TikTok video inspires Bay Area woman to become surrogate
OAKLAND, Calif. - Leanna Ortega was scrolling through TikTok one night when she came across a video of a woman who was eight months pregnant sharing her journey as a surrogate carrying another family's baby.
Something about her story resonated with Ortega and what she was feeling.
"I think it was more so me just wanting to have some type of purpose or something," she said.
Ortega is a single mother of two. She said she had easy pregnancies and, while she is done having children of her own, she has always considered fostering or adopting. She saw surrogacy as another way to give back by carrying a baby for another family.
She filled out an application for Surrogate First, a surrogacy company in Southern California founded by Jeffrey Hu.
Hu said he and his wife struggled for years with infertility to create their family of five, going through half a dozen rounds of IVF.
"We went to four different countries, and eventually we were able to have our children through surrogacy," Hu explained.
Their experience inspired the couple to found their company, which has welcomed 300 live births over the last six years.
Hu said only 3% to 5% of applicants make it through their process, which involves finding a compatible match and asking questions about everything from termination to COVID-19 vaccination and whether they would want to be a surrogate for an international or same-sex couple.
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Ortega was approved, and it did not take long for her to find a match. She received a profile of a couple from Southern California.
"I was like, Yeah, I'll do it for them," she said.
Ortega was required to take hormone shots, and then the couple’s embryo was implanted. On the first try, she was pregnant. It was once again an easy pregnancy, except for one very important difference.
"From the very beginning, I like really prepared myself," said Ortega. "This is not my baby. It's somebody else's."
Her kids knew she was doing it to help another family. She said the rest of her family was supportive, but as she began to show, questions from others started coming in, focusing on compensation and whether it would be hard to give the baby to its parents.
Ortega declined to discuss her compensation, but Hu said the range for surrogates can be anywhere from $50,000 to more than $100,000, with medical expenses completely covered.
However, he said it's a stereotype that people do it for the money, as compensation is paid over the entire pregnancy.
"The number one reason by far that surrogates pursue surrogacy is to help another family in need," he said.
Ortega went into labor earlier this month, with the parents on standby.
She said when the baby entered the world, and she watched the parents hold their first child for the first time, "it kind of was just fulfilling for me."
She said recovery has been quick, and as this new family celebrates its first holidays together, she is already considering the possibility of doing it all again.