Barbara van der Maaten
About Barbara
Barbara van der Maaten is a writer, advocate, and founder of Salsa & Surrogacy, where she supports intended parents navigating international surrogacy and egg donation in Mexico. After a seven-year infertility journey, she became a mother through surrogacy and donor eggs—an experience that now fuels her compassionate guidance and advocacy for families building their own paths to parenthood. Born from the Heart is her first book.
Born From The Heart
Born From The Heart
After years of infertility, failed treatments, and a four-year adoption waitlist, Barbara van der Maaten refused to let go of her dream of motherhood.
In Born from the Heart, she shares the raw, courageous story of turning to international surrogacy—crossing borders to Mexico City, partnering with an egg donor agency in Canada, and placing her deepest hopes in the hands of a woman she had never met. What unfolded was a journey of science and faith, heartbreak and healing, legal battles and breathtaking joy.
When her daughter was born, celebration collided with months of bureaucratic obstacles that threatened to keep their family apart. Through every setback, Barbara discovered that motherhood is not defined by biology or geography—but by resilience, integrity, and love.
Featuring reflections from their surrogate, physician, and others who walked beside them, Born from the Heart offers an honest, behind-the-scenes look at ethical surrogacy and the complex, beautiful reality of building a family differently.
For anyone navigating infertility or seeking hope beyond the traditional path, this is proof that sometimes the most unexpected road leads exactly where you were meant to be.
