Surrogacy
Surrogacy is when another woman carries and gives birth to a baby for the couple who want to have a child. The process is a wonderful option for intended parents to finally have their own biological child. The surrogate mother becomes pregnant usually by artificial insemination, using the sperm of either the intended father or a sperm donor, or surgical implantation of a fertilized egg with the intention of giving the child she becomes pregnant with to someone else to raise.
The various types of medical conditions that might make surrogacy necessary for you include:
- Absence or malformation of the womb
- Recurrent pregnancy loss
- Repeated in vitro fertilisation (IVF) implantation failures
There are two basic types of surrogacy options-
Traditional surrogacy (Straight or Partial surrogacy)
Traditional surrogacy involves sperm from the intended father and an egg from the surrogate. Here fertilisation is (usually) done by artificial insemination or intrauterine insemination (IUI). In this process, the surrogate woman is impregnated by artificial insemination or intrauterine insemination (IUI), and is genetically linked to the child she carries because her own eggs are used in the process.
Gestational surrogacy (Host or Full surrogacy)
It is the most common of type of surrogacy. In this form of surrogacy, the surrogate mother is not biologically or genetically related in any way to the unborn child. There are three stages to ‘host’ surrogacy:
- The female IP, or the egg donor, undergo special procedures to extract a number of eggs
- The egg is fertilised with semen in the laborator
- The fertilised egg is transferred into the womb of the surrogate mother
Advantages of surrogacy
- The child you will have will be of your own flesh and blood.
- Same sex couples can also try this process to have their own child.
- In some states where surrogacy is legal and protected, there are surrogate agencies that provide great assistance to intended parents.
It is always best to understand the different steps and processes involved with surrogacy because there are many available options on surrogacy and finding the right option would mean less hassle and stress for you and your partner.
