By Jaime Herndon

In Pacific Standard, Rachel Rabkin Peachman reports on women who generously offer to be the gestational surrogate or egg donor to their sisters. Essentially, the aunt gives birth to, or is the biological mother of, her niece or nephew.

Peachman explores the cultural and societal concerns surrounding arrangements like these, as well as what it means for the children involved.

One of the women in the article, Shannon, donated eggs to her sister Jodie, who did not produce many eggs. Shannon asked her five-year-old twin daughters what she did to help their Aunt Jodie, and they replied, “Gave her eggs!” When asked why, they replied, “Because she’s your sister and you love her.” Later, when it was discovered that Shannon’s body could not support a pregnancy, her daughters' Aunt Jodie acted as Shannon's surrogate. When Shannon asked her daughters why Aunt Jodie helped them, they replied, “Because she is your sister and she loves you.”

As reproductive technology advances, more future aunts may take on the role of helping a sister become a mom. It takes a village, as they say.

Photo: monkeybusinessimages
Published: March 25, 2015