MURRAY — The tears came late at night when the hospital room was quiet and she was alone for the first time in months.
There were tears of happiness for the couple who were finally cuddling a baby of their own, the boy she had given birth to just a few hours before. And there were also tears of sadness — not because she regretted her decision to become a surrogate mother, but because one of the most wonderful experiences of her life was over.
“When you’ve been the focus of somebody’s life for nine months and that suddenly ends, it hits you hard and it hurts,” says Ryley Eaton. “The couple whose child you carried has lived and breathed you for months — your life and well-being has been their entire focus. But once the baby is here, that all ends. Before you can blink, the journey is over.”
Eaton, 29, was relieved to find a small support network of women who have also made the emotional journey as surrogate mothers, or, as they’re legally known in Utah, “gestation carriers.” Once a month, about 20 members of Utah Surrogates gather at a restaurant or park to share tales of what it’s like to give the gift of family to couples unable to conceive on their own.
