London - A surrogate mother says she will keep having children for other people as long as she is able... because she is addicted to pregnancy.
Not content with giving birth to her own four children, Tara Sawyer has already handed over three babies to two couples in the past two years.
The 37-year-old is so enthralled with the feeling of being pregnant that she refuses to accept any expenses from the couples she helps. Because she thrives on the “thrill” of becoming pregnant rather the maternal urge to have a child, she claims she is happy to give the children away.
Despite donating her own egg for the first surrogate child she carried, she said that she felt no sadness when handing the child over because it was never hers to keep.
She first noticed her cravings for pregnancy after giving birth to her own twins Jack and Noah, now four.
The babies were delivered by caesarean section at only 29 weeks after they developed twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, which can result in the twins being born with a disability or even dying. Mrs Sawyer, from Wimblington, Cambridgeshire, said that the premature birth left her feeling “deprived of the pregnancy”.
“I didn’t want any more children but I was desperately craving the pregnancy,” she said. “I love having a bump and people cooing over the precious little gift inside.”
She decided surrogacy was a perfect solution, saying: “I would get my pregnancy and a couple would get their baby.” Her husband truck driver Matt, also 37, while fully supporting her decision, was initially concerned she would struggle to hand over the baby.
Mrs Sawyer, who is also mother to Rebecca, 14, and Harrison, 12, found a gay couple on Facebook who were desperate for a child and she soon became pregnant after artificially inseminating herself.
“From the moment I found out I was pregnant I was totally hooked,” she said. “When the baby was born there was no rush of love like when I had my other children. But handing her over to her dads was a feeling like no other.”
Surrogates are not allowed to be paid under British law but are entitled to expenses, however Sawyer has not accepted any payment from any of the couples she has helped.
The mother of seven, who was adopted as a child, also said she is not worried about the effects of repeat pregnancy on her body. “I feel at my best physically when I’m pregnant,” she said.
“I take vitamins, go swimming, do yoga and eat healthily.
“I hadn’t made as much effort with my own pregnancies, but the responsibility was bigger with someone else’s child.”
Within days of having her first surrogate child, Sawyer said, she started missing having a bump and decided to have another a few months later. She found a couple through Facebook once again and gave birth to twin boys for them in January.
Describing her plans to continue having children for others, she said: “I’m addicted to the buzz of pregnancy and if I can help childless couples at the same time it would be insane not to. When I’m not pregnant I feel empty and only a baby can fill that void.” - Daily Mail