There are a lot of myths surrounding surrogacy. There is even a point of view that only a rich woman who does not want to spoil her figure by pregnancy may look for a surrogate mother. But this is the opinion of those who were not lucky enough to face a situation when a baby cannot come into the family “naturally”. The low awareness of the society about reproductive medicine also plays a role. Meanwhile, surrogacy is primarily an assisted reproductive technology intended for women who cannot bear or give birth to a child for medical reasons.
When is the surrogacy procedure prescribed?
In our country surrogacy is allowed by law and regulated by several laws and by-laws. Ukrainian legislation states that surrogacy is prescribed in cases when a woman cannot bear a pregnancy on her own or carrying a pregnancy on her own is contraindicated.
In other words, the use of surrogacy comes to the rescue when other methods have proven ineffective in achieving and maintaining pregnancy. And when pregnancy is impossible for physiological reasons or contraindicated. The indications for surrogacy (another name for the method) can be divided into two groups: those related to the reproductive system and those not.
Indications for surrogacy related to the reproductive system
- Three or more spontaneous miscarriages in the anamnesis (specialists call this habitual miscarriages);
- an increased risk of miscarriage;
- Several unsuccessful in vitro fertilization attempts, during which high quality embryos were implanted into the patient’s uterus;
- Congenital absence of the uterus or a removed uterus;
- Deformity of the uterine cavity or cervix;
- Untreatable uterine adhesions (synechiae).
Other indications for surrogacy
Surrogate mothers are approached not only for various forms of female infertility. There is a group of general medical contraindications for carrying a pregnancy and giving birth. Although the list of severe incurable diseases that do not categorically recommend women for pregnancy and childbirth is getting shorter with every decade, it is still quite extensive.
- Severe forms of cardiovascular disease. During pregnancy, a woman’s cardiovascular system is under tremendous strain. If it cannot stand, severe complications up to and including death are inevitable.
- Severe forms of bronchopulmonary disease (for example, bronchial asthma and pulmonary failure), in which the body of the mother and fetus will experience a lack of oxygen.
- Renal failure. In pregnant women, the load on the kidneys increases several times. In case of kidney failure, the organ could fail, leaving no chance for either the woman or the baby.
- Certain cancers.
These are only the most common conditions in which pregnancy and childbirth are contraindicated. There are other conditions that lead doctors to recommend that patients not conceive or become pregnant.
In the past, only adoption allowed women with conditions incompatible with pregnancy and childbirth to experience the happiness of motherhood. Turning to the services of surrogate mothers makes it possible to enjoy growing up genetically for your baby. Or, if a woman’s health problems extend to her ovaries, using the future father’s germ cells and the donor’s eggs for IVF.
If you are planning to look for a surrogate mother or have already started doing it, we recommend you read the programs our agency implements for clients in this delicate, complicated, and topical direction.