeling empowered to make choices and shape our journey to parenthood as we hoped.”
“We decided then and there that surrogacy was definitely what worked for us,” Massimo adds. “But we were still very busy with work so it took another couple of years waiting for the right time, doing research, and talking to people before we got started. It’s a complicated undertaking — a big jigsaw — and to try and understand the process, the pros and the cons of different options and the risks can be incredibly daunting and confusing.”
“Initially we didn’t know of anyone in London pursuing surrogacy,” Craig explains. “But one by one we met people who were able to share with us their experiences and things they’d learned along the way. We made some great friends and playmates for Marco in the process. There are now more and more resources available to help people understand their options and navigate their journey which is great.” How did you go about choosing an egg donor and surrogate? “We signed up to a US surrogacy agency who matched us with our surrogate. We researched