Two LI women among first gestational surrogates in NY since new law
The day Christina Bramante of Commack hoped to get pregnant, she wasn’t taking chances.
She wore socks with pineapples on them and a shirt that read, "Make It Happen." After her in vitro fertilization procedure, she ate McDonald’s French fries, which, according to women's anecdotal experiences, increases the odds of a pregnancy taking.
Bramante embraced the myths some women swear by when going through IVF to give the embryo implanted in her every possible advantage, as the resulting baby would belong to a New York City couple whose hopes for a child are pinned on her.
The procedure was successful: Bramante, now in her second trimester, is among the first gestational surrogates in New York to be financially compensated for carrying a baby that isn’t genetically related to her under the Child Parent Security Act that took effect on Feb. 15. She is due in May.
"A gestational surrogate is somebody, a woman, who is going to carry an embryo, which is a man’s sperm and a woman’s egg," says Bramante, 37. "Biologically, this baby isn’t the woman’s who is carrying; it’s somebody else’s full biological child."
Intended parents who may have fertility issues, same-sex couples, or those who have health problems that make it hard for them to carry a pregnancy to term previously had to go to other states to pay someone to help to grow their families. This year, New York became the 48th state to legalize paid surrogacy.
Altruistic surrogacy, in which typically a family member or friend volunteers to carry a child and isn’t compensated, has been legal in New York and remains so. Entering into an agreement for traditional surrogacy, in which the surrogate’s own eggs are used, giving her a biological connection to the child, won't be upheld by New York courts and paying a surrogate to do so remains illegal.
AMONG THE FIRST SURROGATES
Bramante was paired with intended parents from New York City by a city-based surrogacy matching agency. "We literally got things moving as soon as we could," says Bramante, who has four children between ages 3 and 10 and has worked as a labor and delivery nurse and a doula. Her husband, Robert Bramante, an emergency room physician.
"This is something I’ve always wanted to do," says Bramante, currently a stay-at-home mother. The intended parents she is carrying for did not want to be interviewed, but Bramante says she speaks with them at least once a week.
Here on Long Island, Bramante has found a friend in Megan Smith, another gestational carrier in the process of getting pregnant. Bramante and Smith met for brunch in Port Jefferson recently and are supporting each other’s journeys. The two women initially met through a Facebook group for New York surrogates that currently has only 18 members.
Smith, 34, of Middle Island, is an emergency room nurse’s assistant with three children. She says her family, including her husband, Chris Alfano, a 35-year-old propane technician, is on board with her baby effort.
Smith matched with her intended parents when she reached out to Gina and Mike Cuozzo of New Jersey in a Facebook group for intended parents and surrogates where the Cuozzos had posted a request for help. While the Cuozzos are from New Jersey, Smith is also following the new New York state law guidelines because the baby will be born here.
"I knew from a young age I wasn’t going to be able to carry," says Gina Cuozzo, 41, an ultrasound technician. She and Mike, 43, an account manager for a payroll company, formed and froze embryos after they married six years ago, and four years ago began the search for a surrogate. They were ready to give up when they heard from Smith.
Smith is preparing for the embryo transfer that is planned for Nov. 4. "I can’t tell who is more nervous for the first transfer, them or me," Smith says.
SHORTAGE OF GESTATIONAL CARRIERS
Angela Richardson-Mook, executive director of Alcea Surrogacy, which has offices in New York City, says carriers can expect to earn between $45,000 and $60,000 depending on whether they are a first or a repeat carrier.
The surrogate is not being compensated for the baby, but for the wear and tear on her body and the time she spends devoted to the pregnancy, Richardson-Mook says. She estimates there are at least 20 would-be parents for every one surrogate.
Intended parents should expect to spend between $125,000 and $175,000 to cover all costs of the pregnancy. Agency fees can reach between $25,000 and $35,000, and there also are legal contract fees, out-of-pocket expenses for the gestational carrier, insurance premiums and more, Richardson-Mook says.
New York's law sets out a Surrogates’ Bill of Rights that ensures the surrogate is represented by her own attorney, has health insurance paid for by the intended parents and retains the ability to make decisions for the pregnancy, says Amelia Demma, an East Hampton-based assisted reproductive technology attorney. The law also streamlines the process for couples who want to be parents, allowing them to get a court order recognizing them as the parents at the time of birth.
It's a moment to come Smith relishes: "I have seen so many pictures of surrogates looking at the parents while they’re being handed the baby. That’s kind of my driving force. I got the family that I wanted," she says. "Now I can help somebody else have their children."
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
