Before answering the question "how many surrogate births per year?", let's look deeper into the situation. Surrogacy has come a long way since the first successful pregnancy by a surrogate in 1985. Baby M, who was born in 1986 after an agreement between her biological mother and intended parents went sour, is often discussed as proof of how risky commercial surrogacy can be. After the birth, the surrogate changed her mind about giving up her child and fought to keep it. In the end, the intended parents were awarded custody of their baby. 1997 was the first time that the CDC submitted a report to congress on assisted reproductive technology success rates.

Thanks to the CDC's National ART Surveillance System we know that of 2,071,984 assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles performed during 1999–2013, 30,927 (1.9%) used a gestational carrier. The number of gestational carrier cycles increased from 727 (1.0%) in 1999 to 3,432 (2.5%) in 2013. Among gestational carrier cycles, the proportion with non-U.S. residents declined during 1999–2005 (9.5% to 3.0%) but increased during 2006–2013 (6.3% to 18.5%). 

Gestational carrier cycles using non-donor oocytes had higher rates of implantation (adjusted risk ratio [aRR], 1.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17–1.26), clinical pregnancy (aRR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.10–1.19), live birth (aRR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.12–1.21), and preterm delivery (aRR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.05–1.23) compared with non-gestational carrier cycles. When using donor oocytes, multiple birth rates were higher among gestational carrier compared with non-gestational carrier cycles (aRR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.08–1.19). This information was taken directly from their study.

How Common Is Surrogacy: How widespread is it? 

It is interesting to know: how many surrogate births per year in the world and how common is surrogacy? Experts say that countries popular with parents for surrogacy arrangements include the US, India, Thailand, Georgia and Ukraine. Mexico, Nepal and Poland are also among those mentioned as possibilities for such arrangements. Costs vary significantly around the world, depending on various factors: Whether health insurance is needed and whether IVF cycles are covered by it; how many times a woman needs to undergo the procedure. Surrogacy has become commonplace in recent years.

How Many Babies Are Born Through Surrogacy

About 750 babies are born each year using this method. So how many babies are born through surrogacy? Between 1999 and 2013, there were 30,927 surrogate pregnancies in the United States, 8,581 of which were singleton pregnancies, 4,566 were twin pregnancies, and 233 were triplet pregnancies, resulting in 13,380 deliveries, with a total of 18,400 infants born. It is estimated that, in India, more than 25,000 children have been born through gestational surrogacy (Shetty 2012). 

In Georgia in the Caucasus region of Eurasia, an unofficial estimate by the Public Defender’s Office states that around 3,000 children have been born through surrogacy since 1997; although as clinics are not obliged to provide data, these figures may not be very accurate. The only reliable data that can be obtained come from notarized records of newborns: 150 of these acts were recorded in 2012 and 170 in 2013, according to figures provided by the Georgia Ministry of Health.