Cross-border surrogacy: Experiences of heterosexual and gay parents in Sweden

Surrogacy is a controversial method of assisted reproduction that is not permitted in many countries. While there is some evidence that families following surrogacy seem to fare well, there is limited knowledge about the experiences of parents who turn to cross-border surrogacy. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the experiences of heterosexual parents and gay fathers who chose cross-border surrogacy to have a child.

This cross-sectional survey describes the experiences of 30 families (18 heterosexual parent and 12 gay father families). Participants were recruited through a website for a Swedish surrogacy interest group. The participants were requested individually to complete a postal questionnaire including study-specific questions on their experiences of disclosure and the Swedish Parenting Stress Questionnaire.

All couples but one were still living together and had a child (3 months to 5 years). Parenting stress levels were generally low and were not related to sexual orientation. While almost all parents were open about the child's mode of conception in contacts with health care, gay fathers were significantly more open about using surrogacy in contacts with preschool (P = 0.004) and child recreational activities (P = 0.005) compared with heterosexual parents. A majority described being treated positively or "as any other parent" in these contexts.

Heterosexual and gay parents reported low levels of parenting stress and generally experienced positive or neutral reactions to their parenthood in contacts with healthcare providers, in preschool, and in the child's recreational activities.