What is Surrogacy & Surrogate?

Surrogacy is a process of becoming parents, where a person gives birth to the baby of another person. This process needs medical and legal expertise and a strong support process throughout the journey. Intended Parents are the people who look for surrogacy. Surrogacy includes, IVF where the embryos are created in a lab at a fertility clinic. Sometimes the intended parents use their own genetic material whereas in some cases an egg donor is required. At the fertility clinic, one or two embryos are implanted into a gestational carrier who carries the baby to term. These carriers have no genetic relationship with the babies they carry.

Who can use surrogacy?

• Parents having a genetic defect or health condition they don't want to pass onto the child.
•  Gay and trans parents who wish to have a genetic link to their baby.
•  Heterosexual couples struggling with infertility issues
• Intended mothers who are not able to carry a child in their womb for some reasons

Advertisment

There are two types of surrogates:

1. Traditional surrogate. It is a woman who gets inseminated artificially with the sperm of the father. In the traditional type of surrogacy the surrogate is also the egg donor and she carries the baby and and deliver it for you and your partner to raise. A traditional surrogate is the biological mother of the baby. That is because it was her egg that was fertilised by the sperm of the father. Donor sperm can also be used.

2. Gestational surrogates. A technique called "in vitro fertilisation" (IVF) has now made it possible to gather eggs from the mother or an egg donor, fertilise them with sperm from the father or a sperm donor, and place the embryo into the uterus of a gestational surrogate. The surrogate then carries the baby till birth. There is no genetic relation of the surrogate to the child because it wasn't their egg that was used. The gestational surrogate is the actual "birth mother” of the baby while biological mother is the woman whose egg was used for the process of fertilisation.

Surrogates should be the ones who:

• Are at least 21 years old

• Have already given birth to at least one healthy baby so they understand the medical risks of pregnancy and childbirth and the emotional issues of bonding related with a newborn

Advertisment

• Should have passed a psychological screening test by a mental health professional so as to discover any issues with giving up the baby after birth.

• Sign a contract about their responsibilities and roles in the pregnancy, such as prenatal care and agreement to give you the baby after birth.

It’s important to talk to a professional to know all the rules and rights of surrogacy before taking any decision.