No Intended Parent wants to think about the worst case scenario when they are already pursuing alternative pregnancy options to begin with, however, it’s important to remember that the surrogacy process also comes with complex emotional, legal, and physical risks.

A miscarriage during a standard pregnancy, while no less devastating, doesn’t have the added layers that a surrogacy pregnancy has. This makes a miscarriage during the surrogacy process even more complicated since there are many people involved, and many moving parts. So, what exactly happens in the case of a surrogacy miscarriage?

This post will explore the topic of miscarriage during surrogacy, including how it differs from a normal pregnancy, what steps you can take, and how to cope and move forward as best you can towards your goal of building a family.

Possible Causes of a Miscarriage

The cause of a miscarriage could be due to a number of circumstances. In a traditional pregnancy, a miscarriage can occur due to anything from a history of miscarriage, chromosomal abnormalities after fertilization, substance abuse, or the physical health of the mother.

In a surrogacy pregnancy, some of these factors are filtered out during the surrogate screening process, as well as right before the embryo is transferred. For example, once fertilization occurs, only the embryos without abnormalities will be transferred to the surrogate. This reduces the chance of miscarriage later on in the process.

Completely preventing miscarriage in surrogacy is impossible, but there are simple actions you can take to create a healthy environment that can lower your risk. This would include making sure that your surrogate is eating a healthy, balanced diet, taking any recommended prenatal vitamins from her provider, getting regular checkups to monitor fetal health to detect potential issues early on, and to avoid stressful situations.

These are just a few easy ways to create the most ideal environment and best outcome for your surrogacy pregnancy.

Surrogacy Miscarriage Rates

How common is miscarriage in surrogacy? You’ll be happy to know that miscarriage during surrogacy is no more likely to occur than during a standard pregnancy. In general, 10%-20% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. This is the same for a surrogate pregnancy.

Emotional Impact of a Surrogacy Miscarriage

The emotional experience of a miscarriage during surrogacy holds a different weight from a traditional pregnancy loss. While both types of parents will naturally experience feelings of loss, sadness, and confusion, with a surrogacy miscarriage, there has been a lot more invested into the process.

You’ll have to consider not only your own emotional pain as Intended Parents, but also the well being of your surrogate. You might be working with an agency, or a surrogacy concierge. You have paid for lawyers, and fertility specialists…the list goes on. When a miscarriage occurs during surrogacy, an entire process needs to end and be thoroughly thought out before navigating to the next step.

All these extra complexities can build up additional emotional weight on top of your already heavy load. You’ll want to seek support where you can to help manage it and process your loss fully.

Healing After Surrogacy Miscarriage

Taking the time to grieve your loss and introduce some self care before trying again and jumping back into the process is absolutely critical for a healthy surrogacy journey. This includes not only time for you as Intended Parents to fully process your emotions, but also the time that your surrogate will need to physically recover from the miscarriage. The length of recovery will depend on how far along the pregnancy was.

Your surrogate may also be experiencing a high level of guilt. She may feel as if she did something wrong and she has failed you as Intended Parents since she wasn’t able to fulfill her end of the surrogacy. Of course, this is not the reality and miscarriage is a natural result that can happen in any pregnancy, but the guilt may appear regardless.

What Happens Legally After Surrogacy Miscarriage?

What happens after a miscarriage legally is highly determined by the surrogacy agreement that was drawn up between you as Intended Parents, and your surrogate. This document is agreed upon and signed before the surrogacy process begins. Although this is a very case by case scenario, it’s common that the surrogate is still compensated to some degree, or up until the point of miscarriage. Beyond that, the details will be determined by what was agreed upon in your contract.

You can consult with your legal advisor to find out whether a new agreement needs to be drawn up before you begin the process of trying again, or if any changes need to be made.

Starting The Surrogacy Process Again

Once you and your surrogate have gone through the healing process and are feeling ready to talk about next steps, it’s good to have a conversation to check in and make sure that everyone is still on the same page and just as committed to the surrogacy process as they originally were.

At this point, you’ll need to decide if you’re wanting to try again and repeat the process. This might mean doing a second embryo transfer using the same surrogate, or getting re-matched for a fresh start if you decide a change in surrogate is needed.

Moving Forward With Hope

Miscarriage is one surrogacy setback that no one wants to experience, but it is possible to move forward and still create the family you desire after suffering a loss. This is a time to be patient and compassionate with yourself, and to understand that although it didn’t work out this time, that doesn’t mean you can’t try again and create a different result.

You should seek out emotional and professional support to process your thoughts and feelings before starting the process over, and know that there is still a chance for new beginnings. At Surrogacy Simplified, we know how to handle this type of emotional loss, and can support you every step of the way.

To connect with our expert team and learn more about getting started with the surrogacy process, schedule a complimentary initial discovery call. We can’t wait to meet you!