How Many Times Can I Be a Surrogate?

Surrogacy brings immeasurable joy to intended parents (IPs) and a sense of intense happiness to a surrogate. The decision to become a surrogate is personal, and most women choose to provide this extraordinary gift out of the goodness of their hearts.

Given the fulfillment you feel as a surrogate, you may want to share the gift of parenthood with as many people as possible, giving rise to the question: How many times can I be a surrogate?

Our team at Great Beginnings Surrogacy Services (GBSS) in San Diego, California, including our fertility expert, Dr. Samuel Wood, specializes in finding ideal surrogates for IPs and can answer any questions about the process.

Though the medical and ethical side of surrogacy is still evolving, we recommend surrogates have no more than a total of five previous full-term, healthy deliveries, including your own. 

Here, we want to share the requirements for surrogates and why we limit the number of times you can be a surrogate.

Surrogacy requirements

The surrogacy agency you choose determines who can and can’t be a surrogate. We select surrogates based on the guidelines set by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASMR). Their recommendations suggest surrogates:

• Be between the ages of 21 and 45 
• Have a history of at least one full-term, uncomplicated pregnancy
• Have no more than a total of five vaginal deliveries
• Have no more than three cesarean section (C-section) deliveries
• Have a stable and supportive home environment

Additionally, our ideal surrogate has a body mass index (BMI) of 32 or less and has no current medical or mental health issues. We also have stricter age requirements; we select surrogates between the ages of 21 and 38.

Pregnancy and your health

The guidelines we have in place for surrogates are to protect their health. Pregnancy is a natural biological process, but it’s complex and taxing on the body and treated like a medical condition. 

Though every pregnancy is different, your obstetrics history gives us a general sense of how your body may handle pregnancy as a surrogate. Your health is important to us, and we want to ensure you stay well throughout the surrogacy journey. 

Limits for surrogates

Our surrogates must have a history of at least one full-term, healthy pregnancy. But, no more than five total vaginal or three C-section deliveries. What does this mean?

The number of times you can be a surrogate depends on your pregnancy and delivery history. If you have given birth twice to have your own children, you can be a surrogate three times if your previous pregnancies were vaginal deliveries. The surrogacy limitations protect your health.

You can serve as a surrogate for the same family more than once if you meet the set criteria. Ideally, you should finish growing your family before becoming a surrogate. 

All pregnancies carry some risk, and our goal is to limit those risks to prevent any long-term health complications.

How many times you can be a surrogate depends, but usually no more than four times. 

Are you done growing your family? Do you want to help hopeful parents grow their families? Complete our online prescreening questionnaire and surrogate application, and one of our care coordinators will contact you.

Or, you can call our office or book a consultation using our online scheduling tool.