Last Updated on September 6, 2022
A surrogate mother is a woman who bears a child for another woman. The surrogate mother may be the child’s biological mother or she may be artificially inseminated with the father’s sperm. In either case, she carries and delivers the child for the intended parents.
There are many reasons why couples may choose to use a surrogate, such as if the woman is unable to conceive or carry a pregnancy to term. Surrogacy can also be used when there are medical risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth that make it unsafe for the mother to carry a child herself. It is important to note that surrogacy is different from adoption, as the surrogate mother is not giving up her parental rights to the child she bore.
If you’re considering becoming a surrogate mother, you may be wondering how the process works. Here’s a quick overview of how surrogates get pregnant.
The first step is to undergo a medical screening.
This ensures that you are physically able to carry a baby and don’t have any health conditions that could complicate the pregnancy.
Once you’ve been cleared by a doctor, you will work with an agency or fertility clinic to match you with intended parents. The agency will make sure that both parties are compatible and that there is a good fit between surrogate and parents-to-be.
Once matched, the next step is for the surrogate to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF). This involves retrieving eggs from the intended mother (or donor) and fertilizing them with sperm from the father (or donor). The resulting embryos are then transferred into the surrogate’s uterus.
After embryo transfer, it’s just a waiting game until pregnancy tests come back positive! If all goes well, the surrogate will carry the baby for nine months before delivering him or her to the happy parents.
How Does Baby Surrogacy ACTUALLY Work?
Will the Baby Look Like the Surrogate Mother?
Although the baby will have the DNA of the intended parents, there is no guarantee that the baby will look like the surrogate mother. In fact, it is more likely that the baby will resemble one or both of the intended parents. This is because physical traits are determined by a person’s genes, and people usually inherit a mix of traits from their biological parents.
So, while the surrogate mother may play a role in determining the baby’s physical appearance, ultimately, it is up to the baby’s genes to decide what they will look like.
Credit: southernsurrogacy.com
Does a Surrogate Baby Have the Mother’S Dna?
Yes, a surrogate baby has the mother’s DNA. When a woman decides to use a surrogate, she is still the legal and biological mother of the child. The surrogacy process does not change that.
The surrogate only provides the womb in which to gestate the child until birth.
How Does a Surrogate Receive an Egg?
There are two types of surrogacy: traditional and gestational. In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate uses her own egg, and is thus the biological mother of the child. In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate does not use her own egg.
Instead, she is implanted with an embryo that has been created using in vitro fertilization (IVF) with the egg of the intended mother or a donor egg. The resulting child is not genetically related to the surrogate. In either type of surrogacy, after completing required psychological testing and screenings for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), potential surrogates must undergo a medical evaluation to ensure they are physically able to carry a pregnancy.
If they pass this evaluation, arrangements are made between the surrogate, intended parents, and fertility clinic or attorney handling the case. The next step is for the surrogate to begin taking hormones in order to prepare her body for pregnancy. Once she has begun taking these hormones, she will need to go through IVF in order to have eggs retrieved from her ovaries and fertilized with sperm from either the intended father or a sperm donor; this process creates embryos.
Does a Surrogate Use Your Eggs?
A surrogate is someone who carries a baby for another person or couple. The surrogate may be the child’s biological mother (the egg donor), or she may be a gestational carrier, meaning she has no genetic connection to the child. In either case, the surrogate undergoes IVF using the intended mother’s eggs and the intended father’s sperm.
The embryo created is then implanted in the surrogate’s uterus, and she carries the pregnancy to term.
It’s important to note that not all surrogates use their own eggs. In fact, most surrogates are gestational carriers, meaning they have no genetic connection to the child they’re carrying.
This is because it can be difficult to find a woman who is willing and able to carry a baby for another person or couple using her own eggs. Additionally, using a gestational carrier often results in a higher success rate for implantation and pregnancy overall.
How Long Does It Take for a Surrogate to Get Pregnant?
It can take a surrogate anywhere from a few months to a year to become pregnant. The average is about eight months. However, this largely depends on the age and health of the surrogate mother as well as whether she has had children before.
A woman in her early 20s who has never been pregnant before will likely take longer to conceive than an older woman who has already had children. Additionally, if the surrogate mother is carrying twins or triplets, it will usually take her longer to become pregnant than if she were carrying only one child.
Conclusion
A surrogate mother gets pregnant through a process called in vitro fertilization (IVF). In this procedure, eggs are removed from the surrogate mother and fertilized with sperm in a laboratory. The resulting embryos are then implanted into the surrogate mother’s uterus.
