Pros and Cons of Using Surrogacy to Start Your Family

Surrogacy is an incredible family-building option, particularly for the LGBTQ community and those struggling with infertility, that has exploded in popularity in recent years. Today, surrogacy is more accessible, safer, and more effective, than ever before. Still, that doesn’t mean a surrogacy journey doesn’t come with its own set of challenges! Prior to choosing surrogacy, then, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of this family-building process.

Advantages of surrogacy

• Biological connection: Surrogacy allows people who can’t have a child on their own—namely the LGBTQ community and those struggling with infertility—to have a biological connection to the child. Surrogacy, through the IVF process, allows intended parents to use their own eggs or sperm, combined with egg or sperm from a donor if necessary, to create embryos.
• Reliable family-building option: With a surrogacy journey, you are typically working with the most ideal sperm and egg sources, and a healthy surrogate—this often takes much of the guesswork out of surrogacy. Most intended parents will need to complete no fewer than three IVF transfers before their surrogate achieves pregnancy.
• Reduced health risks: Thanks to necessary health screenings, and pre-implantation genetic testing prior to IVF, a surrogate pregnancy most often is associated with far fewer risks than a traditional pregnancy. Intended parents are able to select the healthiest, most viable embryos they are able to create for use in their surrogacy journey.
• Connection with surrogate: Many intended parents and their children end up developing an incredibly rich and meaningful relationship with the woman who serves as their surrogate. Many say this relationship is one of the best parts of surrogacy.

Disadvantages of Surrogacy

• Surrogacy is expensive: There is no getting over this fact. Surrogacy is an expensive way to form your family. Still, you do not need to be supremely wealthy to embark on a surrogacy journey. With enough planning and cost-saving measures, surrogacy can be within the reach of many.
• Legal complications: The laws surrounding surrogacy are very complicated and vary widely by jurisdiction—in some places, surrogacy is completely legal and regulated. In others, entering a surrogacy contract is a punishable offense. The process involved with establishing your legal parentage to your child, and severing those ties with your surrogate, also varies by jurisdiction. It’s very important to work with a surrogacy attorney who is well-versed in these laws prior to a surrogacy journey.
• Length of time: Surrogacy is not a short process! An average surrogacy journey takes two years, start to finish, but there are many unforeseen factors that can make your timeline shorter or longer depending on your circumstances. It’s important to start a surrogacy journey with patience.
• Emotional process: Surrogacy is an incredibly rewarding but emotionally challenging process for everyone involved. Many couples and individuals who turn to surrogacy have already experienced many years of loss and complications on their road to parenthood. So it’s very important to have a good support system in place throughout the entire journey and make plans for self-care throughout the process.