At the same period exactly a year ago, Sophie Braggins was a surrogate mother pregnant with the baby of her best friend, Toni Street, who has an autoimmune disease called Churg-Strauss syndrome. Lachie, a little boy, is now almost 10 months old. When “I look at Lachie“, explained Sophie, “I feel something quite special. I can’t deny that he has a special place in my heart”. Already a mother of two children, Sophie admits to feeling that he is one of hers.
Sophie explained that being a surrogate mother was not easy and that after giving birth to Lachie by caesarean section, she had difficulty balancing what her body hormones felt with what she knew by her mind’s reasoning. “Some nights I was in tears and felt futile… you do it, you feel slightly empty and, in some way, something is wrong”, she explained. “So you rely on your brain and mind to tell you that everything went well and that it’s a happy time”.
Sophie took hormones after the birth and began to feel better after about ten days. Although she does not regret being a surrogate mother, she is now adamant that it is something she would not do again: “Absolutely not”.
New Zealand Herald (24/05/2019) – Surrogate Sophie’ reveals how she really feels almost 1 year after giving birth to Toni Street’s baby boy