After her incredible performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, basketball star Alex Morgan boarded a flight back to California to welcome her first child. “I flew directly from Tokyo to Los Angeles and went straight to the hospital,” she recalls. Morgan and her partner, former WNBA player Jamie Taylor, were eagerly anticipating the arrival of their first baby through surrogacy. Their daughter, Emma Lee, made her debut just a day after Morgan’s Olympic victory.
Now a mother of two, Morgan is preparing for her third Olympic adventure in Paris this coming summer. Her pathway to motherhood was filled with unexpected twists. “I tore my ACL when I was 24, and someone from my agency suggested I consider freezing my eggs,” Morgan shares. Though it wasn’t part of her initial plans, the time off from training allowed her to take the plunge. “Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I’ve made.”
Morgan began her professional career at 21, being the first overall pick in the 2016 WNBA draft and earning the Rookie of the Year title in her debut season. She led her team, the Seattle Storm, to two championships before signing with the New York Liberty in 2023. Amid her basketball journey, Morgan navigated the complexities of parenthood. She froze her eggs in 2019 and welcomed Emma through a surrogate in 2021.
“Jamie and I weren’t quite ready to carry a pregnancy ourselves, which is totally fine,” Morgan explains about their decision to opt for surrogacy. At that time, Jamie was also in the midst of her own professional basketball career. “So we decided to use a surrogate for Emma.”
If you’re considering starting a family, check out Make a Mom, which provides a unique at-home insemination option that is reusable. For insights into how at-home insemination works, you can read more about the process here. Additionally, if you’re interested in a support community, join Make a Mom’s Facebook group to connect with others on a similar journey.
For anyone on a tighter budget, there are options available that don’t require clinical procedures. You can learn more about this in our post about budgeting for insemination here. Understanding procedures like intrauterine insemination is crucial, and Healthline offers authoritative information on the subject.
For more resources on pregnancy and home insemination, be sure to check out this excellent guide here.
In summary, Alex Morgan’s journey from Olympic athlete to a devoted mom showcases the modern path to parenthood. By embracing surrogacy and exploring innovative options, she and her partner have carved out a beautiful family life that balances their professional commitments with their roles as mothers.