While the definition of surrogacy can be straightforward, what surrogacy means is a bit more complex. Because surrogacy involves so many people and affects them all differently, their surrogacy meaning will be different from the next person’s. Therefore, the best way to determine the meaning of surrogacy is to speak to someone that has been directly affected — usually intended parents or surrogates.
In general, here’s what surrogacy may mean for the people affected by it:
What Surrogacy Means to Intended Parents
For many intended parents, surrogacy is the last chance they have at creating a biological child. Whether they’ve been struggling with infertility, are still single or are in a same-sex relationship that doesn’t allow for the creation of a biological child, they’ve likely experienced years of disappointment waiting for their dream of becoming biological parents to come true. While these difficulties are common and nothing to be ashamed of, many intended parents are plagued with feelings of inadequacy due to the stigma of infertility or being a single parent.
Therefore, surrogacy means they can overcome these stigmas and feel the success of having a biological child that many of their peers experience so easily. They can see themselves reflected in their child’s physical traits and feel proud in completing a goal they have had for so long.
The process of surrogacy also means something special to intended parents; it’s a partnership from the very beginning. Their surrogacy meaning is different than the meaning for the surrogate they have been matched with. For them, surrogacy is a priceless gift that they can never repay their surrogate for — but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy journey throughout the process.
So, what does surrogacy mean for them as they go through the process? It will likely be a year or more of financing fertility treatments for themselves, the surrogate and possibly an egg donor; nine months of giving up control over their unborn child’s development; being a part of major milestones like doctor’s appointments and the birth of their child; and the final success of taking their biological child home from the hospital. In many cases, surrogacy means creating an intimate relationship with a surrogate they will forever be connected to.
Each surrogacy will mean something different to intended parents, but at the end of a successful process, they will all have a biological child — the reason why they chose surrogacy in the first place.
What Surrogacy Means to Surrogates
It’s clear why intended parents pursue surrogacy, but why would women choose to become surrogates and what does it mean to be a surrogate mother?
For surrogates, surrogacy means a chance to help other people become parents in a selfless, incredibly generous way. Their success in previous pregnancies allows them to offer their healthy uterus to intended parents who desperately want to have a child and eventually help create a family where there may not have been one before.
Many surrogates choose to enter the surrogacy process because they enjoy being pregnant and because they have a deep desire to help others. Surrogacy gives them a sense of pride and personal satisfaction and creates an opportunity to build a strong, intimate relationship with intended parents — a relationship that may continue long after the surrogacy is complete.
Choosing to participate in the surrogacy process may mean extensive fertility treatments and nine months of pregnancy, but for many surrogates, those challenges are far outweighed by the positive emotions they feel from helping another family.
Something to remember: The meaning of surrogacy and its process will vary for a surrogate based on what type of surrogacy is completed. The specialists at American Surrogacy can help explain what a certain surrogacy process may mean for prospective surrogates and intended parents if you call us today at 1-800-875-2229.
What Surrogacy Means Moving Forward
As surrogacy becomes more mainstream, it will change the way that society views those intended parents who cannot conceive a biological child on their own and the surrogates who selflessly decide to help them. The more commonplace surrogacy is, the less of a taboo topic it (and infertility) will be.
The growing number of children brought into the world via surrogacy will also play a role in how the process is perceived in the years to come. For them, surrogacy means their parents took every path possible to bring them into existence — and the pride they feel for their parents and their surrogacy story will help educate others about the realities of assisted reproduction in this day and age.
American Surrogacy is dedicated to helping people understand the meaning of surrogacy and how it is changing the world of assisted reproductive technology. We celebrate the different stories that emerge from the surrogacy process and are happy to share them with prospective surrogates, intended parents and anyone else who is interested. For more information about surrogacy, contact our surrogacy specialists today.