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Whether you are planning on expanding your clan or giving the gift of life to someone else by being a surrogate, you must be armed with all the information you can get about the process. Having a family seems simple enough in most cases. You do the deed, and hopefully, within a year, you get to hear the “good news”. There are times when things aren’t as simple when it comes to starting a family. Couples who have been trying to get pregnant for over a year but with no avail usually seek professional help to make sure that their reproductive health isn’t the culprit. But if the couple seems to have no luck despite undergoing fertility treatments, what do they do?
Surrogacy is a practice that has been around for ages. This method of assisted reproductive technology is an arrangement where a woman takes on the role of the surrogate mother. She agrees to carry the child for another person or couple who then becomes the baby’s parents after birth. Surrogacy has gained a lot of traction in India with many Bollywood celebrities such as Shah Rukh Khan, Sunny Leone, Aamir Khan, and recently Shilpa Shetty having a child via surrogacy. The term “surrogate” is derived from the Latin word “subrogare” which basically means “to substitute” (1). The surrogate mother refers to the woman who carries and gives birth to a baby with the intent of giving the baby away to another couple or person who is known as “commissioning” or “intended” parents.
Surrogacy Is Of Two Types
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Surrogacy can be divided into two: traditional and gestational. In traditional surrogacy, the egg comes from the surrogate mother making her a genetic parent. The carrier (surrogate mother) is then artificially inseminated by sperm from the intended father or a donor. Gestational pregnancy on the other hand involves egg and sperm from either the intended parents or a donor. This type of pregnancy is made possible with the advent of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Here, the surrogate mother shares no genetic connection with the child (2).
Looking For A Surrogate Mother
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When it comes to finding a surrogate mother, couples have multiple options. Surrogacy can be further categorized into altruistic or commercial based on whether the carrier receives a financial reward for being the surrogate. If the surrogate mother receives money for carrying the child, it is referred to as commercial. If the surrogate doesn’t receive any money besides the pregnancy and medical-related expenses including the insurance coverage during the time that she is pregnant, it is considered altruistic.
If the couple is hesitant to go to a surrogate agency, there are many cases where the friends and family are asked to be their surrogate. Not only does this drastically reduce the high cost of surrogacy, but it also simplifies the legal issues that come with it.
How A Surrogate Is Chosen
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According to the surrogacy bill in 2016, a surrogate has to be married and previously given birth. This child should be the minimum age of 3 years and the surrogate should have a minimum gap of 2 years between the two deliveries. The surrogate mother should also fall in the age group of 25 to 35 years old. The surrogate’s spouse should also be onboard with the idea of his wife being a surrogate mother (3).
If the woman meets all the above criteria, she then undergoes the screening process of extensive psychological and medical evaluation along with thorough background checks. Routine blood tests and pelvic and abdominal ultrasounds will also be conducted to rule out a range of diseases and abnormalities which may pose a risk to the mother or the baby.
Both the parties involved in surrogacy should be given proper counselling to completely understand the issues and implications of their decision. It is of utmost importance that all the parties involved are confident to go ahead with surrogacy and understands the various facets of it such as cost, legal complexity, psychological and medical risks among others.
