Pros and Cons of Surrogacy: Weighing Your Options | Accel Conceptions

Pros and Cons of Surrogacy: Weighing Your Options

Pros and Cons of Surrogacy

Surrogacy can be life-changing for everyone involved. Intended parents finally get to experience the jobs of parenthood and carriers get to give the greatest gift you can imagine.

But even though surrogacy can be a beautiful thing, there are many pros and cons of surrogacy for all parties involved. Before starting your surrogacy journey, spend some time getting to know the advantages and disadvantages so you can make an informed decision about what is best for you.

Pros and Cons of Surrogacy for Intended Parents

Intended parents likely have been through a lot when trying to grow their family. The heartache of wanting children so badly but struggling to carry a baby can feel all-consuming. If you’re an intended parent exploring surrogacy, here’s what you should consider.

Pros

  • Allows the couple to welcome a child: Surrogacy can build or complete a family even after a couple has struggled with infertility or medical conditions that have made pregnancy challenging or impossible. For LGBT couples, it can truly open the door to parenthood.
  • Can involve the parents’ genetics: While adoption can also help couples welcome a child, they don’t share any DNA with their adopted child, which can feel less fulfilling. One or both parents can use genetic material to conceive their child, offering the opportunity to watch a little one with the same sparkling eyes as them grow and develop.
  • Surrogacy is a clear process in states with friendly laws: Going through a surrogacy journey in a state with clear laws around surrogacy makes the process clear. There are few surprises for all parties involved thanks to legally binding contracts. This establishes the intended parents’ rights from conception.
  • Helps intended couples stay involved: Surrogacy is the second-closest way to experience every little milestone with parenting. Most intended parents get the chance to attend important prenatal appointments and be there for the birth of their child.
  • Surrogacy has a high success rate: Couples who have been through the pains of other methods for growing their families might be hesitant to be hopeful again. But surrogacy has a high success rate when compared with fertility treatments.

Cons

  • Complex in some areas: Some states are not as friendly toward surrogacy, which can complicate the process. The legalities can feel overwhelming and make some intended parents choose not to proceed. But when you work with the right surrogacy agency like Accel Conceptions, you can easily overcome this challenge.
  • Surrogacy is expensive: The cost to welcome a child via surrogacy is considerable since it requires so many services and medical care for the carrier. 
  • Some intended parents struggle with limited control during the pregnancy: While you can request certain things of your carrier, such as what they eat or how they care for themselves during the pregnancy, you can’t completely dictate those requirements, meaning you’ll need to relinquish some control.

Pros and Cons for Gestational Surrogates

A woman considering being a gestational surrogate might be questioning why they would consider the process. Pregnancy requires nine months of your life and can present physical challenges and discomfort. But serving as a gestational surrogate can be a beautiful thing. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons gestational surrogates can experience.

Pros

  • Pride in knowing you’re giving the ultimate gift: Most gestational surrogates are moms and know the joy of parenting. Looking at the joy that the process can bring to someone else can be a major motivator for gestational surrogates.
  • The chance to experience pregnancy: If you enjoyed being pregnant and experiencing the miracle of life, gestational surrogacy is a chance to enjoy the wonders of pregnancy again, even if your family is complete.
  • Joining a large community: Surrogacy offers the chance to join a community of other women serving as surrogates as well. This can build close connections and help women expand their network and build lifelong friendships that understand what they value.
  • Legal protections: Gestational carriers enjoy legal protections since their contracts with intended parents are legally binding. These contracts outline the carrier’s responsibilities and detail how they will be compensated for their role in bringing the baby into the world.
  • Fair compensation: Surrogates enter into a long-term agreement spanning approximately one year. Due to the time involved in the process and the physical and emotional demands surrogacy entails, surrogacy agencies pay fair compensation, which can help you meet financial goals.

Cons

  • Pregnancy is physically demanding: As a surrogate, you’ll also attend many screening appointments and fertility treatments leading up to pregnancy. The process is physically demanding and can disrupt your normal routines.
  • Surrogacy involves many emotions: You’ll be carrying a baby for many months knowing you have to hand it over to the intended parents at the end. Despite knowing that the whole time, you might find yourself struggling with letting go as the final weeks of pregnancy approach. Accel Conceptions offers counseling to help gestational carriers with the emotional side of carrying someone else’s baby.
  • You’ll be taking on a major time commitment: Serving as a gestational surrogate involves screening appointments, meetings, legal proceedings, and, of course, medical appointments. You need to be ready for the intense time commitment involved.

Exploring Surrogacy

If you want more help exploring surrogacy either as intended parents or a gestational carrier, contact Accel Conceptions. We’ll answer your questions and guide you as you explore what’s best for you and your family.