My Surrogacy Journey: Bianca’s Story

Helping others is something that’s always been close to my heart. Whether donating blood since high school (shout out to us universal donors) or working in community-based health clinics supporting underserved populations, I’ve always been drawn to caring for others and personally advocating for those facing barriers through my actions and empathy. When my husband and I first met, we already had 2 kids each. I wasn’t ready to be done and always wanted a house full of kids which led to us having our last little one (and 5 is definitely a houseful!). However, I didn’t get to experience pregnancy as many times as I had wanted to. For someone who finds joy in both helping others and being pregnant, surrogacy felt like the most natural path to take. Before I was even cleared postpartum from having our daughter, I began discussing the idea of surrogacy with my husband. While I can’t remember exactly how I first heard about surrogacy, I remember knowing a couple girls from high school who had completed surrogacy journeys. I reached out to them for agency recommendations because I had no idea where to start!

I walked into my first journey with so much excitement, anticipation, and just enough inexperience to not have any reservations. I knew in my heart this journey was one I was made for. I dreamt of the moment my IPs’ baby girl was born and placed in their arms. I imagined it as her going into her dads’ arms straight out of the womb. She, of course, first had to be placed on my stomach for the umbilical cord to be cut and that caught me by surprise—nonetheless, it was the most rewarding and precious moment I could ever imagine being a part of.

Journey 1 Baby Shower!

Journey 2 Transfer Day!

We grew so close that we decided to do a sibling journey for their second daughter. My second journey was almost better than the first. I say ‘almost’ because each one is special in its own way. But this time, knowing what to expect gave me the chance to focus on the relationship with my IPs and really celebrate each milestone as we moved through the journey. Since they’re local to me, I attended their baby showers and to this day, the girls’ birthday parties too. I feel so much happiness and pride seeing the amazing lives and beautiful souls these girls are growing into thanks to their amazing dada and papa who were once strangers to me.

After delivering my second surrobabe, I began working in the surrogacy world. Hearing the fertility struggles of so many IPs and realizing how many were waiting to be matched made me decide I wasn’t ready to ‘retire’ after all. I was a bit nervous searching for a new match since I never thought I’d meet IPs who I could be as close to as I was with my first. As soon as I met the IPs I carried my third journey for, I realized how wrong I was. There is no limit on love, it can always grow, kind of like how we can love each of our kids equally. I will say though, my third journey humbled me. “I’m an industry professional and have done this 5x now, I got this!” But this time around, I had a few instances of spotting which were scary. Subchorionic hematomas (SCH) are actually quite common in IVF pregnancies, but it doesn’t make it any less scary to see even a little red when you know how much trauma, emotion, and cautious optimism your IPs have for the pregnancy. Thankfully their little one was thriving through it all!

It wasn’t always easy. I went into surrogacy expecting to get pregnant and deliver a baby, I thought it was as simple as that. I never realized how many appointments, pokes, signatures, and parties would be involved. It truly opened my eyes to the lengths so many others before me have gone through to build their families. Now, seven years later, I’ve helped bring three beautiful girls into the world for two families and have the privilege of helping others navigate their own journeys. I truly couldn’t ask for more.

Bianca Mantooth joined Brownstone Surrogacy as a Case Manager in 2025 with a background in healthcare and business. Having been a gestational surrogate three times—including a sibling journey—she understands firsthand the emotional and logistical aspects of the surrogacy process.