The world turned upside down two years ago when the pandemic struck the world. It hit people hard in many different ways. One particular community that was affected particularly hard was were people on surrogacy journeys.
With the pandemic, general burnout, and vaccine debates, intended parents face the problem of a lack of surrogates to carry their embryos. Couples who were originally told that they would be matched within one to six months are still waiting.
Surrogate mothers used to typically make $35,000+ (this fee is just being pregnant, there are other fees they received). This fee for surrogates is unregulated and typically determined by the surrogate and their agency. Since there is a strong need for surrogates some couples(see note) are increasing what they will pay in order to be matched. All of this uncertainty creates unwanted anxiety for indented parents. They are backed into a corner, with very few options. There is nothing the intended parents can do to change the situation.
In the United States of America alone there has been approximately a 60 percent decrease in potential 
surrogates according to The New York Times. This coupled with significantly higher fees and doubled wait times of sometimes up to a year at more established agencies, creating issues for couples who have chosen the surrogacy path.
One of the factors that is causing this surrogate shortage is the vaccination debate. There is a large number of surrogates who do not wish to get vaccinated. While, many intended parents have a requirement for vaccination for their surrogate. This creates a disconnect in the matching process between surrogates and intended parents.
Vaccinations aside, many many surrogates themselves are dealing with the struggles of pandemic parenting and the aftermath. Having to teach, entertain, and parent their children according to pandemic restrictions. This causes a reluctancy for potential surrogates to make the commitment at this moment in time.
This coupled with the risks of choosing to go on a surrogacy journey outside of the United States of America means surrogates are in high demand in the USA.
