LGBTQ Family Building Process
Starting a family is a dream for so many. Holding a little baby that is every part you and your partner and looking into their little face is something that can seem so far away. Surrogacy is a big decision for any couple, straight or gay.
Between changes in legislation and new and expanding reproductive technologies, there are now more ways than ever to build a family. For some couples and individuals in the LGBTQ community starting a family can feel more complex because the planning can involves a few more challenges. LGBTQ family building involves a lot of research, as well as conversations and meetings with agencies, healthcare providers, lawyers, financial planners and even mental health professionals.
Surrogacy is a popular option for gay men who want to be biologically connected to their children, as well as for lesbian couples who are unable to conceive or carry a pregnancy on their own. In a LGBTQ surrogacy, pregnancy is most commonly achieved using an egg donor, gestational carrier and in vitro fertilization (IVF). A lesbian couple may have the advantage of being able to decide who will carry the pregnancy. One partner might donate their egg while the other carries the pregnancy. For this to happen, IVF is still necessary, though. However, if the same partner is providing the egg and carrying the pregnancy, then IVF is not usually necessary.
For gay men who wish to become parents and have a child that is biologically related to them, it is now possible thanks to the advances in reproductive technology. For those couples, they will need an egg donor and a gestational surrogate to carry the pregnancy. Some intended fathers choose to fertilize multiple eggs for implantation using both partners’ sperm, allowing either one or both to be a biological father.
Once the important decisions regarding biology and who will carry are made, LBGTQ intended parents are be able to continue the surrogacy process as any other intended parent.
The next parts of the journey are nerve-wracking and exciting!