Dreamt of a child – now they are fathers through surrogacy

Having a child through surrogacy is becoming increasingly common in Sweden. After four years, Jonas Sternulf-Gleditsch, 37, and his husband Oskar, 39, are now the proud parents of a baby girl named Isabella. “The journey has been challenging at times, but it was absolutely worth it,” says Jonas, who now works as an Advisor at Nordic Surrogacy.

Jonas and Oskar started talking about having children early on, but they weren’t entirely on the same page. “Dogs are nice,” Oskar said. “Five kids would be fun,” Jonas countered. Eventually, the couple agreed to try for two children—a good compromise. At the time, Jonas was working at QX magazine and was well aware of the options available. “Adoption takes a long time, is costly, and the outcome is uncertain. Foster care was an option, but again the outcome wasn’t guaranteed, so in the end, we chose surrogacy,” Jonas explains.

Jonas, 37: It was love at first sight

The couple wasn’t in a rush to begin the process—they wanted to get married first. But then the pandemic hit, and all their plans changed. One day in July 2020, Jonas and Oskar live-streamed their wedding for friends and family. Later that fall, they began their surrogacy journey. Their path to parenthood became a long one, partly due to the pandemic, and partly because certain steps—like embryo creation—had to be repeated. After all, biology isn’t something that can be controlled.

Nordic Surrogacy was founded in 2016 and is now the leading surrogacy agency in the Nordic region. We have helped hundreds of families. Heterosexual and same-sex couples, as well as single individuals who are involuntarily childless and unable to carry a child for various reasons, can choose from a range of programs offered in collaboration with several international clinics—tailored to their individual circumstances.

In Jonas and Oskar’s journey, embryos were created at a clinic in Colombia with the help of an egg donor. “In the end, it was more important to us to find someone whose personality and traits represented a mix of the two of us, rather than focusing on height or eye color,” Jonas says. They were then matched with the woman who carried Isabella, and with whom they have developed a strong and warm relationship. In April 2024, they finally received the joyful news—they were expecting a daughter. “We followed the entire pregnancy digitally, supported by the clinic and Nordic Surrogacy’s coordinator here in Sweden.”

When Isabella was born, they had the support of a coordinator on-site in Colombia. “I remember so clearly sitting in the waiting room. Then she arrived—our Isabella. I always thought newborns were loud and wrinkly, but she was so beautiful. It was incredible. It was love at first sight. Going through a surrogacy process is the most amazing thing I’ve ever done.”

Many of the staff at Nordic Surrogacy have themselves been through surrogacy, just like Jonas. Going through a surrogacy journey brings up legal, ethical, and emotional questions—and that’s where Nordic Surrogacy has extensive experience in providing support. “I know how powerful the longing for a child can be. That’s why I’m so passionate about helping others on their path to parenthood,” Jonas concludes.

Learn more about the surrogacy process