When Ashley Schaeffer was 23, she became pregnant with her first child, Micah. While she was experiencing all the wonders of pregnancy, the excitement, the sound of his heartbeat, the flutter of his movements, and the anticipation of his arrival, she was also mourning alongside close friends and family members who weren’t as fortunate, women who’d miscarried or were struggling with fertility issues. “They had to go on watching me carry a baby. It just broke my heart, like a physical ache inside of me, and I knew after the birth of my first child, I was supposed to be a surrogate. My heart breaks so much for people who can’t experience this. God gave me the gift to be able to do this, so if I could help someone carry a child, then I wanted to try.”