What Is a Surrogate?

There are two kinds of surrogate mothers.
Traditional surrogates. A traditional surrogate is a woman who is artificially inseminated with the father’s sperm..
Gestational surrogates. In vitro fertilization (IVF) now makes it possible to harvest eggs from the mother, fertilize them with sperm from the father, and place the embryo into the uterus of a gestational surrogate. The surrogate then carries the baby until birth. A gestational surrogate has no genetic ties to the child. That’s because it wasn’t her egg that was used. A gestational surrogate is called the “birth mother.” The biological mother, though, is still the woman whose egg was fertilized.
Gestational surrogacy is less complex legally. That’s because both intended parents have genetic ties to the baby. As a result, gestational surrogacy has become more common than a traditional surrogate.

Who Uses Surrogates?

    A woman might decide to use a surrogate for several reasons:

  • She may havePathological& medical problems with her uterus.
  • She may have had a hysterectomy that removed her uterus.
  • There may be conditions that make pregnancy impossible or medically risky, such as severe Cardiac problems, Renal or Liver damage
  • Other women choose surrogacy after trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant with a variety of assisted-reproduction techniques (ART), such as IVF.
  • Surrogates have also made parenthood an option for people who might not be able to adopt a child.