They said that a child completes a family; however, some couples don’t have the ability to conceive a child of their own. Even with the aid of medications and even after several visits to fertility specialists, nothing happens. It just can’t be done. In the past, the only alternative couples have if they want to have a child is to adopt. These days, there are a few options. One of which is – hiring a surrogate mother.
How does it work?
In surrogacy, the couple who want to have a baby will donate sperm and egg to create an embryo. This embryo will be implanted to into the surrogate mother, allowing the couple to have a baby who is naturally their own.
While surrogacy may appear like the perfect solution, there are some pros and cons to consider when it comes to this subject. Let us take a look at its advantages and disadvantages.
List of Pros of Surrogacy
1. It allows couples to have biological relative.
Even if one of the couple has fertility problem, a direct biological child can still be born from the egg or sperm of the fertile person in the relationship. This allows the couple to have one of their bloodlines to naturally continue unlike in the case of adoption.
2. It is cheaper.
Undergoing fertility treatments for a long period of time can get expensive. Not to mention, success is not guaranteed. Whereas with surrogacy, a couple only needs to pay the surrogate a mother for successfully carrying a pregnancy to terms.
3. It has 1:4 success rate.
Research showed that embryos created from a couple or from a donor has a 25% chance of catching on for surrogate pregnancy. Not many fertility treatments can claim the same level of success so far.
4. It can create positive lifelong connection.
Surrogacy offers families the chance to build beneficial lifelong connections. Some surrogate mothers, for instance, choose to stay involved in the lives of children they have carried, creating a community aspect to the family.
List of Cons of Surrogacy
1. It gives surrogates some rights to the child.
In some states, couples who have hired a surrogate are not given immediate parenthood rights over their child upon birth. This means that a surrogate mother is allowed to claim parenthood rights over the baby and is not forced to follow her contracted arrangement with the couple who hired her help.
2. It puts a child’s health at risk if the surrogate mother doesn’t follow health instructions.
Surrogacy won’t have a problem if the hired mother is health conscious herself or is taking her the pregnancy as something very important. It is possible though that a surrogate may drink heavily or sneak in a cigarette every now and then. Even when candidates for surrogate pregnancy are extensively screened, there is no guarantee that health instructions will be followed.
Conclusion
Surrogacy offers hope for childless couples to have their own biological child. So, despite its cons (which happens only rarely), it proves to be a good route for many couples who are ready for parenthood.
Natalie Regoli is a child of God, devoted wife, and mother of two boys. She has a Master's Degree in Law from The University of Texas. Natalie has been published in several national journals and has been practicing law for 18 years.