Adrienne Arieff went through three miscarriages before she learned she was unable to carry a child. Her search for a solution brought her to India, where she found a woman willing to carry her and her husband's embryo in a controversial practice known as foreign gestational surrogacy. After considerable soul-searching, Arieff traveled in 2008 to Anand, a city in western India that has earned a reputation in recent years as the capital of India's so-called "rent-a-womb" industry. The 36-year-old marketing specialist from San Francisco met Vaina, the 26-year-old married mother who would be her surrogate, and began fertility treatment at the Akanksha Infertility Clinic. Weeks later, Arieff's husband arrived in India for the final stage of IVF, setting the stage for the emotional journey at the heart of her new book, "The Sacred Thread: A True Story of Becoming a Mother and Finding a Family—Half a World Away."
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Adrienne Arieff develops bond with surrogate in India who gives birth to her twin daughters
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"The Sacred Thread" describes emotional toll of having surrogate on other side of the world
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Arieff defends so-called "rent-a-womb" industry, says it was a win-win situation for all sides
Arieff spoke with CNN about the highs and lows of surrogacy and the unique bond that formed between her and @placeholder.