Surrogacy is a too-often overlooked system for helping people grow their families when they are not able to do so biologically. There is a lot of information out there about surrogacy for both prospective parents and women who might want to help another family by carrying a child for them.
One of the biggest decisions to be made regarding surrogacy for both of the mother carrying the child and the parents who will adopt the unborn baby is whether gestational or traditional surrogacy is the better option for their circumstances.
Traditional surrogacy uses the surrogate mother’s egg
The ability of modern physicians to create and transfer embryos is a relatively new technique. For many years, the only surrogacy option available to people was what is now known as traditional surrogacy.
This version involves the surrogate mother’s egg getting fertilized either by the potential future father’s sperm or a donor’s sperm. This kind of arrangement is usually more cost-effective and can be a great option for a family either without a source of viable eggs or a woman to carry a child.
Gestational surrogacy involves a surrogate mother carrying an embryo
In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate mother conceives the baby with one of her own eggs. In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate mother receives already-fertilized eggs, or embryos, on behalf of the family she is trying to help.
This can be a great option for families where there is a strong emotional attachment to genetic connection with the baby and where medical issues and not a lack of eggs contribute to the need for a surrogate.
Discussing your hopes for your family and your reasons for considering surrogacy with an attorney familiar with this unique area of law in Georgia can help you make decisions that will be optimal for your family circumstances.
