Solo father talks stigma, grief and those absurd questions every intended parent gets asked.

"Would you let your daughter grow up to be a surrogate?" This question is probably the strangest Nathan Chan has been asked since embarking on his surrogacy journey 8 years ago.

Nathan, whose daughter Nanette was born via surrogacy two years ago, runs a surrogacy consultancy in Canada and is a proud and visible solo father of choice.

As a result of his high profile he is often targeted by people who do not believe a single man should raise a child alone.

He not only has to contend with this sexism but also the anti-surrogacy brigade, which fielded the hateful question mentioned above. Rather than shy away from prejudice and criticism it has emboldened Nathan to continue to raise the profile of single fathers and of surrogacy itself.

"I think these types of hurtful comments come from a place where people feel embarrassed about infertility," he writes. "There’s also shame, ignorance and simply an unwillingness to embrace that families are created in so many different ways."

Nathan is a true inspiration to solo dads. He runs the organisation Proud Fertility in Canada for egg donors, surrogates and intended parents. He is also no stranger to the challenges of building a family - his own surrogacy journey has been fraught with heartache and grief.

Find out more about how he contends with solo dad stigma and his own surrogacy journey in Today's Parent here

(quote above taken from the same article)

Photo: Ashley Daigle