Surrogate or surrogacy is a process of reproduction, in which girl/women gets pregnant for delivering a child to a third party. The surrogate mother is not the child’s genetic mother she is just a carrier. The surrogates are implanted with the embryos after which she carries the pregnancy.
People look for surrogates only when there is some medical problem like risks in delivery or female infertility. There are many cases where a woman is fertile, but does not want to go through pregnancy. There are also homosexual couples who use surrogacy to become parents.
A surrogate can be a friend, relative or a stranger. The arrangement for the surrogates is mostly done by the agencies. These agencies match the would-be parents with random women for a cost and expense of the pregnancy.
Surrogacy is of four types.
- Traditional surrogacy: It is also known as straight pregnancy. In this, the woman is pregnant with her own child.
- Gestational surrogacy: It is also known as host pregnancy. The surrogate gets pregnant through an embryo transfer. In this pregnancy, the woman is not the biological mother of the child.
- Altruistic surrogacy: The surrogates in this process are not paid for the pregnancy. Neither are the expenses for the childbirth given.
- Commercial surrogacy: In this process, the surrogates are paid high amount for their pregnancy. The infertile couples pay a huge amount to the woman conceiving their child.
Here are a few steps, which will give you all the necessary information on how to become a surrogate.
- Get familiar with your country or state laws about surrogacy. The laws vary in every state try reading books on pregnancy and surrogacy.
- Review your needs think about all the possibilities. Think about all the complications you will face in your life and work. Also, think about tackling the complications you will face after pregnancy.
- Inquire all the details about surrogacy from an agency or a surrogate.
- If you are planning to use an agency for surrogacy, make sure that you do a thorough research. Try researching on many agencies you can also contact them for more details.
- After researching, you can apply to the agency of your choice. Fill out the application form, the agency might require you to go through medical tests.
- The agencies will set up meetings with the desired parents, make sue you decide before coming on any conclusion.
- Try to choose a cooperating couple, since you will be spending the next nine months with them. The couple will ask you to sign a contract, go through the contract before signing it.
- You can also go for surrogacy without an agency. In that case, you will have to take care of all the paperwork. You will also have to decide on the fees.
- You can find the desired couples online also. There are many websites, which help you to find surrogates as well as the couple.
- After you find the couple discuss the financial aspect for the next nine months. Make a contract with everyone’s consent. The contract should consist of living expense, insurance, fees for surrogacy.
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