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Practicing family law can be trying. This is especially so for Vicki Ferrara, who finds that most of the work of her Fairfield firm involves divorce proceedings – separating families in many cases. That's partly why she loves the work of her other company, Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists.
"For me, the offset to that work is helping people build families," Vicki says. "It's wonderfully rewarding and beautiful to see people having children."
Now more than five years old, Vicki's company helps couples who cannot carry their own child -- mostly gay men, or women who have had hysterectomies. With new technology enabling these couples to have babies that are genetically theirs, it's Vicki's job to connect them with women willing to take the burden for nine months.
Vicki started Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists almost by accident. As part of her practice, she had long helped couples manage the legal aspects of adoption and surrogate birth. And when a gay friend and a gestational carrier both called within a few days of each other asking for referrals, it just clicked.
"It was informal, but I thought, as long as these two people are calling me, I might as well make this match," Vicki says.
Although Vicki is gay, she and Michelle, her companion of 18 years, never had to go through the ordeal of her clients at Worldwide Surrogacy. She carried their first child, Sal (now 15), herself thanks to an anonymous sperm donor, and the pair adopted their second boy, 10-year-old Nick. Still, she knows first-hand how tight the families she helps create will be.
"The thing about couples who have infertility issues and gay couples is they really have to plan to have children, and they really have to be dedicated to the process," Vicki says. "These children are going to be so well-cared for and doted on because their parents want them so much."
