4:27
- family
- Infertility
- March 28, 2022
Mom shares message to thank surrogate for baby
Kelly Taylor Savant calls Jasmine Johnson Isaac “simply the best.”
4:27
Isaac delivered the surprise present to Savant's workplace and left it with a secretary while Savant was away. \"She was just so excited once she found that box and just to hear her on the phone and just to hear the excitement in her voice, it was everything for me,\" Isaac said.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/surrogate-2-ht-er-220323_1648069510237_hpEmbed_17x10_384.jpg\")
Along with Savant, Isaac credits her mother, husband of nine years, Maurice Isaac II, and one of her close co-workers for helping her through the surrogacy journey, one she was determined to see to the end. \"In the past, I've had a miscarriage and just the feeling like my body isn't doing something that it was supposed to do, it took a toll on me. So of course, if I can help another woman get past that ... if they have that want and desire to have a child and I can help, I want to do that,\" she said.
\"It's something that my whole heart is in,\" Isaac said. \"The love that I have for my kids – who doesn't deserve to experience the same joy that I have, the joys of motherhood?\"
Isaac explained that due to blood pressure concerns, doctors decided it was best for her and the baby to be induced. On Valentine's Day of this year, baby Ainsley Rain Savant arrived.
A nurse working with Dr. Kristin Chapman at Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, helped capture the special moment, taking photos during labor and delivery. Savant shared them along with a heartfelt message on Facebook, writing in part, \"There just aren't enough thank you's in the entire world. Jasmine has single handedly changed me and Kyle's lives forever for the better and I thank God for her every day. She lives life with no fear, no regrets and a desire to make others happy! She's simply the best.\"
Savant says the big day felt surreal. \"I was in shock when I saw the baby. I was immediately in love. I gave Jasmine a huge hug after and my husband did too and we have pictures of it all. I mean, it was the best moment of my entire life and Jasmine always says, 'Kelly you don't realize what you're doing for me.'\"
\"It's something that she's been waiting for a very long time,\" Isaac added. \"So it was just so self-fulfilling for me to just do that for her. And just to see the expression on her face was enough.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/surrogate-4-ht-er-220323_1648070649666_hpEmbed_8x5_384.jpg\")
As for baby Ainsley's name, Savant said, \"We wanted to use the name Rain as a middle name just to signify the rainbow after the storm. ... It's the blessing after all of the devastation.\"
A rainbow baby is a term often used for a baby born after a mother suffers a miscarriage, stillbirth or loss of an infant.
After their extraordinary journey, Isaac and Savant say they now consider each other family. \"Not a day goes by since August of 2020 that we have not spoken,\" Savant said, adding that she considers Isaac \"the best person I have ever met.\"
Isaac and Savant say they've had to navigate several regulations and laws in Louisiana, which only allows for gestational carriers if certain conditions are met.
Surrogacy is legal in the U.S. but not federally regulated, so laws vary from state to state.
In Louisiana, under HB 1102, a law passed in 2016, gestational surrogacy is permitted only for married, heterosexual couples and monetary payment for surrogacy is not allowed under the law.
\"In Louisiana, a lot of people don't know how really strict it is,\" Isaac said. \"My husband actually had to be involved with it and he's been supportive this entire time. He actually had to do lab work and testing and of course, he had to be on board with me doing it as well. I couldn't do it without him, without him agreeing that it's OK.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/surrogate-3-ht-er-220323_1648069712636_hpEmbed_11x13_384.jpg\")
\"Jasmine and I's hope is that this brings awareness and Louisiana can start looking at their outdated laws and maybe make some changes,\" Savant said.
For others interested in becoming a surrogate, Isaac says you should be sure of your decision and recommends setting up a solid support system. \"If you're interested in becoming a surrogate, of course, do not offer unless you know you're fully on board with doing so. You don't want to get anyone excited that you're going to do something and then step back on it. You kind of set them back a little bit doing so.\"
Savant also hopes their story offers hope to others struggling with infertility. \"I think women almost feel like there's no hope for them like, they just want to give up because it's too hard. So I would want them to know go see your fertility doctor. Join a few surrogacy Facebook groups, research the laws in your state. Go speak to an attorney.\"
\"This can be done,\" she added. \"You just need to be persistent, stick with it, and not give up your dream. Giving up can't be an option if you really want this.\"
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