Surrogacy is a method of assisted reproduction where intended parents work with a gestational surrogate who will carry and care for their baby(ies) until birth.
Intended parents use surrogacy to start or grow their families when they can’t do so on their own.
What Is a Surrogate Mother?
There are two kinds:
Traditional surrogate
It’s a woman who gets artificially inseminated with the father’s sperm.
They then carry the baby and deliver it for you and your partner to raise.
A traditional surrogate is the baby’s biological mother.
That’s because it was their egg that was fertilized by the father’s sperm.
Donor sperm can also be used.
Gestational surrogates
A technique called “in vitro fertilization” (IVF) now makes it possible to gather eggs from the mother, fertilize them with sperm from the father, and place the embryo into the uterus of a gestational surrogate.
The surrogate then carries the baby until birth.
They don’t have any genetic ties to the child because it wasn’t their egg that was used.
A gestational surrogate is called the “birth mother.”
The biological mother, though, is still the woman whose egg was fertilized.
In the U.S., gestational surrogacy is less complex legally.
That’s because both intended parents have genetic ties to the baby.
As a result, gestational surrogacy has become more common than a traditional surrogate.
About 750 babies are born each year using gestational surrogacy.
Process of surrogacy
A general overview of the surrogacy process looks like this:
Apply as a surrogate or a parent
Meet all requirements (surrogates) and complete initial consultation (parents)
Surrogate and Parent Matching
Medical screenings, surrogate medications and embryo transfer
Confirmation of pregnancy
Delivery day and beyond
Who opt for surrogacy?
Surrogacy allows couples and individuals from a variety of backgrounds, ages and sexual orientations to build their families.
Intended parents who use surrogacy include:
Heterosexual couples who have struggled with infertility
Intended mothers who are unable to carry a child
Intended parents who have a genetic defect or health condition they don’t want to pass onto the child
Same sex intended parents who want to have a genetic link to their baby
