Somewhere Over the Rainbow – A Surrogacy Story with Sophie and Em

Today Zoe speaks to Sophie and Em, best friends who showed the true meaning of love when Em was a surrogate for Sophie so she could realise her dream of being a mum.   They talk about the journey of getting to surrogacy, the reality of surrogacy and what life has been like after such an incredible, yet surreal, time in their lives.   KEY TAKEAWAYS   Em and Sophie met in secondary school and have been close friends ever since. Sophie and her partner Jack were childhood sweethearts. They managed to get pregnant multiple times but tragically suffered many miscarriages. Em offered to be a surrogate for Sophie and Jack and five years into Sophie and Jacks fertility journey they took them up on this incredible, life changing offer. Sophie didn’t know if it was her body or the embryos that were the reason she had been miscarrying so although Em becoming pregnant via natural IVF was incredible she did not feel a weight lift until the first heartbeat at 7 weeks. Sophie started to have trust in Em’s body. Surrogacy gave them back hope. They all decided that the best way for Leo to be born was via elective C-section for many reasons – the fact it ended up being very different to Em’s previous births was a further benefit. Leo was born in lockdown but luckily Jack and Sophie were still able to be at the birth. It was still an incredibly difficult time to have a baby but Sophie and Jack just focused on Leo. Even now Sophie and Jack can’t believe they have a baby in the house – they pinch themselves that Leo is here!     BEST MOMENTS   “It gave hope that there was another option if we needed it”   “Feel pregnant, just tell me that you feel pregnant!”   “It’s very hard after six years to hide things from people”   “That was just the most magical moment of my whole life”   VALUABLE RESOURCES  www.petalscharity.org www.tommys.org ABOUT THE GUESTS Sophie and Em, best friends from school. Sophie showed the true meaning of love when Em was a surrogate for Sophie.     IG Life.Before.You IG themindfulbirthgroup   www.themindfulbirthgroup.com https://www.gov.uk/legal-rights-when-using-surrogates-and-donors https://surrogacyuk.org      ABOUT THE HOST Zoe Cresswell Devoted mother of two (and a big hairy dog), UK trained midwife, doula and personal trainer, specialising in pre and postnatal fitness. Zoe was born in the UK and before moving to Dubai in 2013 and worked as a midwife in central London, both in a birth centre and a very busy NHS hospital. Although late to the scene, Zoe is an aspiring athlete having won numerous triathlons and representing Great Britain where she placed within the top 10 on the world stage. With her husband James, the couple will soon be launching their cloth nappy company, Bop & Bee, where they hope to inspire families to swap a few disposable nappies a day for the more planet friendly option of cloth. Zoe’s goal is to share her knowledge and experience, tell real life stories, manage expectations and open up those often difficult conversations. Zoe’s own motherhood journey has been full of twists and turns as she put everything on hold and went through numerous miscarriages and rounds of IVF.   CONTACT DETAILS Instagram : @zoecresswell_me Facebook: Zoe Cresswell LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-cresswell