Dear Sassy Surrogate: Can I become a surrogate even if I’ve never been pregnant?

Dear Sassy Surrogate, Can I become a surrogate even if I’ve never been pregnant? If not, why?  I am not sure that I want to have my own children but would love to experience pregnancy and help someone else become a family. Please explain, Confused by Qualifications

Dear Confused, We have heard women say “Since I don’t want children of my own, I would be the perfect surrogate” or "I don’t want my own baby but I do want to experience pregnancy” or even, “I know I want children later but I want to be a surrogate now.” To all these women, if we feel it might be a good fit, we say “What about egg donation because you are not qualified to be a surrogate.” Many sighs of disappointment and questions of “why not?” tend to follow in short order (Are you digging the quotes?  We have this conversation *really* often!).

Here are the main reasons that someone who has never had a baby should not be a surrogate:

*There is no previous experience with pregnancy and birth. No one knows what complications this body may have.

*Not sure if there would be any fertility issues

*No personal knowledge of the discomforts of pregnancy

*No personal knowledge of the pain of the birthing process

*Possible emotional issues throughout

Although rare, we have heard of women without previous pregnancy experience being successful surrogates, but that is almost always for a family member. Some clinics or doctors will make an exception in these cases. Again, we remind our readers that the surrogacy process is costly, with the Intended Parents investing thousands and thousands of dollars and having someone that has proven that she can carry and give birth to at least one healthy baby is an important part of the process.

Have you had a successful pregnancy in the past and are interested in finding out if you are qualified to be a gestational surrogate? Fill out our intake form here and we’ll be in touch!