“My wife is pregnant but I’m not the father.” Imagine this was the way your spouse announced your pregnancy to friends and family. For Pamela MacPhee, this was an everyday occurrence. A mother of three living in Encinitas, California, Pamela agreed to be a gestational surrogate for her cousin and his wife who had cervical cancer related infertility.
Using a surrogate was the couple’s only way of ever having a biological child. Pamela explained her decision to become a surrogate as a way to give them hope during such a difficult time. “There are many different ways to create a family and I wanted to do something to make them feel hopeful again.”
According to a study by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) of the 7.3 million Americans diagnosed with infertility, approximately 44% will seek out medical treatment. 85-90% of these cases will utilize drug therapy or surgical intervention. Due to the help of medical advances, creating a family can mean more now than ever.
Pamela gave birth to her cousin’s child on Mother’s Day 2001, she was aptly named Hope. Pamela wrote a memoir, Delivering Hope, The Extraordinary Journey of a Surrogate Mom with the purpose of providing a realistic look at the emotional and psychological aspect of surrogacy. In honor of National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW) Pamela will be holding a book signing at local Leucadia boutique, It’s a Luv Thing on Wednesday, April 28th at 6:30 PM.
A portion of all book and boutique sales will be given to RESOLVE the National Infertility Association and Fertile Hope, which provides support to cancer patients and survivors whose medical treatments present the risk of infertility. Online sales the week of NIAW will also benefit these organizations.
To learn more about Delivering Hope or this special book signing, visit Delivering Hope, The Extraordinary Journey of a Surrogate Mom.
To learn more about National Infertility Awareness Week, please read my recent post on Resolve, the National Infertility Association.
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