About one in eight couples in the U.S. struggle with infertility,and many consider alternate methods of having a baby. Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas announced on January 21 that they welcomed their first baby via a surrogate.
Back in April 2021, NBC News' Kristen Welker and her husband, John Hughes, announced on TODAY that they are expecting their first child with the help of a surrogate. Margot Lane Welker Hughes was born on June 12.
Surrogacy is a wonderful option for people who want to become parents. But the surrogate pregnancy process is still surrounded by mystery and confusion.
To help understand how it works, TODAY Parents paged Dr. Barry Witt, a reproductive endocrinologist, OBGYN and Medical Director with WINFertility.
Surrogacy is an arrangement between two parties, where a woman, the surrogate, agrees to carry a pregnancy for the child’s intended parents or parent. There are two different types of surrogacy: gestational and traditional.
Gestational surrogacy uses the egg of the mother and the sperm of the father or sperm donor to create an embryo, which is then transferred to the uterus of the surrogate via in vitro fertilization.
In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate’s own egg is used, making her the biological mother of the child. Sperm is implanted into the surrogate’s uterus through intrauterine insemination (IUI.)
Witt doesn’t recommend traditional surrogacy.
“The traditional method is rarely done because it’s legally and emotionally complex,” Witt explained. “In cases where someone needs a donor egg, they’ll use a donor egg and have that transferred into a gestational surrogate. That separates whose egg it is from the person who’s carrying the pregnancy.”
There are a wide variety of reasons that a couple may decide to hire a surrogate.
“One of the most common would be that the woman has problems with her uterus or she doesn’t have a uterus," Witt said. “Surrogacy is also a good option for a woman with medical problems like cancer, severe heart disease or pulmonary hypertension.”
Same-sex couples who want to be genetically connected to their child are also drawn to surrogacy. Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, David Burtka, welcomed their twins with help from a surrogate in 2010.
“Most people turn to agencies,” Witt said. “But some will ask someone they know like a sister. The advantage of doing that is that you can save a lot of money. Carriers get paid roughly $30,000 to carry a pregnancy.”
But there are also benefits to using agencies, which have a rigorous screening process to ensure that the surrogate is emotionally and physically prepared for the journey.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) recommends that the surrogate should be between the ages of 21 to 45 and should have carried at least one healthy pregnancy without complications. Ideally, she should have had no more than five prior pregnancies and no more than three C-sections. The ASRM also notes that many reproductive endocrinologists maintain that a carrier should have a body mass index of less than 30.
The number is roughly 3,000 to 4,000, according to Witt.
“It’s a very expensive process — I believe it costs people about $150,000 in total,” Witt noted.
Increasingly, employers are offering financial aid for couples struggling with infertility and for those who want to pursue surrogacy. Some surrogacy agencies also offer assistance through grants and loans.
In surrogacy, it's crucial to have all legal paperwork in place, according to Jeffrey A. Kasky, a Florida surrogacy lawyer. It's definitely not the place to try to cut your expenses.
"That is what is going to determine who the actual legal parents are," Kasky told TODAY Parents. "Here's a child that's being created through alternative means that was not contemplated by common law. And in order to secure your rights, you need a legal contract."
When speaking with TODAY in 2019, Kasky stressed the importance of hiring a knowledgeable attorney.
"Like adoption, surrogacy is a specialized area within family law which requires a specific type of experience,” Kasky said. “When push comes to shove, there are eventualities in which the legal work can be what saves you from disaster and heartbreak. You don't want to trust that responsibility to just anyone."
Here are more resources:
Surrogacy Agencies:
Choices Donations
Creating Families
Pacific Egg Donors
Growing Generations: Full service surrogacy agency offering grants of up to $50,000 for qualified intended parents
Books:
Children's book about surrogacy: "You Began As a Wish"
Book for adults about assisted reproduction: "Your Future Family: The Essential Guide to Assisted Reproduction (What You Need to Know About Surrogacy, Egg Donation, and Sperm Donation"
Organizations:
American Society for Reproductive Medicine: Resources for prospective parents going through fertility care
Family Equality: Resources for LGBTQ families, parents and parents-to-be
Resolve: Resources for anyone challenged in their family building process
Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology: Organization for assisted reproductive technology professionals
Men Having Babies: Financial assistance and resources for gay men pursuing parenthood
Related video:
This story was originally published in April 2021 and has been updated.
Billie seemed to shade Travis' Astroworld tragedy, and Kanye wasn't having it.
"I'm glad I could get that message to her before she died," Drew Carey says of his final text message to Amie Harwick in 48 Hours: The Final Hours of Amie Harwick
Megan Fox's killer abs and sculpted legs are total #goals in these new Instagram photos. Daily circuit training sessions and a keto diet keep her in shape.
Other residents of Yellow Springs, Ohio, also complained, and the town decided to pull the affordable housing component of the development.
Rihanna wore a trucker hat, low-rise jeans, and a patterned fur coat while revealing her baby bump in another show-stopping maternity look
Betty White's "Gold Girls" co-star Bea Arthur once used the C-word to describe the late actress. White was apparently not liked by her co-stars on the sitcom.
Eve announced her pregnancy last October. Her good news followed years of the star being open about her struggles with infertility.
She attended the opening of "The Music Man" in NYC.
Winter Olympics snowboarder Shaun White is dating 'Vampire Diaries' actress Nina Dobrev. After seeing Shaun's TikTok of Nina, many fans believe he's going to propose.
Breaking up with a friend you love isn't easy. For years, I grieved the loss of a close friendship as if it were a death.
Kim Kardashian snagged the March 2022 cover of Vogue, and the 41-year-old beauty mogul and reality star has never looked — or sounded — better in her candid new interview and photoshoot emphasizing a more mature, potentially quieter phase of life: one that’s focused on family, personal growth, and paving a new path as her high-profile […]
Greene’s obvious error at least provided the ingredients for some very saucy tweets.
Ashley Graham and husband Justin Ervin are now parents to three boys, twins Malachi and Roman and 2-year-old son Isaac
Just here to share the important stuff.View Entire Post ›
Kevin Hart shares his 17-month-old daughter Kaori Mai with wife Eniko Hart
Teresa Giudice's daughter Milania Giudice isn't quite ready to forgive Joe Gorga after his fight with her sister Gia Giudice. Watch her react in this Real Housewives of New Jersey sneak peek.
Bill Maher's and Bari Weiss' recent statements on the pandemic betray a selfishness that past generations didn't show during their crises.
Spears danced to her 2004 song "Get Naked" to tease new music, wearing a red cutout bodysuit and towering platform heels.
The first round of “Jeopardy!” is normally referred to as the “Jeopardy!” round, however co-host Mayim Bialik spiced things up a bit on Thursday.
"I'm done with you being disrespectful," Gia Giudice said to Joe Gorga on The Real Housewives of New Jersey