I made $22,500 and $30,000 being a surrogate twice. I had easy pregnancies and loved helping others start a family.

• Heather Wilkinson was a surrogate twice and earned $22,500 and $30,000 in 2014 and 2016, respectively.

• Surrogacy is increasing, with the global market valued at $14 billion in 2022.

• Surrogates can now earn $35,000 to $50,000, while intended parents may spend around $200,000 or more.

Heather Wilkinson was at the park visiting with a relatively new friend while their children played, when the friend explained she had babies for other people.

"At first, I thought she was kind of crazy," Wilkinson said of her first impression of surrogacy. But as the friend explained that she'd had easy pregnancies and now she was helping others build their families, Wilkinson thought, "I might be into this crazy idea after all."

More than a decade later, Wilkinson, who is based in Indiana, has been a surrogate twice and currently serves as senior manager of surrogate success at Surrogacy.com.

Surrogacy is on the rise worldwide, with the global surrogacy market worth an estimated $14 billion in 2022, according to market research consultancy Global Market Insights. Traditional surrogacy is when a woman is artificially inseminated, but more common today is gestational surrogacy, in which IVF is used to place a fertilized embryo into a surrogate.

Like her friend, Wilkinson had also had easy pregnancies with her two children.

"I hate to say it because it sounds obnoxious, but I didn't have morning sickness. I didn't get stretch marks. It was the epitome of perfect pregnancies with no issues whatsoever," she said.

When she decided she wanted to help others have children, she ended up going with the same surrogacy agency her friend used: Circle. For her first surrogacy journey, she got matched with a single dad. She was paid $22,500 and delivered the baby in 2014.

"It was an incredible experience," she said. "I remember being in the hospital saying to my husband, 'I know this sounds crazy, but I know that I want to do this again.'"

When Circle reached out to see if she'd be interested in going through the process again, she said "yes." This time, she was matched with a gay couple from Australia.

Her second experience was also a little different, as this time, she was part of what's called a dual journey or a concurrent journey, where there are two separates surrogates hired to carry babies for the same set of intended parents. Though the couple contracted two surrogates, they staggered the pregnancies to not overlap.

"I understand wanting to build your family and wanting to have more than one child," she said, adding that surrogacy journeys can take a lot of time, sometimes two years, and so for some parents, it may make sense to do two at the same time.

This time, Wilkinson delivered in 2016 and was paid $30,000.

Today, Wilkinson said the typical base pay for a first-time surrogate can be anywhere from $35,000 to $50,000.

As for the intended parents, they can pay anywhere from around $200,000 or more to have a child via surrogacy. Other costs that go into the process include legal fees for contracts, clinical bills, and agency fees.

While the price point of surrogacy can make it a luxury, Wilkinson said some people go to great lengths to be able to afford it.

"I've heard of intended parents that are taking out second mortgages on their house or just going through different avenues to afford surrogacy," she said.

Wilkinson said she found the surrogacy experience empowering, and now she's committed to helping other surrogates have fulfilling journeys.

As for deciding to become a surrogate, she said it really comes down to the "why." For her, she said it goes back to her favorite aunt. As a kid, she always wondered why her aunt never had kids of her own. It wasn't until she got older that she realized her aunt had wanted kids but was unable to have them.

"There are tons of people just like my aunt that are equally deserving and equally have that yearning to be a parent," she said. "And that I knew that I could help."

Have a news tip or a story to share about surrogacy? Were you an intended parent in a concurrent surrogacy journey? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@businessinsider.com.

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