Home » Pregnancy & Parenting  » Pregnancy » Surrogacy - a boon to infertile couples Surrogacy is when a woman carries a pregnancy and gives birth to a baby for another woman.

What is it that motivates women to agree to become surrogates, sometimes for total strangers?

• Generally women are motivated to become surrogates because of a desire they may feel to help others who are less fortunate. They understand the pain the infertile couple is going through and the void in their lives because they are childless.
• Of course, there is always the question of money which may be the motive for some.
• For some childless couples who have hesitations about adopting, surrogacy is a boon. Surrogates derive satisfaction when they realise that they will be making a change for the better in people's lives by making an impossible dream come true.
• Adoption might be a very expensive and long drawn out process with the waiting period sometimes stretching to years by which time they might be considered too old. Such couples may prefer to go in for surrogacy

Attitudes based on religion to surrogacy vary the world over. Roman Catholics and Anglicans do not believe in surrogacy as it is against the concept of the unity prescribed in a marriage. Muslims too do not believe that a baby born of a surrogate mother is legal. Buddhists and Jews have no strict opinions on surrogacy while it is still too tender a subject among Hindus in India.

Who goes in for surrogate mothers?

• Women whose ovaries are dysfunctional
• A woman suffering from a serious hereditary disease that can be passed onto the offspring
• Women in whom pregnancy could become life threatening
  Women who are mortally scared of pregnancy or who are in fear of interrupting a fruitful career will not be legally allowed to engage surrogate mothers.

Types of surrogacy

Surrogacy itself can be of two types. One is full surrogacy wherein a woman is impregnated with both the sperm and egg of the genetic parents and she carries through the pregnancy to full term. The surrogate need not be related in any way to the couple and is merely a carrier of the baby. The couple who engage her look after all her physical needs including the hospital expenses. Once the baby is born, the surrogate surrenders all rights to the baby and allows the couple to legally adopt their baby.
This is generally advised for women whose ovaries are producing the eggs but whose uterus has been removed, maybe for medical reasons. Women whose uterus is incapable of carrying a baby full term are also recommended to have IVF surrogacy. Life threatening diseases like diabetes, kidney malfunction affect some women who can also go in for surrogacy.

The second type is natural surrogacy where the surrogate is impregnated artificially with the sperm from the male partner and carries his genetically related baby which is in no way related to his wife.

There are serious problems when one opts for surrogacy. Sometimes, rather unfortunately, the surrogate might become unduly attached to the baby and might refuse to part with it. This is a danger that one must face when going in for surrogacy. It is important to have the legal proceedings and the contract firmly in place before attempting surrogacy.

Those who argue against surrogacy say that it is not fair to the baby or to the surrogate who is expected to give up the baby she has carried for 10 months. There are many more unanswered questions that can become issues later.

Whatever may be the reasons for going in for surrogacy, the fact is that it is an emotionally intense experience as it means engaging a third person to bear your baby, requiring strength of mind, plenty of money, time and patience to in order to see it through. For many childless couples it remains a beacon of hope as it is a means by which they can raise their own family.