What You Should Know About The Surrogacy Process

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Kim Kardashian West, Ricky Martin, Tyra Banks, among other artists, have chosen to become parents through a surrogacy process for different reasons.

In Kardashian's case, the socialite revealed that she had had difficulties in her first two pregnancies, so she and her husband Kanye West decided to have a third child through a gestational carrier (the technical term), an option that many mothers take when a pregnancy is too risky, or, as in the case of Ricky Martin, they decide to become parents even when they are single.

When a couple decides to use a belly for rent there are many concerns that must be answered. Who to choose as a surrogate mother? How does this arrangement work? With this in mind, People magazine consulted with various specialists to answer the following concerns.

Is the child born with the parents' DNA?

In most cases, this is how the process unfolds: “Through an IVF cycle, you take the egg from the mother and fertilize it with the father's sperm, then transfer the embryo to the uterus of a gestational carrier”, explains reproductive endocrinologist Naveed Khan, MD, of Shady Grove Fertility in Leesburg, Virginia. The gestational carrier carries the baby to term, and mom and dad resume their parenting roles after the baby is born. So, a gestational carrier does not have a biological relationship with the child.

A gestational carrier is not the same as a surrogate

A traditional surrogate mother becomes pregnant with her own egg and the father's sperm, via IVF or intrauterine insemination (in which sperm is placed directly into the uterus), and she is the child's biological mother. But this arrangement is no longer very common, says Dr. Khan. "Most parents want their children to have their genes, so they use a gestational carrier."

Gestational surrogacy is not done for convenience

When the word gets out, people start thinking 'oh, I should do it', because they don't want stretch marks, or they are too busy. But those are not medical reasons,”explains Dr. Khan, who notes that all pregnancies involve the possibility of complications, and gestational carriers are taking a risk that should not be taken lightly.

There are a variety of reasons why a couple may need a carrier

For example, a woman may not have a uterus after a hysterectomy to treat a disease such as cancer. Or you could have had recurrent miscarriages, or tried several IVF cycles that were unsuccessful. Or you could have a health problem that makes pregnancy dangerous, like pulmonary hypertension, says Dr. Michael Cackovic, MD, an obstetrician specializing in maternal fetal medicine at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. Gay couples who use donor eggs also turn to a gestational carrier to have a child.

You can ask a friend or find a stranger

Choosing the person to carry your baby is a big problem, without a doubt. She may be someone you know, such as a trusted sister or friend, or even, in some cases, your mother. (That means grandma gives birth to her grandson. Yes, it happened before.) Or you can go through an agency that will pair you with a carrier. Agencies consider a potential carrier's medical and pregnancy history, as well as their emotional well-being. They also do lab tests and may have other requirements, such as a limit on past caesarean sections, says Dr. Cackovic. Carriers undergo extensive examinations, he explains, in a process similar to selecting an egg donor.

Hiring a gestational surrogate is not cheap

While the cost can vary widely, depending on rates, health care costs, insurance, and other factors, an agency with locations in five major cities recommends a gestational-age budget. Also, laws vary state by state, says Dr. Khan.