Are you interested in learning about surrogacy?
Surrogacy is a process that allows intended parents to have children. It’s also known as “gestational carrier” or “surrogate motherhood.” This means the surrogate carries and gives birth to the baby for the intended parents, who are usually infertile couples or single people. The surrogate does not contribute genetic material to the child she carries but may be genetically related to it through her own eggs and/or her partner’s sperm.
There are two types of surrogacy – traditional and gestational (also called host).
In traditional surrogacy, embryos created from either donor egg or sperm (the biological parent) are implanted into a woman who isn’t biologically related to them.
In gestational surrogacy, an embryo is created using genetic material from one or both of the intended parents; this embryo is then transferred into a surrogate’s uterus where it will grow until delivery.
With either type of arrangement, there must be legal documentation between all parties involved so everyone knows their rights and responsibilities.
What are the pros?
There are many benefits to surrogacy, including:
Creating a genetic link between the intended parents and their child. Some infertile couples cannot produce eggs or sperm, and in some cases, one of the partners is unable to carry a baby to term. Surrogacy is an option for these couples who want to be parents.
Having a known donor – women can choose their own donor which means she knows his family medical history and more about his genetic background. The egg donor remains anonymous but may decide to contact the child at age 18 if she chooses. Your surrogate will have no genetic connection with your baby unless you use embryos that were previously created using her own eggs or that of another woman’s egg (a third party egg donor).
Surrogacy enables the intended parents to have a biological child, making their dream of having a family come true.
Surrogacy allows everyone who’s involved in the process of having a baby-to be connected with one another throughout the pregnancy. Surrogates are genetically related to their babies through their own egg or sperm; this means they are not only providing their belly but medical history, lifestyle habits and other details that go into helping the baby in utero. Intended parents are in constant contact with their surrogate through our surrogacy agency, which helps everyone stay in tune together!
What Are the Cons?
Surrogacy is expensive! Parenting by surrogacy costs anywhere from $95,000 to over $1 million. The cost varies depending on how much you hire an agency and/or a lawyer to reduce risks for everyone involved in the process. After all, no one wants anything bad to happen when a surrogate is carrying a child that isn’t hers!
For example, if something were to go wrong during pregnancy or childbirth, who would have rights to make decisions about what happens next? How would expenses be paid? What types of legal documents would be needed so that the non-biological parent could later request a birth certificate? These are just some of the things that surrogacy agencies and/or lawyers help reduce for their clients.
Surrogacy is also not considered legal in every state yet. This means that you might have to travel outside your home state to find an agency and/or lawyer who specializes in surrogacy law, like we mentioned earlier . That adds even more money to what you’ll spend on surrogacy (not to mention extra time and energy).
Surrogacy laws also vary from nation to nation. For example, many people assume they can use a surrogate in India because it’s cheaper than using one here in the US. However, this isn’t necessarily true! Some cultures have different cultural norms and economics that may change the way surrogacy laws work.