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Woman has had six surrogate pregnancies

NEW YORK, April 10 (UPI) -- A North Dakota woman with four children of her own says she has carried 11 more for others, including two sets of triplets.

Meredith Olafson, 47, of Fargo told NBC's "Today" show it was her own happiness with her children that inspired her to become a gestational surrogate. While she gets paid for lending her womb, she says it is only a few thousands dollars.

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"When you see those parents' faces when they see that ultrasound for the first time and they see that heart beat beating -- or they get to hear that heartbeat -- that's priceless right there," she said.

Olafson said she is "retiring her uterus" after the triplets, a pair of twins and three single babies. She delivered a baby girl on March 29 after her sixth surrogate pregnancy.

She has contributed none of the genetic material to the children she has carried, which makes the process easier emotionally.

"Those parents are the actual mother and father and so the mindset for you at that time is you know you're handing them their child," Olafson said.

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Olafson appears to be a natural mother, saying she has never had morning sickness and has usually worked until close to the due date. She spent 75 minutes in labor with her own first child, and the deliveries have only gotten shorter.

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