Sambhavna Seth on expecting her first child via surrogacy: It’s a deep emotion that is hard to put into words

Sambhavna Seth announced on Thursday via Instagram that she and husband Avinash Dwivedi are expecting their first child through surrogacy. The journey to this moment, however, has been long and emotionally demanding, marked by multiple IVF attempts, a miscarriage in December 2024, and even considerations of adoption.

Sambhavna, who married Avinash in July 2016, shares, “Before marriage, we had saved embryos. We knew that conceiving naturally could become a challenge in the future due to age, and it did. So, we decided to go ahead with IVF. I have lost count of how many IVF procedures I have gone through; it must have been seven to eight times. Nobody prepares you for what follows even if you do get pregnant. When I conceived in 2024, I had to take 65 injections in three months. It affected my health, and my arthritis flared up. However, after three months, I suffered a miscarriage. It was devastating because it had happened after multiple attempts.”

The phase also took a toll on her mental well-being. She says, “My mental state has been affected since my father’s death in 2021, followed by my mother’s demise three years later. I have been on anxiety medication since then. I have managed to get through it largely because of Avinash. He never pressured me to have a child. In fact, it was me who was pushing for it. We also considered adoption over the past few years, but the waiting period is quite long. I didn’t want a child to come into a home where the parents were not physically or emotionally ready.”

The couple decided to opt for surrogacy last year, although this was not their first attempt. Speaking about the process, Sambhavna explains, “We had tried surrogacy earlier as well, before it was regulated in India, but it didn’t work out. This time, while I felt ready, Avinash and even our doctor were not convinced about continuing with IVF. The doctor suggested surrogacy. The process is not easy. You have to complete extensive paperwork and provide detailed medical records, including past miscarriages and treatments. A couple has to prove medical difficulty in conceiving, and only after the court is satisfied with all the reports and tests is permission granted.”

When asked about her reaction to the pregnancy and how she feels now, Sambhavna says, “Honestly, we couldn’t express much because we had gone through so much to reach this stage. There is just about a month to go, and even now, we feel numb. We don’t quite know how to express what we are feeling. When we first heard the news, we were happy, but it still feels like a very deep emotion that is hard to put into words. I think Avinash is quite scared from within; he wonders how he will hold the baby. Of course, we just want the baby to be healthy, but if I may say so, we both dream of having a daughter.”