Everything You Need To Know About Surrogacy

How To Choose A Surrogate?

Even if you go through a surrogacy agency, you will be given the opportunity to interview the potential surrogate mother. You have to use them as the surrogate mother only if you are perfectly content with them and think that you will be okay with them carrying your child.

Most people do not know what to look for in a surrogate. This is a huge decision, to be made with utmost care and attention. There are no regulations regarding the kind of people who can become surrogates, so most of these criteria are subjective.

Here are some of the important points you should keep in mind:

• The surrogate mother should at least be 21 years old.

• It’s better for the surrogate mother to have given birth to at least one healthy baby. These women will understand the intricacies and medical risks of pregnancy, and their bodies are ready for the wear and tear associated with pregnancy.

• The surrogate mother you choose should pass a psychological screening by a licensed mental health professional. This will make sure that the surrogate mother does not have any issue (or create any issues for you) once the baby has been delivered.

• You have to make sure that the surrogate mother signs a mutually-agreed contract. This contract will underline the role and the responsibility of the surrogate mother during and after the pregnancy. It will also ensure that the surrogate mother gives up all rights over the baby after birth (if need be).

• It is always better to choose a surrogate mother one is comfortable with. There is no point in choosing a woman you or your partner do not like as your surrogate mother. You would have to spend a lot of time with her in the next few months, and the person will be carrying your baby. You have to ensure that this is a person you like or get along with enough, just for that reason.

Legal Issues With Surrogates:

Surrogacy is no simple process. It is rather complicated, and there are some legal matters to be tackled as well. Do not underestimate the complications that might arise in the legal front – your entire family is at stake here, after all.

• It is recommended that you seek legal advice and counsel throughout the surrogacy process. You should make sure that you consult with your lawyer before you make any decision about the pregnancy, once you have decided to try it through the surrogacy method.

• State laws are different when it comes to surrogacy. In some states, after a surrogacy pregnancy, parents would have to actually adopt the child, even if it was created with their egg and sperm ⁽²⁾. This means that the biological parents themselves have to go through a series of legal processes to adopt the child.

• Some other complications might also arise in the field. If the surrogate mother changes her mind, she does have the right to keep the baby, even if she is not genetically linked to it. In these situations, the parents will need all the legal counsel and help they can get.

If you want to protect your condition as the parent of the child, and the child’s life, you should make sure that you have an attorney who is well-versed in reproductive rights as per the state/country. This attorney will help you tide over all the legal complications. The attorney will also be helpful in case you have used a third person to carry the baby for you, as they will draw up the necessary contracts, and iron out any problems, as well.

Summary Of Steps:

Here’s a brief list of the steps that you have to take when you are planning for having a baby through a surrogate mother.

• Determine if you are actually incapable of having children.

• Consult the doctor about the probability of a successful surrogate pregnancy.

• Figure out if it is possible for you to opt for traditional surrogacy, or if you have to opt for gestational surrogacy.

• Figure out the costs and find out if you will actually be able to carry through with this.

• If you can afford it, then find a hospital/doctor you trust. In case you have to go for gestational surrogacy, start looking for a surrogate mother among people you know, or by applying to surrogate agencies.

• Hire a lawyer to straight out any issues regarding the surrogacy, so that the lawyer can start drawing up the surrogacy contracts.

• Get the actual medical procedure done.

Once the baby is born, take care of all the necessary legal procedures. This might involve having to settle the deal with the surrogate mother, and straightening things out with the government regarding the parentage of the child born.

Are you in a plan of having a surrogate baby? Do share your thoughts with us.

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