Husband and wife Berni, 49 and Tina, 40, always knew they wanted a big family, but struggled for six years to get pregnant. In 2010, the couple had their first daughter, Luzia, via in vitro fertilization. In 2012, they had Maria, born via surrogacy. After a short period, they embarked on another IVF attempt, transferring embryos to both Tina and the surrogate they’d used before, but neither took.
Eventually, the couple found their way to Leticia, a birth doula with four children of her own who had signed up with a surrogacy agency as a way of giving back, she has explained. Because surrogacy is illegal in Austria, where they live, Tina and Berni had their embryos stored in a clinic in California, where Leticia underwent a transfer. Several weeks later, she found out she was pregnant — with twins. (Though surrogacy is illegal in Austria, the couple has had no legal problems after the twins’ birth, Tina said.)
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“Livia and Benedikt [a boy and a girl] are 6 weeks now. They are growing fantastically, and doing great. We say thank you to all who helped us and accompanied us on our path — thank you to Leticia, thank you to Jamie [the first surrogate mother], thank you to everyone who helped make us a family.”
This account has been edited and condensed. To read more from the surrogate mother’s perspective, visit Rogers’ website.
