Five Myths About Gestational Surrogacy
At Fertility Source Companies, we understand that the process of third party reproduction with a gestational surrogate begs many questions. If you are about to embark on your journey to parenthood via gestational surrogacy, we’d like to clear up some common misconceptions.
- Your surrogate is related to the baby.
This is a very common concern that we address with the understanding of traditional vs. gestational surrogacy arrangements. The terms traditional surrogate and gestational surrogate are often confused. A traditional surrogate involves a woman who uses her own egg in artificial insemination with the intended father’s sperm. A gestational surrogate is a carrier of a baby conceived using the intended mother’s egg, or a donor egg, and the intended father’s sperm during IVF. A gestational surrogate has no genetic connection to the baby because it wasn’t the gestational surrogate’s egg that was used during the IVF cycle. In the U.S., surrogacy agencies create surrogacy agreements with gestational surrogates only, as supported by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
- Any woman can become a gestational surrogate.
Intended parents entering the process of family building via surrogacy are most concerned with who their potential surrogate will be. Some questions that come with that concern are whether the surrogate will be healthy, make good life choices, etc. while carrying their baby. Due to an extensive screening process, not every woman is eligible to become a gestational surrogate. At Fertility Source Companies, we have a screening process built around health requirements, such as being non-smoker, non-drug user, having a healthy BMI, healthy past pregnancies and deliveries, and more. In addition, our surrogate applicants participate in mandatory medical and psychological screening.
- Surrogacy is illegal where I live and I can’t pursue gestational surrogacy to build my family.
There are many states that have developed surrogacy friendly laws. Our agency is actively screening gestational surrogates in the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, or Wisconsin. Remaining states may not have fully friendly laws regarding surrogacy, but we are able to match you with a surrogate in a surrogate-friendly state and make travel accommodations for intended parents to facilitate their journey to parenthood.
- The surrogate will want to keep the baby.
Gestational surrogates are providing the gift of a child to intended parents with the knowledge and preparation it requires to deliver that child into their arms. While this is a common concern, we, as an agency, take every measure to prepare all parties involved in surrogacy arrangements. Beyond proper screening, our surrogacy arrangements are completely backed with legal support and contracts between our agency and both the intended parents and surrogate, as well as between the intended parents and surrogate directly.
- Surrogacy is too expensive.
We completely understand that surrogacy is not an inexpensive family building option. Surrogacy fees and costs vary depending on many factors. For example, you may be seeking a surrogacy arrangement also in conjunction with donor eggs/sperm, which carries its own fees and costs; and health insurance policies also make a difference in the proper coverage for your surrogate without full cost falling to intended parents. In addition, financing options and an open mind regarding the requirements you may have in finding the perfect surrogate for you, can create many cost savings. We suggest to all our intended parents to consider our financing and cost saving options, as well as requirements such as the location of their surrogate. Travel costs can be limited by finding a surrogate closer to home or in a neighboring state. As a fully comprehensive agency in the industry, Fertility Source Companies is also able to inform our intended parents to referrals for grants or other affordable care to begin their journey.
It is our goal as a surrogacy agency to properly educate and inform our intended parents and gestational surrogates of the journey they are about to embark on. Surrogacy is an amazing gift, and we pride ourselves on taking the time necessary to properly screen our surrogates in order to make the right match for you.
