Fertility Inc.: When the Surrogate Gets Left With the Bill

Over 10,000 times a year, someone in America says yes to carrying a child that isn't theirs. Nia Trent Wilson was one of them. Every time I tell somebody my story, like, I guess people are taken aback because it's not every day that you meet a surrogate. Nia lives in Houston and has her own 14 year old son. She's also been a surrogate three times. The first experience was nothing short of amazing. The mom and the dad were at all of the appointments, and then I delivered the baby. They named her after me. Her middle name is my name. What Nia remembers most from that time was how well the intended parents treated her. The delivery had been a complicated c section and the parents supported her during her recovery. They had it to where they paid out of pocket for me to have my own hotel slash recovery room with my own nurse, my own maid, my own chef, my own everything, and I'm just like, what is going on here? They really wanted to take care of you, it sounds like. Over the top, I've never had like, I was not allowed to move. Like, it was almost unheard of. It's been a few years now, but Nia is still in touch with that first family. I go to a lot of the birthday party still. I go to a lot of, family functions. I'm treated like family more than anything, and it's just an amazing experience for me. Nia sent his videos of her hanging out with a baby that shares her name. Carrie. Say Carrie. Carrie. Love you. I was able to create a family single handedly. And to me, that became my superpower, you know. And I saw the way that I changed my intended parents and I saw how thankful and how grateful they were. It really, like, it really touched me. Nia went on to become a surrogate a second time and had another successful experience. So she decided to go for it again, a third time. How would you characterize the third one if you were to put it in a word or two? A nightmare. A nightmare. The third surrogacy was a complete and total nightmare. I I and that's putting it nicely. That surrogacy would not only threaten Nia's life, but would also turn into a massive legal battle. You know, I think Nia's experience speaks as a testament to what can happen for women who choose to become a surrogate and the lack of safeguards that exist for those women. So I'm just grateful to be here, you know, to tell my story. Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business and power. I'm Ryan Knudson. It's Friday, March 6. Over the next four Fridays, we're bringing you stories from the fringes of the fertility industry. Today, they took the baby, she was left with the bill. This episode of the journal is presented …