One mother’s difficult journey to complete her family ends with the gift of surrogacy.© Leilani Rogers, Photographer 2016
A birth photograph of Kim Overton welcoming her second child into the world has gone viral. Photographer Leilani Rogers captured the moment that baby Oliver was born in Austin, TX via a surrogate, and the look on Overton’s face of pure joy has resonated with readers worldwide. In a blog post about the birth, Overton shared her long and somewhat unconventional path to motherhood, in the hope that her experiences will give other woman hope.
When Overton was 34, struggling with a broken engagement, she learned that she had fibroid tumors in her uterus that her physician said might affect her fertility. She wanted children, so her doctor recommended that she have the fibroids removed and try to get pregnant within the next five years. Overton gave herself a deadline: If she hadn’t met anyone by the time she turned 38, she’d become what she calls a “solo starter” and seek motherhood on h
Overton was able to carry and deliver her first son, Dillon, when she was 39. However, things did not go smoothly when she tried for a second child. After years of fertility treatments and heartbreak, she chose to have her second child through surrogacy. Her cousin’s daughter, Cydnee, offered to carry a baby for Overton, and they endured numerous failed embryo transfers and one miscarriage before the successful pregnancy that resulted in baby Oliver. And in the midst of everything else, last year Overton met a man—now her husband—who fully supports her choices.
Because Cydnee lives in the same town, Overton and her husband were able to attend all of her pre-natal appointments and witness the whole birth. Overton chose to have a photographer present to capture Oliver’s arrival, and the moments of bonding between her and the new baby right afterwards. She shared the gorgeous images of Oliver’s birth online, not expecting the huge outpouring of support from people worldwide when the pictures went viral.
“I get goosebumps now because the journey for me was very private, it was emotional, very lonely at some times,” she tells SELF. “I would never talk about it before. Now that it’s behind me and it worked, talking about it feels so good. I’m giving women hope, and I feel like this was meant to be.”
Check out the images from the birth below.
