Surrogacy has become a pivotal procedure for several families around the globe. It has opened opportunities and gave the miracle of life to people who find it medically impossible to have children. Couples who receive the news of being unable to get pregnant are devastating and depressing. Surrogacy has enabled families to be given a chance to have their own children.
Meanwhile, women who lend their womb through surrogacy are changing lives and giving opportunities for other couples to be given an opportunity at being a parent. A surrogate agency can aid both intended parents and surrogate mothers in their surrogacy journey.
Surrogacy is an agreement that’s often protected by a legal arrangement, whereby a lady agrees to carry an embryo in her womb and carry it to full-term. The woman carrying the child is referred to as the surrogate while the clients availing the procedure are the intended parents. When pregnancy is risky for a woman or if there are any medical complications involved, surrogacy is often among the top choices for aspiring parents.
The surrogacy process is often intimidating, especially if this is the first time that the intended parents are going through it. Before intended parents go through the process, they must do their due diligence in researching the facts that are needed. Among the main pieces of knowledge that have got to be laid out is the type of surrogacy process that will be utilized for the procedure.
The two main types of surrogacy are called traditional and gestational. These two kinds of surrogacy are similar since both types have a surrogate carrying a child for someone else. The difference would be through the process, method, and the genetic material used in the procedure.
A woman must know the two kinds of surrogacy before becoming a mother. Intended parents should also know their medical condition and understand which surrogacy procedure would fit their situation.
Two Kinds of Surrogacy
Traditional Surrogacy
Traditional surrogacy is also known by medical experts as genetic or partial surrogacy. A lady undergoing traditional surrogacy would use her egg for the procedure. The sperm are going to be artificially inseminated which came from a donor or intended father. If the intended father has medical problems, a donor can donate the sperm or a depository can provide it. The surrogate will carry and deliver the kid. Since this process uses the surrogate’s egg, this would mean that she is the child’s biological mother. Since the surrogate is the biological mother, she must be prepared to hand over her parental rights and give it up to the intended parents so that they will raise the kid as their own.
Traditional surrogacy is not used as often compared to its counterpart. It has emotional baggage and the legal implications involved. However, if an intended mother has medical problems preventing her from getting pregnant or her egg has issues, traditional surrogacy may be a viable option.
The legal implications of traditional surrogacy include termination of parental rights or step-parent adoption rather than full parental rights. In cases like this, a specialized lawyer is needed to help guide the intended parents and even the surrogate during the entire process. Some states within the United States don’t have any legal grounds on surrogacy. Other states haven’t legalized traditional surrogacy but allow gestational surrogacy. The intended parents must have the surrogacy procedure in a place where there’s a legal framework that supports the procedure.
Gestational Surrogacy
Gestational surrogacy is additionally referred to as host or full surrogacy. Unlike the traditional procedure, gestational surrogacy is more appealing since the surrogate mother has no biological connection to the kid. The creation of the embryo is completed through in vitro fertilization or IVF. The IVF process utilizes the intended parents’ egg and sperm which will be inserted into the mother. If one or two of the intended parents have medical issues where their egg or sperm can’t be used, a donor is often utilized for the IVF process.
In most cases, one of the intended parents is biologically associated with the kid. In other situations, both intended parents are able to share a biological relationship with the kid. The intended mother uses her egg while the intended father uses his sperm. This procedure is simpler legally since adoption isn’t a requisite.
Intended parents can work with a surrogate agency that will work and handle the screening of surrogate mothers. They will also work with an attorney to finalize the legal documents needed. However, a procedure that’s done independently is often complicated since the intended parents are going to have limited resources to screen surrogate candidates compared to an agency.
Women who have an interest in becoming a mother must adhere to certain requirements. One of the most important in surrogacy requirements is to have a previous successful pregnancy with good mental and physical health. Every surrogate agency always ensures that this requirement is met. Surrogacy is an unnerving process. Working with a legitimate agency may aid all parties involved to successfully navigate the process.
