Family Building for Transgender and Nonbinary People
Transgender and nonbinary people have many paths to parenthood, whether building a family through biological reproduction, surrogacy, adoption, or foster care. Family-building decisions are often shaped by gender identity, medical history, access to affirming care, and personal goals, making clear and inclusive guidance especially important. This page offers an overview of family-building options for transgender and nonbinary intended parents, helping individuals and families understand their choices and take informed next steps.
GWK Academy is a free, nonprofit resource designed to support transgender and nonbinary people with inclusive education, affirming guidance, and trusted connections, so you can explore your options with confidence and clarity.
What Makes This Journey Unique
Transgender and nonbinary people may face additional considerations when building a family, including navigating healthcare systems, legal documentation, social stigma, and the need to advocate for affirming treatment. Family-building decisions may intersect with gender-affirming care, mental health, financial planning, and long-term legal protections.
GWK Academy recognizes these realities and centers education around dignity, inclusion, and informed choice. By offering affirming resources, lived-experience insight, and trusted expertise, the Academy helps transgender and nonbinary intended parents feel supported, understood, and empowered throughout their family-building journey.
Biological Family Building for Transgender and Nonbinary People
Biological family-building for transgender and nonbinary people can take many forms and is shaped by individual bodies, identities, reproductive goals, and access to affirming care. Some people pursue fertility preservation before gender-affirming care, while others build families after initiating hormones or surgeries. What these journeys share is the opportunity to pursue parenthood in ways that honor both identity and choice.
At GWK Academy, we encourage anyone exploring biological family-building to understand the full range of options available — and to plan realistically. Timelines, costs, and levels of medical or non-medical involvement can vary widely depending on personal circumstances, reproductive history, and the type of support used.
Common Biological Family-Building Paths
While every journey is unique, biological family-building for transgender and nonbinary people may include one or more of the following options:
Fertility Preservation
Some transgender and nonbinary people choose to preserve eggs or sperm prior to initiating gender-affirming hormone therapy or surgeries. Fertility preservation can provide future reproductive options but requires advance planning and access to affirming providers.
Donor Conception (IUI or IVF)
Donor conception may involve IUI (intor IVF using a person’s own eggs or sperm (if available), donor gametes, or a combination of both. These paths may be supported by fertility clinics, midwives, or other reproductive care providers, depending on individual needs and preferences.
IVF Using Preserved or Current Gametes
IVF may be used with preserved eggs or sperm, or with gametes retrieved after hormone use, depending on individual circumstances. IVF can offer additional flexibility but often involves higher costs and longer timelines.
Pregnancy & Gestational Options
Some trans men and nonbinary people carry pregnancies themselves, while others work with a gestational carrier. These decisions are deeply personal and may be influenced by physical, emotional, and social considerations, as well as access to affirming care.
Cost & Timeline Considerations
At GWK Academy, we encourage transgender and nonbinary people considering biological family-building to plan realistically. Costs and timelines vary significantly based on the path pursued, fertility preservation decisions, prior hormone use, insurance coverage, and the professionals involved.
Fertility preservation may involve upfront costs related to retrieval, storage, and future use of gametes.
IUI typically involves moderate costs and may require multiple attempts.
IVF generally involves higher costs due to medications, laboratory work, and clinical procedures.
Gestational carrier arrangements add additional complexity, timelines, and expenses.
Insurance coverage for fertility and family-building care varies widely by state, employer, and plan, and may not consistently cover gender-affirming or reproductive services. Understanding coverage early can help reduce surprises and support informed decision-making.
Choosing the Right Support Team
Depending on the path you pursue, your support team may include fertility clinics, midwives, reproductive endocrinologists, mental health professionals, attorneys, and other care providers. Working with affirming, trans-competent professionals is especially important, as not all providers are knowledgeable or inclusive when it comes to transgender and nonbinary family-building.
Referrals can be helpful, but it’s important to remember that no two family-building journeys are exactly the same. A provider who was a good fit for someone else may not align with your needs, comfort level, or goals.
How GWK Academy Supports Biological Family-Building
At GWK Academy, we help transgender and nonbinary people:
Understand biological family-building options across different life stages
Navigate fertility preservation and donor conception decisions
Set realistic expectations around costs, timelines, and access
Identify affirming, knowledgeable providers
Feel supported — emotionally, practically, and informationally — throughout the journey
When you’re ready for deeper guidance, we invite you to explore GWK Academy’s education and coaching resources, which include in-depth learning, free one-on-one coaching, introductions to mentor parents, and connections to vetted, LGBTQ+-affirming family-building professionals.
Our goal is not to tell you which path to choose — but to help you move forward informed, prepared, and supported as you build your family.
Adoption and Foster Care for Transgender and Nonbinary People
Adoption is a meaningful and well-established family-building path for transgender and nonbinary people, whether the goal is to welcome a newborn through private domestic adoption or to build a family through adoption from foster care. This path offers different ways to become a parent, each shaped by distinct processes, timelines, costs, legal considerations, and emotional dynamics.
At GWK Academy, we encourage anyone considering adoption to understand the differences between adoption paths early on, as these distinctions will shape your experience, expectations, and preparation as a future parent. We also encourage you to plan realistically, since each path comes with its own timeline and cost structure.
Private domestic infant adoption typically costs between $40,000 and $50,000, depending on the agency, legal process, and level of support involved. Adoption from foster care is often low-cost or free, aside from certain placement-related expenses and, in some cases, upfront legal fees that may be reimbursed by the state. As with all family-building paths, timelines and costs can vary based on individual circumstances — with some factors within your control and others not.
Below, we break down the key differences between private domestic infant adoption, adoption from foster care, and international adoption.
Private Domestic Infant Adoption
Private domestic infant adoption involves adopting a newborn in the United States, typically through a licensed adoption agency or adoption attorney.
This path often includes:
Creating an adoptive parent profile
Being matched with an expectant parent
Navigating varying levels of openness with the birth family
Legal processes that include consent and revocation periods, which vary by state
Timelines and costs can vary widely, and outcomes are never guaranteed. Emotional readiness, flexibility, and comfort with uncertainty are especially important on this path.
Adoption from Foster Care
Adoption from foster care involves adopting a child who is already in the child welfare system. Some individuals and couples pursue foster-to-adopt, while others seek adoption of children whose parental rights have already been terminated.
This path may include:
Adoption of older children or sibling groups
Children with identified medical, developmental, or emotional needs
Required training, licensing, and home studies
Ongoing collaboration with child welfare agencies
Many families are drawn to foster care adoption because it is often lower cost and focused on providing permanency for children who need stability and support. It also requires patience, trauma-informed parenting, and a willingness to navigate uncertainty.
International Adoption
International adoption involves adopting a child from another country. While this path is more limited for LGBTQ+ parents than in the past, it remains possible in a small number of countries that permit adoption by same-sex couples or single lesbian and queer women.
This path often includes:
Working with an agency approved for the specific country
Navigating international laws and U.S. immigration requirements
Longer timelines and higher complexity
Cultural, racial, and identity considerations that extend beyond placement
Availability and eligibility can change, making it especially important to work with knowledgeable, affirming professionals.
Key Professionals Involved in Adoption
While every adoption journey is unique, the professionals commonly involved may include:
An adoption agency or adoption attorney
A professional to conduct your home study
Legal counsel experienced in adoption and LGBTQ+ family law
Mental health professionals offering education and emotional support
Social workers and case managers (especially in foster care adoption)
Understanding the roles these professionals play — and how they work together — is a critical part of navigating adoption with confidence.
Choosing the Right Adoption Path and Professionals
Choosing between private infant adoption, adoption from foster care, or international adoption is a deeply personal decision shaped by many factors, including your goals, timeline, financial considerations, and the age and needs of the child you hope to parent.
Just as important as choosing the adoption path itself is choosing affirming and inclusive adoption agencies and professionals. Not all adoption providers are experienced in working with LGBTQ+ parents — and in fact, only about one in four adoption agencies can be considered truly affirming and inclusive of lesbians and queer women. Working with the wrong agency can introduce unnecessary barriers, bias, or misinformation into an already complex process.
Referrals from friends, family, or other parents can be a helpful starting point, but it’s important to remember that no two adoption journeys are exactly the same. An agency that was a great fit for someone else may not align with your priorities, circumstances, or comfort level. Taking the time to ask the right questions and assess whether an agency’s practices, language, and experience truly support your family is a critical step in protecting both your experience and your outcome.
At GWK Academy, we help intended parents evaluate adoption paths and professionals with an informed, LGBTQ+-affirming lens — so you can move forward with confidence, clarity, and support.
When you’re ready for deeper guidance, we invite you to explore our Adoption courses, which include in-depth education, free one-on-one coaching, introductions to mentor parents, and connections to vetted, LGBTQ+-affirming family-building partners.