Chimamanda Adichie Opens Up On Her Journey Through Surrogacy (Video)

Chimamanda Adichie has explained why she revealed her surrogacy journey, hoping it helps end the shame many women face over fertility and reproductive choices.

Celebrated Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has shared her thoughts on motherhood and why she decided to speak openly about having her twin sons through surrogacy.

Speaking at the first live edition of the #WithChude show, the 47-year-old writer said she chose to talk about her experience so that women wouldn’t feel pressured or judged because of her story.

“I felt that there were many women who would then be pressured by people saying, ‘look, Chimamanda is 47 and she had kids at that age, what about you?’” she said.

Married to a medical doctor, Adichie said society puts too much pressure on women when it comes to fertility. She believes this needs to change.

“There is so much shame around issues of fertility, and I just think it’s too much of a burden for women,” she said. “Women are ashamed when they have fibroids, women are ashamed when they have issues getting pregnant – and I don’t believe in that sort of shame.”

Although she briefly regretted sharing details of her children’s birth, she felt it was more important to be truthful and possibly help others.

“My boys are so precious to me,” she said. “And I hated that anything about them would become politicised. So, on the one hand, I thought, ‘I wish I hadn’t talked about it,’ but on the other hand, there is no way I am going to lie about the process of birthing them.”

She added, “I am hoping that if anything good comes out of this, it would be that more women are less ashamed of talking about reaching motherhood through non-traditional means. Our society is so judgemental, and I don’t think that is good for anybody.”

Adichie first announced the birth of her twins in February but kept their identities private to protect them from the public eye.

She also revealed that many people didn’t even know she got married in 2019 because she prefers to keep her private life out of the spotlight.

Despite some criticism online, Adichie said she stands by her decisions.

“My daughter and my babies are the greatest gift I’ve been given,” she said. “So, zero regrets.”

Known worldwide for promoting gender equality, she urged society to be more understanding and supportive of women’s personal choices, especially when it comes to having children.

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