When you choose surrogacy, you are helping people realize their lifelong dreams of parenthood, and that is beautiful. The intended parents you work with will have a significant impact on your surrogacy process, as you will build a close relationship with them. You’ll learn more about them as the journey goes on, and you can make some new extended family members.

But, what are the different types of intended parents? To get free surrogacy information now, you can fill out our online contact form. In the meantime, we’ve put together this guide on types of intended parents so that you can learn everything you need to know. We’ll go over the types of parents involved in surrogacy, why they choose surrogacy and more.

Who Are Intended Parents? [Types of Surrogacy Parents]

For the most part, intended parents are people who have experienced infertility or can’t have a child biologically. Even though surrogacy can be pricey for intended parents, they’re willing to do anything to have the child they’ve always dreamed of having. There are many types of surrogacy parents, and they’re united by their deep desire to have a child.

To give you an idea of the types of parents involved in surrogacy, we’ve listed some examples below. There is no such thing as a “typical” intended parent. But, from a general standpoint, they can include:

• Same-sex female couples who cannot carry a child themselves
• Same-sex male couples
• Single men who want a child
• Single women who cannot carry a child themselves
• Heterosexual couples who have dealt with infertility

Intended parents can span all demographics, such as age, race and gender. Many intended parents pursue surrogacy because of infertility, and it may be more common than you thought. In the United States, 13.1% of women aged 15-49 have difficulty getting pregnant. Infertility can cause severe emotional damage, and it can take plenty of resources to ease that distress.

When people struggle with infertility, they may turn toward in vitro fertilization (IVF) as an alternative route. They often pursue this before looking into surrogacy, which means they have likely already spent thousands of dollars on several unsuccessful embryo transfers. An average round of IVF can cost anywhere from $12,000 to $17,000, not including expenses for medication. Because of their unsuccessful attempts at IVF, many people pursue surrogacy.

Why Do So Many Types of Surrogacy Parents Choose This Path?

When many types of surrogacy parents choose this path, people often ask them why they don’t choose adoption instead. You may even be wondering this yourself. Everyone has their own reasons for the decisions that they make, and it’s ultimately up to them to decide what is best for their circumstances.

Generally speaking, though, there may be some overlap in the reasons that intended parents choose surrogacy instead of adoption. Here are a few of those reasons:

• They can have a biological tie to their child. Intended parents may have left-over embryos from their previous IVF attempts, and, rather than disposing of them, they can pursue a new method of infertility treatment. For many intended parents, the financial investment of surrogacy is the only chance that they have of sharing a genetic connection with their child.
• They can be involved in the pregnancy. Although adoption is still a valid and beautiful path people can take toward parenthood, surrogacy allows intended parents to be involved in the early stages of pregnancy. Following this line of thought, this means that they can be more involved in your surrogacy journey early on.
• They can have a greater sense of security. All types of surrogacy parents can rest assured knowing that they will share biological ties with their child. Also, through using a trusted surrogacy attorney to help with the contract, they know that the baby will be legally theirs in nine months.

But, we should mention that not all intended parents complete IVF before pursuing surrogacy. Some people, such as single men and same-sex male couples, know that surrogacy is their only choice if they want to be biologically related to their child.

How Can I Help Intended Parents?

If you’re interested in helping people become parents, then you can become a gestational carrier. When you pursue this path, you’ll give plenty of your time and energy toward helping these intended parents. Because of this dedication, you can receive base compensation and the satisfaction of having changed another person’s life for the better.

As a prospective surrogate, you will get to choose what type of surrogacy is best for you. Another choice that you will get to make is who the intended parents are and what types of surrogacy parents you’d prefer to work with. These preferences can span:

• Race
• Age
• Sexuality
• Marital status
• And more

When you work with a surrogacy professional, they can help you find the perfect intended parents with these preferences in mind. All you need to do is make sure that you meet the requirements to become a gestational carrier. Each surrogacy agency’s requirements vary, so be sure to research beforehand whether you qualify for a certain surrogacy professional or not.

Where Can I Find Intended Parents?

One of the simplest ways to find intended parents is through a reputable surrogacy agency. Your surrogacy professional can help you find the perfect intended parents that are right for your circumstances. In other words, your professional can do all the heavy lifting while you get to call all the shots.

You can also look for all types of surrogacy parents without the help of a surrogacy agency, but this can be much more difficult. The process will likely take quite a bit longer, and you’ll be responsible for handling all the important steps that a surrogacy professional would normally take care of for you.

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We understand if this is a lot of information to take in at once. So, you can always fill out our online contact form to get more surrogacy information now. We would love to help you understand all the types of surrogacy parents whenever you feel ready for us.