I Can’t Have Children, But I Want to Be a Parent: Where Do I Begin?

Learning you can’t have children of your own when all you want is to be a parent is heartbreaking. 

However, when you recover from the news, learning about other ways to become a parent can help you heal and reignite the excitement of parenthood.

At Great Beginnings Surrogacy Services in San Diego, California, our extraordinary team led by fertility expert Dr. Samuel Wood makes dreams come true. We help people struggling with infertility, same-sex couples, and single people become parents.

In this month’s blog, we want to share how you can become a parent when you can’t have children. 

Know your options

Pregnancy isn’t the only path to parenthood. Here are some other options for becoming a parent.

Adoption

Adoption is a legal process that connects parentless children with a permanent family. For a domestic adoption, you work with a private United States agency. You can also adopt a child from another country through an international adoption, working with a private attorney or international adoption agency.

Surrogacy

Surrogacy is an arrangement where a woman agrees to carry and deliver a baby for another person. We provide this service by matching intended parents (IPs) with their ideal surrogate. We specialize in surrogacy services for our LGBTQIA+ community, assisting with additional fertility needs such as finding sperm and egg donors. 

We only do gestational surrogacy, so there are no genetic ties between the baby and the woman carrying the baby, reducing the risk of legal parentage issues.  

Foster parent

A foster parent provides a child a temporary home when they’re unable to live with their biological family. If and when children can’t return to their biological family, foster parents may adopt their foster child. 

Things to consider

Before pursuing one of the paths to parenthood, you want to make sure you meet the criteria and are okay with background checks and health screenings. Becoming a parent is exciting but can be a long and emotionally taxing journey. 

Finances are another thing to consider. Adoption and surrogacy are costly and may require financial planning to pay any upfront fees and legal expenses. Foster parents may receive a stipend to support the cost of care for a foster child, but the monies received may not cover all costs. 

Building your support network

You also want to build your support network. Sharing your journey to parenthood with close friends and family can help you find encouragement and understanding. Connect with a support group with people going through similar experiences, sharing your ups and downs, and learning from others.

You may also benefit from professional counseling to help you cope with the emotional turmoil related to your journey to parenthood. Additionally, counseling may help you learn how to become a good parent.

There are many ways to become a parent. If you’re thinking about surrogacy, schedule a consultation with our specialists. We can discuss the process and how we can help. Call us at 858-922-8544 or send a message online.