'I've had 10 babies in 13 years - I'm pregnant with number 11 and would have more in a heartbeat'

A woman has revealed she's been pregnant for 13 years on her determined quest to help other people become parents.

Emily Westerfield, 37, who is married to husband Max, 42, has given birth to ten babies in 13 years. Her first three births were her own biological children, Mckenna, 13, Jack, 11, and Charlie, 10.

Since then, she has given birth to seven surrogate babies including Alexa, fraternal twins Simon and Francesca, Gianna, identical twin boys Kaelin and Niall and Adelynn. Now, she's just about to give birth to her 11th baby Gianna.

She has helped create, build and complete four families, and has now set up her own surrogacy agency to help others too. Emily, who lives in Ohio , USA, said: “It’s incredibly emotional for me when I see the families that I have helped create."

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The mom added: “To watch a woman become a mother is such a special moment. I’ve been lucky to share that with four couples and I’m still in touch with all of them. This past Mother’s Day I received video messages from a few of my surrogate blessings saying ‘Hi Aunty Em, I love you,’ and ‘Thank you for bringing me into the world.’ And that means everything to me.”

Emily decided to educate herself on surrogacy throughout her own pregnancies and then became a gestational surrogate after she gave birth to her third baby, Charlie. She said: ”I’d been looking into surrogacy for a while. A cousin of mine had been struggling to get pregnant, and I’d seen how difficult it was for her. She kept having loss after loss, and it made me want to help other women like her.”

Emily signed up to a surrogacy forum online and was overwhelmed by emails and messages from people desperately asking for help and looking for a surrogate match. She said: ”It was so overwhelming when I first received all the messages. It was so hard to choose a couple to help, as each story was more heartbreaking than the last.”

She eventually chose to help a couple have their third child after they had suffered complications giving birth to their second child. “I found a couple that I really wanted to help. I carried their embryo for them, and I gave birth to their daughter Alexa in 2015. As soon as I’d given birth to her, I knew that I wanted to do it again. And it was like ‘now who else can I help?’” she said.

Since then, Emily has delivered fraternal twins Simon and Francesca in December 2017 for her second couple, and then Gianna in December 2018 for her third couple. She tried for a sibling for Simon and Francesca in January 2020, but sadly suffered a miscarriage.

She said: ”It was as traumatic for me losing their embryo as it would be carrying my own biological child, as I wanted so much to give them a sibling. I’d suffered two miscarriages myself in my own personal pregnancies between giving birth to my own children too, so I knew what they were going through emotionally."

With the sadness of the loss, they decided not to move forward with another attempt, but Emily was able to do a sibling journey for family number three, whom she carried Gianna for. They had one embryo left to attempt for a sibling and this time she got pregnant with their identical twins Kaelin and Niall, who were born in September 2021.

She explained: “I’d had three babies for that couple by now, so their family was complete.” Emily then went on to help a fourth couple and gave birth to their daughter Adelynn in December 2022, and is currently pregnant with sibling Gianna, who is due to be born in July 2024.

She said: ”I love being pregnant, and I find it very easy. I’ve either been pregnant or in the process of a pregnancy for the last 13 years so it’s a way of life for me. It’s also overwhelmingly rewarding for me doing it too, as it means so much to the families I help. I would carry baby number 12 in a heartbeat. I’m fit and healthy and my body is good at being pregnant, and I’m still young enough to do it again for another family.”

Emily has maintained friendships with all the families she has helped. She added: “I see photos all the time of the children, and on their birthdays, I always try to send a gift, though I’ll admit, it’s getting a bit pricey,” she laughed.

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In August of last year, Emily set up her own surrogacy and egg donation agency called Carrying Dreams and is now helping families all around the world. She said: “It’s my purpose in life to help surrogates, donors and families looking to take this path in bringing a new life into the world. I’m running this from personal experience which also helps a lot.”