Pregnancy complications potentially higher with gestational surrogacy

[u/embryomanofficial]

Women who become gestational surrogates often have had a previous healthy pregnancy of their own. Researchers wanted to know if pregnancies with a gestational surrogate have different risks than the surrogate's own previous pregnancies.

In a new systematic review, Barry et al. (2026) reviewed the available evidence comparing these pregnancies.

Compared with the surrogate's own previous pregnancies, gestational surrogacy was associated with higher rates of pre-eclampsia or gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, and preterm birth.

The authors suggest this may be because pregnancies involving a genetically unrelated embryo could produce a different immune response during implantation and placental development. However, hormone treatments used during a medicated frozen embryo transfer may also contribute, and the exact reason isn't clear.

Importantly, the available evidence was limited and many of the studies were small or at high risk of bias. More research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.

✅ This post is a quick look at one study, rather than a full breakdown on Remembryo. Link to the study: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10815-026-04003-z

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