Did you know that there are 460 million native Spanish speakers in the world? That makes Spanish the second most spoken language worldwide – just ahead of English.
Not surprisingly, there’s a high demand for Spanish-speaking services across the world – including surrogacy.
Unfortunately, surrogacy is not legal in a number of Spanish-speaking countries, including Spain, Portugal, and many South American countries. Some countries may simply not have specific surrogacy laws, while others may actually restrict who can become parents. Under Portugal’s surrogacy law, for example, single men and male homosexual couples are not permitted to become parents through surrogacy.
This means the US has a high demand for surrogacy from as far away as Europe, Asia, and Australia. It’s estimated that domestic and international couples have more than 2,000 babies through gestational surrogacy in the United States each year.
Many international parents may wonder how the language barrier will affect their relationship with a surrogate in an English-speaking country. Fortunately, Family Source Consultants has the expertise to bridge that gap. We are proud to offer our surrogacy program to Spanish-speaking parents.
Family Source Consultants’ Spanish-speaking concierge has helped hundreds of clients from Spain, South America, and other Spanish-speaking nations become moms and dads. This involves matching and facilitating gestational surrogacy and egg donation arrangements.
CEO Staci Swiderski says FSC is proud to offer multilingual services for their international clients. “With approximately 40% of FSC’s Intended Parents being international, it is essential that we have a team here that not only is fluent in our clients’ language, but also understands their culture to better guide and support their surrogacy and egg donation journeys,” she says. “FSC is a global agency and we are proud to accommodate clients worldwide. Our multilingual staff members speak Mandarin, Japanese, French, German, and Spanish.”
Meet Ana Petersen, International Concierge
Ana Petersen is FSC’s International Concierge. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she emigrated to the US 18 years ago. It was at about that time she first learned about surrogacy when her own daughter donated eggs. “It was a great experience to meet the children that resulted from that donation,” Ana says.
As part of FSC’s Spanish team now for over thirteen (13) years, Ana guides Intended Parents through the surrogacy process and acts as a liaison between the two cultures. She says that being immersed in both cultures allows her to connect with Latin Intended Parents and help them through their challenges.
Ana explains there is no ‘typical day’ at FSC, and much of it is spent keeping clients updated. “I answer emails from the parents and from the coordinators. I send text messages to the parents reminding them to check the emails that their case managers send them. A lot of customers don’t check their emails! I also have fluid contact with the parents by WhatsApp.”
Ana thoroughly enjoys speaking her native language with moms and dads-to-be – especially when she gets to see their bundles of joy.
“As a mother of two daughters, I understand completely the desire to be a parent. It gives me much fulfillment to help Spanish-speaking Intended Parents as their interpreter. I also have a special connection to Family Source Consultants, as one of my daughters has been an egg donor. I am extremely proud of my daughter, as I believe she has done a wonderful thing by helping to create a family.
When I was approached to help Family Source Consultants with interpretations for Spanish-speaking Intended Parents, I felt it was a perfect fit for me. I am a Spanish teacher, and I enjoy helping those who need assistance in navigating through this process. While my role is to translate the language, this is only one portion of what I do here. I am also a liaison between different cultures, and I create a translation that effectively mirrors the factual details of what Intended Parents want and expect. I help them as they sort through their feelings and emotions, and ensure that they are comfortable with all aspects as they begin what will likely be the most important journey of their lifetime.
I develop good relationships with Spanish-speaking parents. They know that they can call me at any time. I try to make their travel to the States a smooth experience for them. I love getting pictures and videos of the babies. All of them are adorable!
I am pleased to be a part of the Family Source Consultants team and I enjoy helping Spanish-speaking Intended Parents build their families through our international surrogacy program.”
Why is it so important to have a Spanish-speaking concierge?
It’s essential to cater to everyone’s needs and make them feel at home – especially when it comes to Intended Parents from different cultural backgrounds.
When you’re miles apart and full of uncertainty in such a complex process, having another person speak your own language can give you a comfort level hard to achieve in a different country with people who speak a different language.
“Even when they speak English, very often they are more confident speaking Spanish. It allows us to connect with people on a deeper level and also to connect with a wider variety of Spanish-speaking clients around the world,” says Ana. “I feel that it is a privilege to have the opportunity to help these parents.”
Staci Swiderski, CEO and owner of Family Source Consultants has been involved in the field of reproductive medicine since 2002. Staci has vigorously grown the comprehensive egg donation and gestational surrogacy agency to become a worldwide leader in the third-party reproduction field. Staci is a former intended parent herself. She and her husband welcomed their son via gestational surrogacy in 2005. Additionally, Staci had the experience of assisting an infertile couple (AKA Recipient Parents) build their family through her efforts as an egg donor, with her donation resulting in the births of their son and daughter.
