Surrogacy isn’t as rare as you might think: the number of children born to surrogates increased 89% in a four-year time span with an estimated 35,000 children born to surrogates.
If you’re struggling to have children, you have many options available to you: fertility treatments, adoption, fostering, and surrogacy to name a few. So why choose surrogacy?
Let’s go over some of the pros and cons of surrogacy as a way to have children.
The Pros
Surrogacy is a common choice for those looking to have children. Let’s look at why it’s so popular with these surrogacy benefits.
You Can Have a Biological Child
For those struggling to have children, either because of a partner’s infertility, if you’re a same-sex couple, or if you’re physically unable to carry a child, it’s possible to have a biological child through a surrogate. You can use your egg or sperm (along with your partner’s if possible!) to implant into a surrogate.
Adoption and fostering will give you a child, but some people have a strong desire to maintain a genetic link to their child. If this is important to you, it’s made possible through surrogacy.
Raise a Child from the Start
Adoption and fostering sometimes take away certain stages of the child’s life from the adoptive parents. There’s no guarantee you can adopt a newborn child, and you may miss out on the pregnancy stages.
Using a surrogate allows the parents to be a part of the child’s life from conception, just as they would be during a natural pregnancy.
Fewer Restrictions
Adoption and fostering have long and complex regulations and legal processes that can be costly, confusing, and (in some cases) discriminatory. Surrogacy still has some restrictions, but it’s far less complex and non-discriminatory against parents based on sexual orientation, for example.
Many surrogacy services will also help with the understanding of regulations and restrictions. Take a surrogacy agency Los Angeles location, for example. Many couples in that area are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, which is why they offer particular services to help those parents navigate regulations and restrictions that might make adopting a more difficult option.
The Cons
There are significant drawbacks to surrogacy you should consider before committing.
Cost
The cost to pay a surrogate and go through a surrogacy agency is large. The cost varies, but it seems the minimum cost for everything is around $100,000.
Loss of Control
Using a surrogate means trusting another person to safely carry your child. If you’re pregnant, you control what you eat, the places you go, what activities you do, etc.
Surrogacy means relinquishing this control and trusting someone else to do the right, healthy things during the pregnancy. This can be scary, but most agencies vet their surrogates, so it’s safe to trust them.
However, that lack of control can be too much for some to handle.
Pros and Cons of Surrogacy: Final Thoughts
There are going to be benefits and drawbacks to all of your options when trying to have a child outside of the “traditional” way. Hopefully, this guide of the pros and cons of surrogacy helped you organize your thoughts on surrogacy and can help you decide whether it’s the option for you.
Are you on the way to becoming a parent? Be sure to read our parenting articles to get ready to be the best mom or dad you can be.
