6 Ideas for Surrogacy Birth Announcements

Planning a Birth Announcement

There you are, finally holding your new baby in your arms. You have waited a long time for this moment and you feel like singing from the mountain tops. You may also be considering the more conventional communication of sending a birth announcement.

You are familiar with birth announcements. They often feature a snapshot of the new babe, along with relevant “stats” (babe’s weight, babe’s time of birth, babe’s length, etc.). Announcements can be digital but oftentimes they are mailed to friends and family on nice paper, via the good old-fashioned postal service.

Recently, more and more of our clients have been asking for suggestions on how they might include their surrogate on baby's birth announcement. How sweet is that? We have come up with a few ideas and wanted to share them with the whole wide world.

Surrogate Inclusion Not Required

Before we get lost in our excitement, we want to say upfront that including your gestational surrogate on your baby’s birth announcement is not a “requirement.” You have waited a long time for this moment and you are allowed to share the news however you see fit. You should not feel any pressure to make this inclusion.

We are sure you have shown your surrogate your gratitude and admiration in many ways. So if this is an area you would rather keep more traditional, that is okay! You should not feel any guilt about that decision.

Ideas For Including Your Gestational Carrier (GC) in Your Baby’s Birth Announcement

That said, if you are ready to include your gestational carrier, here are 6 ideas on how to do so.

1.) She Gets It From Her Surrogate

It is not uncommon for birth announcements to mention the “big brown eyes” that the newborn clearly got from his father or the rosebud lips characteristic of his mother’s family. Consider also mentioning something wonderful about your surrogate that the baby may possess.

Example Text:

• “Baby has her surrogates’ big heart”
• “We hope she has her surrogate’s gracious spirit”

This is a nice nod to how indispensable your surrogate was to the process, but the mention fits in neatly with the tone of the card.

2.) Short and Sweet

Back in the day, birth announcements were a lot more concise. Give a nod to simpler times with a telegram-styled announcement such as this one below.

Design Link

Example Text:

Baby Here.
Surrogate Was A Superstar.
Mom and Dad on Cloud Nine!
More Soon.

3.) Made Possible By

If you were hoping to keep your announcement on the more traditional side, try a brief thank you to your surrogate at the bottom of the card.

Example Text:

• “This joy made possible by Jane Smith”
• “This happy family made possible by Jane Smith” or
• We want to thank our surrogate, Jane Smith, without whom none of this would be possible.

This is a straightforward way to provide a nice “shout out” to your GC.

Design Link

4.) Include the Whole Crew

Often times we work with clients who end up gelling not only with their surrogate but also with their surrogate’s whole family. In such cases, parents may want to consider sharing a photo not only of you and your new baby but also of your surrogate and her family as well. We love seeing announcements like this. It is such a gracious, inclusive and fun way to acknowledge not only the “main actors” but the “supporting cast” as well. We recommend that you make certain to ask your surrogate’s permission before sharing such a photo. We are willing to bet that she will be okay with it.

5.) Health Update

It is not uncommon for birth announcements, especially those sent right after delivery to mention the health and well being of “mom and baby.” Take a cue from this norm and mention that both baby and surrogate are well and that the new parents are over the moon.

6.) No Qualms About it

If you are ready to make your surrogate’s contribution “front and center,” try starting your announcement with something like: “Our baby boy was delivered into our arms by our amazing surrogate, Jane Smith.” This leaves no room to doubt just how much you appreciate your surrogate and her role in helping you build your family.

Pro tip. If you are worried about what your very traditional Great-Aunt Sally might think of the inclusion of your surrogate in the birth announcement, we recommend making certain you choose a design with an oversized picture of your baby. Great-Aunt Sally will likely never notice the fine print when there is a beautiful new baby to stare at.

Lastly, we want to say that there is no wrong way to mention your GC. We are certain that she will appreciate whatever gesture feels right to you. Each match has a different relationship so let your previous interactions guide you.

Additional Resources

We hope you find the above ideas helpful and that you have fun when creating your birth announcement. We used designs from paperless post but Minted and Etsy are wonderful places to shop for birth announcements.

We plan on sharing ideas and examples of ways to include your surrogate in your baby shower invite next month. Stay tuned and keep an eye on our blog.