The problem of infertility is spreading around the world at a monstrous rate. The reason for this is both the negative impact of the environment and human genetic inheritance. Fortunately, reproductive medicine has given every infertile couple a chance to experience the joy of motherhood and fatherhood through surrogate pregnancy.
What is surrogacy
Surrogacy is a new assisted reproductive system. With surrogate motherhood, three people are involved in the conception of a future child, the first of whom is the genetic father, the second is the genetic mother and the third is the surrogate mother. Conception takes place by the method of artificial insemination: for this, in a specialized clinic, the egg of the genetic mother is fertilized with the sperm of the genetic father. After the fertilization procedure, the egg is transferred to the surrogate mother's uterus. This process occurs no later than the first 3-5 days of embryo development.
What should be a surrogate mother
The first and most important requirement for a surrogate mother is excellent health. Before becoming a surrogate mother, a woman of childbearing age must undergo a comprehensive medical examination, as well as have her own healthy child. The recommended age for surrogacy ranges from 20 to 35 years old. The rest of the requirements are presented, as a rule, by the future parents. For example, doctors may be interested in the presence of bad habits, some character traits, the level of education and the availability of decent living conditions for raising a child.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Surrogacy
For most infertile families, surrogacy is the only way to get a genetically natural child. The second advantage of surrogacy is the ability to detect the presence of genetic abnormalities and diseases in a child even before the transplant of a fertilized cell into the uterus. This became possible due to the rapid development of modern technologies in medicine. In addition to identifying deviations, you can also find out the gender of the unborn child.
No matter how wonderful the possibilities of surrogacy may seem, it also has some disadvantages. For example, a middle-income family is unlikely to be able to afford this procedure. The costs of medical supervision, the procedure of artificial insemination and the payment of compensation to a surrogate mother sometimes turn out to be unaffordable. Sometimes there are cases when, after giving birth, a surrogate mother develops an irresistible maternal instinct, because of which she tries in every way to leave the baby, which creates problems for the genetic parents and herself.
