Why Surrogacy Age Won’t Impact Success Rates

Since the dawn of time, women have always remained aware of their ‘biological clock.’  In the western world, our twenties to early thirties is the ideal age range to give birth. In other cultures, it may be that as early as a female’s first menstrual cycle, is when she is seen fit to bear children. Once a woman ventures into her mid to late thirties, the common consensus is that she is then too old to have children, and the risks are far greater.  This view is common among Intended Parents in the world of surrogacy.  But we are here to dispel that myth and to clarify, there is an age limit to become a surrogate. At Simple Surrogacy, we have a few different requirements women should meet when considering surrogacy in an effort to protect both the Surrogate and Intended Parents (IPs). With that said, most IPs embark on this journey with an already-established idea of the type of woman they want their Surrogate to be – young, smart, generous and fertile – all qualities that are natural and understandable to want the person carrying your child to have. These qualities are true of all our Surrogates, as they undergo our screening process prior to working with them. However, despite the reassurances, Intended Parents may struggle with the idea of accepting a Surrogate who is in the later period of their ‘biological clock,’ as they may believe she is too old to carry through a successful pregnancy, and ultimately unable to help them build their family.

If this is a concern for you as an IP, the first thing we’d like you to do is take a deep breath and trust us.  We screen and develop a relationship with our Surrogates before recommending them for you. There are certain criteria a woman must meet prior to becoming a Surrogate through our agency, so you will never be in a position of being matched with a Surrogate who lacks the tools needed to carry out a successful pregnancy. Although it is possible that your Surrogate may be in her mid to late thirties, she will be healthy and capable of carrying out a full-term pregnancy. After all, gestational age is based on the age of the eggs, not the age of the gestational surrogate. With that said, like any pregnancy, complications could always arise. However, here at Simple Surrogacy, our screening process is very thorough and as such, we eliminate the foreseeable risks of complications. An older Surrogate may even present some unique qualities and pros when compared to younger Surrogates.

You may be saying to yourself, “Your screening process is great but what about the scientifically proven fact that as a woman ages, her body begins to deplete the reserve of her best eggs?” This is true.  Women become less fertile as they age because they begin life with a fixed number of eggs in their ovaries. The number of eggs decreases as women get older. Additionally, the remaining eggs in older women are more likely to have abnormal chromosomes. A woman’s reproductive system will release only the eggs with the best chance of creating a healthy embryo each month and her body begins to deplete this reserve of the best eggs. And yes, as age increases, women are at higher risk of disorders that can affect fertility such as uterine fibroids and endometriosis. Combine this and the result, understandably so, is the commonly held belief that the younger a woman is, the better suited she is for childbearing.

However, surrogacy challenges this belief.  With gestational surrogacy, the woman carrying your baby will not genetically contribute to the makeup of your child. Intended Mothers will use their own eggs and if IPs are using an Egg Donor, the donor will likely be in her twenties. Thus, Intended Parents would not need to worry about egg reserve depletion. Additionally, the IVF process requires that a Gestational Carrier’s monthly cycle is regulated and manipulated by hormone therapy.  As such, we are able to create uterine conditions that are fairly predictable and ideal regardless of a woman’s age. 

Although hormone therapy may seem promising in that it can almost defy the aging process, Intended Parents may sometimes be concerned with the physical capabilities of a woman as she gets older. While it may appear that the younger, who has more energy, seems more physically able to carry out a full-term pregnancy than an older woman, the main difference here is lifestyle. A woman in her thirties who is fit and healthy would be a far better candidate for surrogacy than a woman in her twenties who leads an unhealthy lifestyle. We ensure that all of our Surrogates are healthy, fit women, who have active lifestyles and are willing and excited to take on the physical challenges of pregnancy, no matter how old they are or how many times they’ve been pregnant before.

In addition to the fact that older Surrogates are both physically and medically capable of helping IPs embark on this incredible journey, they may also have an additional perk for your family. Older Surrogates are more likely to have older children and with age, comes wisdom. In this case, they are more mature to handle life and pregnancy, and because their children are older, it is less hectic in the home. Given these circumstances, your Surrogate will have a more stable home life and support for the journey that lies ahead of her.

When it comes to selecting a Surrogate, age really is nothing but a number. When it comes to considering who would be the perfect fit for you, it is more important to consider the lifestyle, personality and pregnancy preferences of the Surrogate. You can leave the rest to us! With our agency, you can be rest assured that your Surrogate’s age will not impact the success of growing your family. If you have any questions or still feel uncertain of age and surrogacy, feel free to contact us today and we will help to put your concerns at bay!

 

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