how surrogacy works

Many couples find they are unable to have a child as they are diagnosed as infertile. Ladies who are distressed by frequent miscarriages, absent uterus or due to some medical complication can choose surrogacy to establish their family. There are two types of surrogacy partial (traditional) and full (gestational) surrogacy. A traditional proxy is a woman who donates her own ovum to carry pregnancy for intended parents. The proxy’s ovum is fertilized through artificial insemination process where the sperm of the intended father or donor is inseminated to the ovaries of the proxy to achieve pregnancy. Traditional proxies are genetically related to the child because their own ovum is used to form the zygote.

A gestational surrogate, also referred as a gestational carrier is not harmonically related to the baby. She carries for the sake of the biological parents. Gestational proxies become pregnant through In-Vitro fertilization process, where the zygote created from the intended parent’s ova and sperm (or donor’s sperm and egg) is injected to the uterus of the substitute for the gestational period of forty weeks.  However, the pain and effort put by the proxy is compensated by the intended parents. The compensation paid to a proxy, agency fee, medical fee, travel expenses, and health insurance will be paid by the biological parents. All these factors are mentioned in the surrogate agreement.

The cost of choosing commercial surrogacy varies according to the circumstances. The compensation paid to a substitute and other expenses are decided based on the complexity of the surrogate agreement. If the intended parents wish to use donor’s egg or sperm or both, the cost may increase by thousands of dollars. As the process is associated with some thousands of dollars, some biological parents may think “money” is the only motivation for ladies to become surrogate. However, studies have shown there are many reasons that motivate ladies to become proxy.

To begin the surrogacy process, biological parents need to consult the best surrogate agency. The agency will help the childless couple to move ahead in the process. The prospective intended parents need to undergo for psychological evaluation and should test whether or not they are suffering from sexually transmitted disease. They need to complete the profile, which will be presented to the prospective proxy mother. The substitute agency helps the intended parents to choose the best IVF clinic and plan their financial matters with a lawyer. Sterile couples need to set up an ESCROW account through which a proxy receives her compensation and expenses.

A similar procedure is followed to choose the substitute. A potential substitute needs to meet an attorney after completing the medical and psychological evaluations successfully. A prospective substitute needs to undergo for background checks, which includes criminal and driving records.

When the intended parents and the substitute feel convenient in continuing the process and are medically matched each other, a proxy mother should undergo IVF treatment to carry the baby of the biological parents. The surrogate agency will take care about the rest of process. Sterile couples can enjoy the baby movement and its kick along with the surrogate mother.