Surrogacy means that a woman carries the child for another couple going through pregnancy and childbirth. After childbirth, the newborn is “given” to the couple for whom she carried the baby. The woman who does this is commonly called a Surrogate Mother or Gestational Carrier.
The Surrogate Mother can have a financial aim, but there are often totally other motives also, for instance, she may know the couple (or individual) who struggles with infertility and simply wants to help.
In any case, one needs to think of two types of surrogacy procedures: Traditional Surrogacy and Gestational Surrogacy.
Traditional Surrogacy
With Traditional Surrogacy the surrogate mother is the carrier and the egg donor. It means that the surrogate mother is genetically the mother of the child.
To establish a pregnancy, sometimes IVF is used, but more often Intrauterine Insemination (IUI).
Without going further into the emotional details, one can understand that it’s sometimes hard for the surrogate mother to part from her biological child. In fact, it can be more difficult to find a woman who is willing to undergo Traditional Surrogacy instead of Gestational Surrogacy.
Gestational Surrogacy
With Gestational Surrogacy there’s no genetic link to the child. The surrogacy mother will receive an embryo that is not fertilized with her own egg. The embryo is typically “prepared” via IVF.
Many women find it easier to undergo Gestational Surrogacy because there’s no genetic link with the child. This is also an easier emotional situation for the future parents.
