Parenthood and pregnancy through surrogacy are dynamic and complex processes that require adaptability and responsibility with not only the biological implications themselves but also the psychological impact that the process generates with the surrogate’s and IP’s reality.

Surrogacy as an assisted reproduction technique brings with it physical, biochemical, and hormonal interactions that have an impact on the psychological and general performance of people who decide to follow this path to parenthood. Literature shows that there are no differences between the alterations or vulnerabilities in surrogacy and a non-assisted pregnancy since all pregnant women go through both physical and emotional changes due to hormonal fluctuations.

Most of the time, surrogates' perceived well-being, self-esteem, and self-confidence increase. They experience a profound sense of satisfaction, relief, recognition, and calm as they feel they’re doing a charitable act for a family that desires a baby and cherishes them for fulfilling their duty. In addition, surrogates in Gestamos Surrogacy have an additional protective factor: the complete interdisciplinary support from our team with immediate availability for any eventuality before, during, and after pregnancy, which makes this a successful process in the biological and psychological sphere.

We should also take into account the not-so-favorable effects on the mental health of all pregnant women or surrogates. Some of them could be labile emotionality, fear, concern about the IPs’ expectations, and, in some cases, sadness due to separation from the baby, which may develop psychopathological conditions such as anxiety, psychosis, baby blues, or postpartum depression. Some studies reported that surrogates with unfavorable psychological conditions or emotional complications during pregnancy can overcome these situations when accompanied by specialists during the process and because of the satisfaction they feel for having helped to complete a family.

Alongside the psychological consequences of pregnancy, the surrogates sometimes may also feel guilt, social isolation, and stress caused by social factors such as criticism and prejudices. Therefore, those who accept this process must have stable and sustainable social support networks to preserve their mental health and feel nurtured, supported, and held by those around them. This is because deciding to become a surrogate and being one is hard to assume. Although surrogates don’t develop a long-term emotional bond with the babies, they do commit and engage in caring, providing, and preserving the baby’s well-being and integrity, generating a necessary and balanced bond that acts as a psychosocial protective factor.

Now, when analyzing the psychological factors of the IPs during surrogacy, it's essential to note that they must have the necessary cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and personality characteristics to understand and assume this process in a clear, responsible, and suitable way; therefore, their psychological condition, as far as possible, should start and be maintained at stable levels. Some researches show that IPs may present higher signs of psychological well-being when taking this alternative to building their families since they do it safely and consciously. Also, in families built through surrogacy, it’s common to find more coping mechanisms, higher levels of adaptability to the newborn routine, and tools to promote safe emotional bonding in childhood; in addition, IPs tend to present lower stress levels associated with parenthood, less vulnerability to develop long-term depression and greater satisfaction with their preparation and performance as parents in a period even longer than 2 years.

However, surrogacy also represents a significant stressor for the IPs in that, in addition to receiving the weight of the stigma and social questioning, they face various challenging situations and changes during the process, which can generate diverse psychological consequences. Some of them are situational anxiety or depression, anguish during the surrogate selection process, concern about the well-being of the surrogate and the baby; guilt (generally in heterosexual intended parents with conceiving difficulties), uncertainty about the future; concerns about the genetic and emotional bond with the baby, and the unforeseen events that may alter the process. Hence, the importance of having a complete and trained team that can successfully carry out the complexity of surrogacy, gestation, and delivery to families, a team such as the one found in Gestamos Surrogacy.

Although surrogacy as an assisted reproduction technique represents a challenging path with essential decisions and risks within, it is also a great help for those who struggle to conceive or gestate. It’s a safe, reliable, and adequate alternative to achieve their dream of parenthood. At Gestamos Surrogacy, we understand your needs and offer you the possibility to build your family. If you are a gestational surrogate, we offer you the opportunity to help those who have this dream through our rigorous surrogacy program, recognized for its comprehensiveness and complete interdisciplinary work, which increases our efficiency and success rate every day.