Aug 19, 2026 · 20 min · 9 segments
What happens when a surrogacy journey doesn’t go the way you hoped? In this episode, our host Whitney Hall gets vulnerable and shares the part of her story she rarely talks about: her third surrogacy…
Whitney HallHost
So for those who don't know my story, my first surrogacy journey began in 2017, and I know that doesn't sound like that long ago, or maybe it does for some.
Everything felt newer and simpler in some ways, and for me, it was all very matter-of-fact.
Um, that first journey ended with the delivery of two twin girls after a single embryo transfer, so that was fun.
I remember being in recovery, hearing their sweet parents meet them for the first time, and feeling this deep sense of wholeness, like something had just clicked into place.
Growing up, when people would ask me, you know, "What do you wanna be when you grow up?" I would list all these things, the jobs, the roles, plans that I had, but as I got older, I realized that what I really wanted wasn't really a title at all.
I just really wanted to make a difference in someone's life, to be part of someone's story in a meaningful way, to know that there was someone out there saying stories that had my name in it and how I impacted them in some way.
Even after my second journey in 2020, when I understood more clearly what this meant for families, I still saw this as something that I could do, not just something I needed to hold with awe or amazement.
I knew it mattered, but I didn't fully realize how much of myself I had poured into it, and I think that's why what happened next hit the way that it did.
So for those who don't know my story, my first surrogacy journey began in 2017, and I know that doesn't sound like that long ago, or maybe it does for some.
Everything felt newer and simpler in some ways, and for me, it was all very matter-of-fact.
Um, that first journey ended with the delivery of two twin girls after a single embryo transfer, so that was fun.
I remember being in recovery, hearing their sweet parents meet them for the first time, and feeling this deep sense of wholeness, like something had just clicked into place.
Growing up, when people would ask me, you know, "What do you wanna be when you grow up?" I would list all these things, the jobs, the roles, plans that I had, but as I got older, I realized that what I really wanted wasn't really a title at all.
I just really wanted to make a difference in someone's life, to be part of someone's story in a meaningful way, to know that there was someone out there saying stories that had my name in it and how I impacted them in some way.
Even after my second journey in 2020, when I understood more clearly what this meant for families, I still saw this as something that I could do, not just something I needed to hold with awe or amazement.
I knew it mattered, but I didn't fully realize how much of myself I had poured into it, and I think that's why what happened next hit the way that it did.
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