Types of Surrogacy Arrangement
In the United States, 7.3 million women have difficulty becoming or staying pregnant according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Single parents and homosexual couples can't conceive children on their own. While some choose to adopt, others hope to have a child biologically related to them or want to avoid the possible five to 10 year wait for an adoptive child. For such individuals and couples, surrogacy -- an arrangement where a women becomes pregnant with and carries a baby for someone else -- can be an answer to their desire for a child.
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Traditional Surrogacy
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In traditional surrogacy, a surrogate is artificially inseminated with sperm either from the intended father or donor sperm. This surrogacy arrangement has similarities to adoption, since the surrogate agrees to give up her biological child. Some intended parents prefer traditional surrogacy because it avoids the significant costs associated with in-vitro fertilization (IVF). If a couple needs to use a donor egg, it may also be easier to simply use a surrogate willing to donate her egg than to go through IVF with a donor egg.
Gestational Surrogacy
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In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate carries a baby that is not biologically related to her for another couple. Through IVF, the embryo is created with the intended father's sperm and intended mother's egg, the intended father's sperm and a donor egg, the intended mother's egg and donor sperm, or a donated embryo. Intended parents may choose gestational surrogacy if they want a child biologically related to them, but the mother can't carry the child herself due to a problem such as a hysterectomy, history of miscarriage or cancer. Gestational surrogacy may also make the arrangement easier emotionally for the surrogate, since she doesn't have to give up her biological child.
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Altruistic Surrogacy
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An altruistic surrogate agrees to carry a child for a couple without receiving any financial compensation beyond out-of-pocket expenses directly related to her pregnancy. Medical, travel and child care costs as well as lost wages and expenses for clothing, vitamins and medications may be covered in an altruistic arrangement. In some countries, such as Canada, it is illegal to financially compensate a surrogate beyond her out-of-pocket expenses. In a country like the United States where surrogates normally receive some degree of financial compensation, altruistic surrogates are typically family members or close friends.
Commercial Surrogacy
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A commercial surrogate receives a fee for her services beyond the compensation for her out-of-pocket expenses. Women who choose to be surrogates do so out of an unselfish desire to help another couple or single parent have a child of their own. However, surrogacy places many burdens on the surrogate mother. Even if a woman has easy pregnancies, pregnancy still stresses her body and carries the risk of a c-section, loss of fertility or even death. The pregnancy may strain her marriage or prevent her from leaving the state where she lives if surrogacy laws require her to give birth in that state. In a commercial surrogacy arrangement, the surrogate receives a fee intended to partially compensate her for some of these inconveniences she takes on.
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References
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