How to select the right surrogate?
Selection of the appropriate surrogate mother is an all important decision to ensure safe delivery of a healthy baby. Following are the criteria based on which you may proceed to choose the right surrogate:
– The surrogate mother should be minimum 21 years old with fully developed reproductive organs posing least risks of miscarriage. However, the approved upper age limit for a surrogate mother is 37 though it can vary depending upon the medical condition of the woman eliminating the chances of high risk pregnancy.
-Ensure whether there has been at least a single previous successful pregnancy and child birth which your chosen surrogate mother had been through. A proven track record would certainly point towards her credentials that she deserves to be your surrogacy service provider.
-The exact time when she was last pregnant and what was her experience whether it was enjoyable or was it an ordeal for her is a decisive factor in choosing a good surrogate mother. If her experience was on the negative side, you may take it for sure this time as well it won’t be great either. However, the way the female psyche works at times is clouded with enigma. Some women feel great in child bearing and that’s the reason why they readily agree to provide surrogacy service.
-Try to find out prior to this pregnancy whether she ran a lifestyle that is congenial to pregnancy. It is important to explore the pattern of her diet and workout habits as these factors have a substantial bearing on her capability to carry a healthy baby, provide it with proper nutrition and offer the right kind of ambient environment inside the womb. If these conditions are fulfilled, there is a fair chance the baby delivered would be healthy and kicking with full of life! Equally important would be her medical history and any negative lifestyle that might have embraced in the form of smoking, alcoholism and drug abuse. All these factors are going to have a considerable impact on the quality of the baby delivered.
-Medical evaluation of the chosen surrogate mother is absolutely necessary through screening of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, Hepatitis B and C and complete blood profile checking the essential parameters.
-The chosen surrogate should have a sound psychological health as well. This will be a significant find to explore whether the surrogate mother is having a family support system that would lend her a helping hand throughout pregnancy. If not her partner, her brothers, relatives and parents could play this supportive role. Lending the womb for someone and carrying the baby till birth often puts the surrogate mother under massive emotional and physical stress especially being aware of the fact that after delivery she would have to part with the child. She would need a firm shoulder and an understanding mind to let her vent the emotional outbursts.
-Before selection of the surrogate mother, the customer should make sure she has an adequate and bona fide insurance policy that will give sufficient financial coverage to the entire pregnancy and birth aided by surrogacy. Most of the policies however are not ample enough to cover surrogacy specific risks due to their prohibitive premium figures.
-There are different types of surrogacy like traditional surrogacy, gestational surrogacy and partial surrogacy bound by the law of land. The package that have you chosen in your case has an important bearing on how comfortable is the surrogate mother with your choice. The relevant point to note that the surrogate mother should be compatible and committed to the type of surrogacy package you have opted for. Those who meet these criteria should be selected for your purpose.
-There are four issues in pregnancy known as the ‘ Big four ‘ which are as follows:
* Selective reproduction.
* Genetic testing.
* Abortion and the environment in which it is carried out.
* The number of embryos that are to be transferred.
The surrogate mother and you along with your partner should mutually agree upon these four listed issues prior to your signing the surrogacy service agreement papers. These issues seem very simple and harmless on paper and there is nothing wrong why the surrogate mother shouldn’t agree on them. But after a stressful experience of pregnancy and childbirth she might back out on the agreement. A good clinic generally takes care of these conflicts and provides a solution. Still, it is wise to assess the situation and take a cautious approach so that your surrogacy option might prove fruitful at the end of the day.