Whether you are a woman who is interested in helping a family make their dreams come true by carrying a child for them, or an individual or family who has thus far been unable to conceive and/or carry a child to term, surrogacy could be a great option for you.
However, before you take the leap and make the decision to move forward with your surrogacy arrangement, you need to do your research and figure out which form of surrogacy is right for you: traditional surrogacy or gestational surrogacy.
For both the intended parents and surrogate mother, this is an essential choice you need to make. There is no right or wrong choice, just the one that is the right fit for you or your family.
What You Need to Know about Traditional Surrogacy
In a traditional surrogacy arrangement, the surrogate mother uses her own eggs to become pregnant. She will undergo intrauterine insemination (IUI), where her eggs will hopefully be fertilized with either donor sperm or the sperm of the intended father.
Possibly the most critical piece of information you need to know about traditional surrogacy is that the surrogate mother will be the biological mother of the baby who is conceived. For some families and surrogates, this is irrelevant, but for others, they are not comfortable with the surrogate being the genetic relative of the baby.
When you are developing your surrogacy contract, you should include information regarding the termination of the surrogate mother’s parental rights to the baby so that these details do not need to be discussed when everyone’s emotions are running high after the birth.
Generally speaking, same-sex male couples and women who are unable to carry a pregnancy will choose a traditional surrogacy arrangement. Despite the fact that the surrogate mother is the biological mother of the unborn baby, many families and individuals choose traditional surrogacy because it is the more cost-effective option of the two types of surrogacy.
Preparing for Gestational Surrogacy
Gestational surrogacy is slightly different from traditional surrogacy in that the surrogate mother needs to undergo an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure in order to become pregnant. This is when the eggs and sperm of the intended parents, or donor eggs and sperm, are fertilized outside the womb.
The embryo—what will be the baby—is then implanted into the surrogate mother’s uterus. Implantation is not always successful, but when it is, the surrogate mother will become pregnant.
There are many pros and cons to a gestational surrogacy arrangement. One of the pros is that the intended parents are able to be the biological parents of the unborn baby. For this reason, heterosexual couples are far more likely to choose this option.
However, gestational surrogacy is oftentimes far more expensive than traditional surrogacy, specifically because the surrogate mother may need to undergo multiple rounds of IVF before she successfully becomes pregnant.
Consult with a Qualified Surrogacy Agency
If you are interested in becoming a surrogate mother, or if you are an individual or family looking into third-party reproduction options, either of these forms of surrogacy could be a good fit for you. You can schedule your initial appointment at Baby Steps Surrogacy Center, Inc. today by calling our office directly at 412-281-9906 or by completing the brief contact form we have provided.