For couples who cannot have a child for whatever reason, surrogate motherhood is becoming an affordable and viable option. For less than the cost of an adoption sometimes, a couple can have a surrogate mother brings to the term biological child of one or both people involved in the relationship. There are definitely some pros and cons to consider with her get motherhood, so let’s take a closer look at them.
The Child Who is Born Will Share Your DNA
In a typical surrogate motherhood relationship, an egg is fertilized from a heterosexual couple and then implanted. Because the implanting process occurs out of the surrogate mother, the child who is born will share your DNA and not hers. This gives people the chance to have a direct descendent when normally that chance would not be available.
It Doesn’t Always Work
Although IVF technology has been improving over the years, it is not 100% reliable. There is about a one in five chance that a fertilized egg implanted into a surrogate mother will take hold and begin to grow. With consistent efforts, most surrogate mothers will become pregnant, but it can take some time. Many couples are told to allow 6 to 12 months for a pregnancy to begin.
The Surrogate Mother Has Rights to the Child
In many jurisdictions, surrogacy laws have not kept up with the actual practice of surrogate motherhood. This means that the mother gives birth to the child has rights to that child. Even when there is a legal contract in place, many jurisdictions consider the practice of surrogacy illegal. This means that a couple may be out of options if a surrogate mother decided to keep their child as her own.
Surrogate Motherhood Can be Extremely Expensive
Surrogacy has a lot of out-of-pocket expenses that aren’t always anticipated. The mother gets a salary for her efforts at maintaining a healthy pregnancy. The people who are sponsoring the surrogacy are also required to pay for the medical expenses of the surrogate mother, including any birth expenses that may be incurred. In total, it is not unusual for the total cost of a surrogacy to exceed $120,000.
There is a Child to Love
The greatest benefit of surrogate motherhood is that there is a child’s love. Many families include the surrogate mother within their structure so that the child has a very rewarding relationship with everyone involved.
Non-Traditional Couples Get the Chance to Have Children Too
Surrogate motherhood isn’t just for a heterosexual couple that cannot have a child for some reason. Same-sex couples are also taking advantage of surrogacy so that they can have a child that is at least the biological descendant of one of the individuals in the relationship. This brings about a more fulfilling family structure when it is successful and one day, the children from surrogacy, will become the next set of world leaders.
