Surrogacy
Surrogacy
Surrogacy is a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to carry a full term pregnancy. There are two types of surrogacy, traditional and gestational surrogacy. Under traditional surrogacy, the surrogate is artificially inseminated with the father’s sperm whereas in gestational surrogacy the biological parents will remain the donors of the egg and the sperm.
Surrogacy can be considered in cases where pregnancy is too risky to be carried by the biological mother, there are medical issues with the uterus or the mother has conditions that can make pregnancy life-threatening.
One can also opt for surrogacy if they are a single father or are not able to get pregnant with a variety of assisted-reproduction techniques, such as IVF.
There are certain factors that will make the surrogacy experience smooth and these are as follows:
- The sperm donor, the egg donor or surrogate, should be in sound mental and physical health
- Open communication between all the concerned individuals
- A clear understanding of the medical procedure involved since it can take more than a year sometimes for a successful embryo transfer to occur
- The need for the reasonable payment of the surrogate’s expenses, the full financial responsibility needs to be taken care of by the intended parents
- Agreement on how the pregnancy and childbirth will occur
Like any pregnancy, surrogacy has its own journey, hence the one thing to do is to be there emotionally and financially for the surrogate bearing the baby.
Soon after giving birth, the most optimum arrangement is to allow the baby unlimited access to the birth mother. Mother’s milk is of paramount importance to the growing baby. With the availability of breast pumps, it is possible to give mother’s milk to the baby even if the surrogate is not physically around.
In case of a successful pregnancy, the biological parents will need to take care of the surrogate by taking her to an obstetrician for prenatal care.
After childbirth, the parents need to stay in touch with the surrogate to help her through postpartum issues.
Surrogacy is a safe option to have a child and it has a high success rate. But with all its benefits, parents need to be aware of the risks that are associated with surrogacy. Here are the risks that involve surrogacy:
Infection
Chances are that the surrogate could experience cramping or bleeding after the procedure. The surrogate might also have to inject herself with hormone injections that can lead to allergies.
Transmission of Disease
Sometimes biological parents do not undergo screening processes for genetic diseases. Since the biological mother’s oocyte is in the uterus of the surrogate. Transmission of the infectious disease is possible and can be risky. If the surrogate is at risk, she might end the pregnancy.
Safety
A couple may ask their family members or close friends to act as surrogates. Although it might work for some, experts advise otherwise. There is no safety net if one of the parties backs out of the agreement.
