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Is gestational surrogacy right for you? Learn about who can benefit and how gestational surrogacy works.
Some prospective parents may find that traditional pregnancy is not an option for their family. There are several reasons why this may occur.
What Is a Gestational Surrogate?
A surrogate mother is a woman impregnated through IVF who carries and delivers the baby for the intended parent(s).
Gestational Surrogacy With Reproductive Fertility Clinic
Gestational surrogacy for prospective parents takes several steps. The first is determining the type of surrogacy arrangement your family needs. Some couples use donated eggs and/or sperm if they do not have viable reproductive cells to use.
The next step is selecting a surrogate. Some families choose to use a friend or family member. Others may use an agency to help find a surrogate.
Learn about the criteria to become a volunteer surrogate here and the specific steps to becoming a surrogate here.
The surrogate and gestational surrogacy options are chosen to meet the needs of the intended parents. The surrogate and parents must create and sign a legal agreement defining their roles and responsibilities. Next, the eggs and sperm from either the parents or donors are combined to produce a viable embryo. Then, the surrogate undergoes an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure that transfers the embryo into her womb.
The gestational surrogate carries the child to term. After the child is born, the parents can take them home from the hospital.
Who Can Benefit From Gestational Surrogacy?
Surrogacy for LGBTQ Couples
Many LGBTQ couples choose surrogacy as an option to help them have a child that's genetically related to at least one parent. This is most common among gay men who do not have wombs to carry a child, but other LGBTQ couples also benefit from gestational surrogacy.
Surrogacy helps LGBTQ families have their own children, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation.
You can learn more about other fertility options for LGBTQ couples here.
Surrogacy for Single Parents
Single Fathers
More people than ever before are choosing to become single parents. Gestational surrogacy can help single men who want a child that is genetically theirs. Single men will need both a gestational surrogate and egg donor. Their children can be biologically their own if they have viable sperm, or they can use a sperm donor.
Single Mothers
Single women who want to have children may also consider surrogacy for several reasons. Some women have concerns about becoming pregnant due to age, cultural pressures, or health concerns. Surrogacy can help women sidestep these issues and let them expand their families.
Single females who want to become mothers through gestational surrogacy generally use donor sperm, and they can use their own eggs or donor eggs.
You can find a list of local egg donation agencies here and sperm banks here.
Surrogacy for Intended Parents With Health Concerns
For many women, surrogacy is an alternative to pregnancy that still lets them raise their biological children. Many women struggle with infertility or other medical conditions that can make a pregnancy risky or even impossible. However, women whose eggs remain healthy can still use them for gestational surrogacy.
For women whose eggs are no longer viable, an egg donor can allow them to still use a surrogate.
Want to Learn More About Our Surrogacy Services?
If you want to learn more about gestational surrogacy, please call our office at (310) 881-8846 to schedule a consultation. We are excited to help you grow your family.