Learn About Surrogacy: Tips, News & Real Experiences
Search Our Blog
Search By Category
Blog Categories
Surrogacy Questions from Gay Intended Parents: What to Know Before You Begin
Surrogacy can be a powerful path to parenthood for gay intended parents, but it also comes with important legal, medical, and personal considerations. This guide answers common surrogacy questions from same-sex couples, including state laws, biological connection, donor selection, timelines, and how to build a safe, supportive journey.
Does the surrogate ever want to back out and keep the baby?
Surrogacy Commitment and Intentions
The team confirmed that 99.9% of surrogates do not want to keep the baby, emphasizing strong commitment to the surrogacy process.
Amanda explained that surrogates are motivated by the goal to create joy and bring life, not personal gain.
Intended parents seek to welcome the child and then return to their normal lives, highlighting clear role expectations.
This insight helps reduce fears driven by negative media stories, reinforcing trust in the surrogacy process.
Understanding this high commitment rate supports marketing and counseling strategies aimed at intended parents and surrogates.
How common is infertility?
Infertility Awareness and Support
The discussion highlighted that infertility affects a significant portion of the population, emphasizing the need for supportive services.
Infertility impacts roughly one in six people, representing millions of families worldwide, which frames the scale of the issue Danielle addressed
This prevalence shows infertility is common rather than rare, breaking stigma around the topic
Danielle stressed infertility is not shameful, encouraging open conversations and support
The message sets the foundation for outreach and service development in fertility support
Recognizing wide impact helps the business prioritize empathetic communication and resource allocation
Surrogacy was presented as a key path to parenthood offered by the organization, inviting engagement from both prospective parents and surrogates
This dual-focus approach broadens market reach and potential service users
Danielle’s invitation to connect signals active recruitment and community-building efforts
Positioning surrogacy as a supported option aligns with business goals to expand client base
This framing supports long-term growth through relationship development and trust-building in the fertility space
Five Things to Consider When Looking for a Surrogate Match
Choosing the right surrogate match is one of the most important steps in the surrogacy journey. This guide covers five key factors intended parents should consider, including surrogacy laws, medical and psychological screening, shared values and communication, agency vs. independent matches, and the true financial costs of surrogacy.
As a surrogate, how am I paid and how often?
Hi everyone. Ashley Old, Case Manager with Bright Futures Families, here with your Ask a Surrogate Expert question. This week's question is how much does _surrogacy cost and why? Surrogacy usually costs between 175,000 to 200,000, covering surrogate pay, legal, medical insurance and agency support. Clinic fees are separate. It's a huge investment, but it ensures everyone is fully supported and cared for throughout the journey. Thanks for the question.
What can I do to support Resolve, or other fertility nonprofits, and help promote infertility awareness?
We are always happy to send people in directions of non profits and fertility related charities that might fit them really well that need volunteers. So if you ever want to reach out, ask us. We're happy to individualize any suggestions to you.
Who can be in the delivery room at birth?
Hi Janelle Ibarra, Social Media person here at Bright Futures Families, here for Ask a Surrogacy Expert. Who can be in the delivery room during a surrogacy birth? So there are a couple pieces to this. The first piece being it's going to depend on who is decided during the matching process and legal contract piece. So sometimes the intended parents request that they can be in there. The second piece to consider is that different hospitals and birthing places have different policies and so the number of people who can be in the room may vary.
Matching Matters: What is Important to You?
Matching in surrogacy is about more than availability—it’s about shared values, communication, and trust. This blog explores what makes a strong match between a gestational carrier and intended parents, including important conversations about termination, vaccines, relationship expectations, and medical decision-making before pregnancy begins.
May I deliver the baby at home or in a birthing center instead of at a hospital?
Delivering a surrogacy birth at home is generally not feasible, prioritizing safety due to potential complications.
Things People Don’t Talk About in Surrogacy
Surrogacy is often shown as a highlight reel—but there’s so much more behind the scenes. From the long waiting periods and emotional highs and lows to the physical demands, changing relationships, and post-birth transition, this blog shares the real, human parts of surrogacy that people don’t always talk about.
If I’ve had an abortion, can I still be a surrogate?
If I’ve had an abortion, can I still be a surrogate?
The main update confirms that having had an abortion does not disqualify someone from being a surrogate, provided it is not the most recent pregnancy.
Amanda clarified the policy that surrogates can have had an abortion before but not as their latest pregnancy.
Medical records must be collected to check for any complications such as significant blood loss.
This ensures the surrogate’s health status is clear and safe for the process.
The guidance supports expanding the surrogate candidate pool without compromising medical safety.
What do I do about missing work for appointments?
The surrogate’s time off for medical appointments is managed through a combination of personal leave and compensation structured in the gestational carrier agreement.
Surrogates must attend multiple appointments including medical screening, embryo transfer, monitoring, and OB visits throughout the pregnancy
Clear legal review of lost wage clauses is critical to avoid surprises during the surrogacy journey
As a surrogate, how am I paid and how often?
Hi everyone. Ashley Old, Case Manager with Bright Futures Families, here with your Ask a Surrogate expert question. This week's question As a surrogate, how am I paid and how often? Great question. As a surrogate, once pregnancy is confirmed, you're typically paid in monthly installments. You will also receive additional payments for specific milestones and expenses along the way. Thanks for the great question.
Why Families Choose Surrogacy (and Other Paths to Parenthood)
Families choose surrogacy and other paths to parenthood for many personal reasons—including medical need, LGBTQ+ family building, and the desire for a biological connection. This blog explores surrogacy, adoption, IVF, IUI, and reciprocal IVF, and why every family deserves the freedom to grow in the way that feels right for them.
Can I work with BFF if I want to work with intended parents I already know?
The main point is that clients can work with Brightff.com families even if they already know their gestational carrier or intended parents.
Jenn explained the Indy Match program allows independent matches while still providing full agency support from screening through birth.
The agency handles all medical screening for the carrier just like in the full-service program.
Support continues from the moment of matching until after the baby’s birth.
Monthly agency fees start only after medical records are approved by the clinic.
This approach reduces financial risk for intended parents if records are not approved.
What is your relationship with surrogate baby in the womb?
Hi, it's Janelle with Ask A Surrogacy Expert. Our question is, while in the womb, how is your relationship different with your own children than your relationship with the surrogate baby? So really, I think there's that psychological piece of knowing, hey, this isn't my baby. So when you feel kicks and flutters and things like that, it's like, oh, it's so cute. So it really just does feel like babysitting. For me, it wasn't quite as sentimental. I think everybody's a little bit different with that. But it was cool to be able to text the IPs and let them know baby's kicking like crazy today. But it doesn't feel quite the same because you are aware already that you are just growing someone else's baby for them and that eventually you'll be able to do this awesome thing of giving baby back to them once he or she is born. And it's just, it's incredible. So not the same, but also amazing.
Matching with a Gestational Carrier in a State with Abortion Restrictions: What Intended Parents Should Know
Matching with a Gestational Carrier (GC) in a state with abortion restrictions can add legal, medical, and ethical complexity—but it doesn’t automatically prevent surrogacy. This guide helps intended parents understand what abortion bans may impact during a surrogacy journey, including how pregnancy management decisions (such as medical complications, selective reduction, or termination) are typically addressed through early communication, detailed contracts, and coordinated care planning. Intended parents will learn what questions to ask before matching, how legal protections like conflict-of-law clauses and parental rights safeguards may be handled, and why alignment, transparency, and experienced agency and legal support are essential when navigating surrogacy in restrictive states.
Can I travel after the birth of the surrogate baby?
What surrogates should know about travel after delivery.
Tips For Surrogates: Pumping Breastmilk for Intended Parents
Pumping as a surrogate is an incredibly generous and thoughtful gift to the baby and their (no longer intended – actual!) parents. Whether you're pumping for a short time postpartum or planning an extended pumping journey, here are some helpful tips and guidance specifically for surrogates.
What are some things a surrogate or intended parents should be asking during a match meeting?
Key questions to ask during a surrogacy match meeting for a strong partnership.