Brilliant Beginnings babies born in the US over 10+ years of experience

Brilliant Beginnings has been helping UK intended parents navigate US surrogacy for more than ten years (and our sibling organisation NGA law has been dealing with the legal aspects of US surrogacy cases since 2009). We carefully choose the best US professionals to recommend, and steer parents through all aspects of a safe ethical US surrogacy journey.

With such a long pedigree, we thought it would be interesting to share some stats on what we have seen on the ground (all figures correct to November 2023).

Where Brilliant Beginnings US babies have been born, by state

The most popular states in which US surrogates lived were California (CA), Wisconsin (WA), Oregon (OR), Maryland (MD) and Texas (TX), although babies have been born in a wide spread of different states.

Sex of Brilliant Beginnings babies born in the US through surrogacy

44% of our US surrogacy babies have been male and 56% female. In the US, gender selection is often an option within the IVF process (because embryos routinely undergo genetic testing to give the best chance of a viable pregnancy) although not all intended parents opt to choose:

Singles vs twins

Since the early days of IVF, technology and practices have evolved and US clinicians now achieve better pregnancy success. Due to the increased success and the higher risks of multiples to the surrogate and to the babies, most clinicians prefer to opt for a single embryo transfer in the first instance and will only look to transfer more if the embryos are lower quality of if there have been a number of unsuccessful transfers:

Parents using own eggs vs donor eggs

Many intended parents who have a baby through US surrogacy need the help of an egg donor as well as a surrogate. This is typical for gay and single dads, but also for many different-sex couples who, due to fertility or medical issues, are not able to conceive using their own eggs. Of the parents we have helped have babies through US surrogacy, 26% used their own eggs and 74% had the support of an egg donor.

Where US surrogacy agencies were located

Choosing the right surrogacy agency is a key part of a successful US surrogacy journey (and since many agencies have a wide reach where your agency is located is often a separate question to where your surrogate lives). There are many agencies in the USA offering surrogacy matching services, and it can be difficult for UK intended parents to know which will offer a safe, ethical and reliable service.

Brilliant Beginnings works tirelessly to understand what is happening with US surrogacy agencies, staying up to date on quality, match times and any changes that happen on the ground. As a result, the parents who have had babies through US surrogacy with us have worked with a range of different agencies in surrogacy-friendly states, with Colorado and California being the most popular.

Where US fertility clinics were located

Again, the choice of fertility clinic is an important part of a successful US surrogacy journey, as the clinic helps to create embryos, screen surrogates and perform embryo transfers.

There are many fertility clinics in the US, and choosing a clinic which has excellent success rates, can offer an egg donation programme, routinely works with international intended parents, and has a good working relationship with high quality US surrogacy agencies and attorneys are all important factors in intended parents’ choices.

Fertility clinics in California, where surrogacy is very long established, perhaps unsurprisingly proved most popular among our intended parents, although many conceived in clinics elsewhere.

A ten year view gives us long experience working with US professionals and understanding what makes a US surrogacy journey run smoothly. Please get in touch to see how we can support you on your US surrogacy journey.