Using Two Surrogates Gives Newborns the Best Advantage
Having a baby via surrogacy is a unique, joyful and exciting experience—but it can also be expensive and stress inducing. To reduce risks, save money and achieve family goals faster, some intended parents are choosing to work with two surrogates simultaneously. Doing so decreases the risk of preterm delivery, lowers insurance costs, and increases the chances of a healthier pregnancy and healthy full term babies, allowing parents to conceive “twins” more safely.
“Safe, healthy pregnancies producing full term babies are always the goal at Newborn Advantage,” says Mindy Berkson, Founder of Newborn Advantage. “Many of our clients want to have two children, but multiple pregnancies can be dangerous and the associated risks associated can drastically increase costs. We have found that using two surrogates can be a safer and often a more cost-effective solution to help these intended parents build their families.”
Why Not Conceive Twins with Just One Surrogate?
In vitro fertilization (IVF) does not guarantee a successful pregnancy. Physicians and intended parents have historically taken extra measures to increase chances of pregnancy success and until recently, it was common for multiple embryos to be transferred at the same time to each IVF patient, to increase the chance of at least one embryo successfully implanting in the uterine lining. Because of this practice, many IVF procedures have resulted in multiple pregnancies.
Although the goal of IVF has always been to produce one healthy baby, many women who undergo the procedure give birth to twins, triplets, or even more babies, at one time. Some intended parents have even begun to seek out IVF in order to conceive twins. Many parents see having multiples as a way to consolidate the costs and challenges of pregnancy by having more babies at once. However, with multiple pregnancies come increased risks to both surrogate mothers and babies, and high financial costs for intended parents.
Because of these risks, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) no longer recommends transferring more than one embryo. Single embryo transfer is the recommended procedure, unless there is a clear medical reason to transfer two embryos.
Reducing Risks from Multiple Pregnancies
Low birth weight is one of the biggest risks of multiple pregnancy, and carries many associated health problems—including cerebral palsy, spina bifida, vision and hearing loss, and developmental issues. With a singleton pregnancy, there is a 9% risk of low birth weight, but with twins, the risk increases to 57%. The risk of premature birth with twins is 65%. Babies born prematurely can spend weeks or months in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and may experience lifelong health problems that affect their quality of life. Caring for a child with disabilities can also be expensive and emotionally challenging for parents.
The risk of carrying multiple children is high for surrogates as well. Prenatal care costs and needs are greater, and surrogates are at increased risk for complications during their pregnancy. They may also require bed rest during the pregnancy, which automatically adds costs to the overall surrogacy arrangement. Some surrogates may not be willing to carry multiple babies, and some physicians and insurance plans will not approve multiple pregnancies.
If the goal is to conceive twins, using two surrogates is safer because it reduces the chances of a premature birth and lowers health risks that can occur with multiple pregnancies. It also increases the chances of a full term birth by providing the baby with the most optimal health at birth.
Lower Insurance Costs
Using two surrogates can also reduce insurance expenses. The standard surrogacy insurance cost for families invested in having twins is $42,000. Insurance rates are lower per pregnancy when two surrogates are used simultaneously.
Faster Surrogate Match
Newborn Advantage matches surrogates to intended parents faster than most other surrogacy agencies—and single-embryo transfers get matched even more quickly, because most gestational surrogates request single-embryo transfer.
Twins with a Single-egg Donor
Many gay couples want both fathers to have a genetic connection to the family’s children. Working with two surrogates and a single-egg donor makes it possible for these couples to conceive fraternal twins who are genetically related, without the risks of a multiple pregnancy. With this procedure, there is only one egg donor, but one intended father fertilizes half of the eggs, and the other father fertilizes the second half. The resulting embryos are then transferred to two different surrogates. This allows gay couples to have two babies who are genetically related to one another through the egg donor, and who each carry the genetics of the respective fathers. Technically these babies are half-twins, because they share the DNA of only one parent. However, because they are conceived at the same time, and will be born at or around the same time, they can be thought of as “fraternal twins.” In addition to the benefits of passing down both fathers’ DNA and growing families faster, intended parents also benefit by paying for only one egg donor, and lowering surrogacy insurance and surrogacy agency costs.
Are you interested in using two surrogates to conceive twins?
At Newborn Advantage, we specialize in helping intended parents grow their families through surrogacy and we recognize that many of our clients are seeking twins through surrogacy. Our goal is to help our clients consider all options and explore their personal levels of risk adversity in conjunction with the overall family building budget. It is the combination of many factors that help to determine best options for each individual client and situation.
Contact us today to find out more about using two surrogates to conceive twins.