The Difference Between a Surrogate and a Gestational Carrier

Many people have heard of a surrogate and a gestational carrier, but most don’t know there’s a distinct difference between the two. In this month’s blog, we go into detail about each of these services and which conditions can cause a woman to need Coastal Fertility Specialists’ help finding a surrogate or a gestational carrier.

A traditional surrogate is genetically related to the baby meaning that the baby is created from her egg and she also carries the baby in her uterus. As you can imagine, this arrangement can lead to significant legal and parental rights complications and this form of surrogacy is no longer practiced by most centers, including CFS. The second type of surrogacy is gestational surrogacy. This is where a woman (gestational carrier) carries and delivers a baby for an infertile couple and is not genetically related to the child. The egg would be from the intended mother or from a separate egg donor.

Since pregnancy is not a benign condition and there can be risks to a woman during pregnancy or delivery, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine recommends that this approach be used only when there are compelling medical reasons for doing so.

Medical reasons for Gestational Surrogacy

Gestational carriers “may be used when a true medical condition precludes the intended parent from carrying a pregnancy or would pose a significant risk of death or harm to the woman or the fetus.”

Examples of medical reasons include:
• Problems with the uterus or absent uterus
• The intended mother has a serious medical condition that makes pregnancy unsafe for her health

For more information on how the gestational surrogacy works and the testing necessary for this type of treatment, click here.