A New Jersey couple who had to wait months to bring their newborn baby home have reunited in the United States.
Sam and Laura Kaitz's dream to grow their family via international surrogacy was delayed for months after their newborn son Simon was stuck in Mexico and they couldn't secure essential documents for their son, including a birth certificate and passport.
The couple had wanted a child together but couldn't conceive. They said they considered other options such as adoption and fostering, but Laura Kaitz said she wasn't determined to be an ideal candidate for adoption.
They said that because of COVID-related delays for fostering, they ended up choosing international surrogacy, since there appeared to be fewer delays, and overall, it was less expensive than domestic surrogacy services.
"We were led to believe that this wouldn't have been an issue, that it was perfectly legal," Laura Kaitz said.
The Kaitzes said they had initially looked into surrogacy services in Ukraine but chose a surrogacy agency in Mexico due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and because Mexico is closer to the U.S.
MORE: Babies born to surrogates in Ukraine wait for parents in underground shelterTheir son Simon was born April 18. When Sam Kaitz went to meet him in Mexico City, he planned to bring the baby boy home with him.
But the family started to face setback after setback trying to get documents for Simon in order to go home, such as a birth certificate and a passport, and claimed they received little help from their Mexican surrogacy agency.
"It was terrifying. It was a nightmare," Laura Kaitz said. "Every night I would have another nightmare about him not getting out."
"It was terrifying to be some place where you don't know the language and you don't know the law and you're at the mercy of the surrogacy agency," she added.
MORE: Couple legally adopts biological twins nearly 2 years after their birthFamily law attorney and former psychologist David Glass told "Good Morning America" there can be "a lot of risks associated with international surrogacy."
"Before a couple chooses international surrogacy, they should check the U.S. Department of State's website. They have a sub page solely on international surrogacy or they could check the embassy in the country where they intend to go," Glass said.
According to the website of the U.S. embassy in Mexico, "If you decide to pursue parenthood in Mexico via assisted reproductive technology (ART) with a gestational mother, be prepared for long and unexpected delays in documenting your child's citizenship."
"So, it just seems like anything that I did, it was never good enough for the U.S. embassy," Sam Kaitz said. "I would have documents for them same day or next day at the latest and then there was always something else that they wanted and it seemed like it was never going to end. And then, on hearing that it was going to be months, maybe even a year, for one of the documents, I started to really despair."
"Not being able to meet him until he was a month old was just, it was horrible," Laura Kaitz added.
The Kaitzes felt desperate and decided to make a public plea. The Washington Post covered the couple's story, which then caught the attention of Dr. Brian Levine, a fertility specialist in New York and the founder of Nodal, a U.S.-based surrogacy company, who reached out to the couple.
Levine was able to leverage his industry contact to help the family reunite.
"Still, even today, I wake up going, 'Oh, thank God, they're home!'" Laura Kaitz said. "It was a nightmare, and I would wake up alone. And now they're finally home and it's just -- it feels surreal."
Levine told ABC News the Kaitzes' "situation is a heartbreaking example of why surrogacy needs to be safe, accessible, and affordable."
He also said that some surrogacy agencies abroad may downplay costs, policies and complications, and recommends families do their research and to choose a vetted, domestic-based service.
