“It takes a village to raise a child. “ We hear this refrain all the time. It is something we employ very early into parenthood. It is somewhere between an excuse and a justification. We embarrassingly whisper it when a stranger helps prevent your child from running into a parking lot. We comically say it when friends takes your child to the bathroom at a restaurant while you watch their children. We graciously tell it to our daycare teachers. We repeat it in so many instances. Because it absolutely takes a village to raise a child. And, that’s okay.
It takes a village to raise a child is actually an African proverb that means that an entire community of people must interact with children for those children to experience and grow in a safe and healthy environment.
It also takes a village to have a child. Having a child often starts as discussion with a partner or spouse. That discussion sometimes moves onto other family members who will invariably give their advice. For some, pregnancy might come easily. In that case, it will involve doctor’s appointments for prenatal care. For others, pregnancy may not come as easily and requires more “village” involvement. There may be visits to a reproductive endocrinologist, meetings with surrogacy agencies, reviews of egg, sperm or embryo donations, and introductions with potential surrogates and ultimately an assisted reproductive technology attorney will draft a surrogacy contract to reduce the agreement between the intended parents and surrogate to writing. Because it takes a village to have a child. And, that’s okay.