Being a surrogate left me TRAUMATISED

It was a simple request. ‘Can my cousin be in the birth-plan meeting, as I want her with me during labour?’ I typed into WhatsApp in August 2018. Claire’s* reply was a shock. ‘I’m not comfortable with that.’

Then the accusations began: I’d been unreasonable asking her husband not to be in the birth room; I’d had everything my own way. Then the final blow: Claire told me she – not me – would be the most vulnerable person in the birthing room.

I could feel panic rising. In just five weeks, I was going to have Claire’s baby – something I’d embarked on to do something good. How had it come to this?

‘IT WAS ALL SKIMMED OVER’

My relationship with Claire began in 2015