ADOPTION & ART ATTORNEYS IN MARYLAND, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA & VIRGINIA
Family Formation Blog
Intended Parents via Surrogacy
In the journey of family-building, assisted reproduction technology (ART) offers a beacon of hope for many intended parents.
When they want to grow their family, many aspiring parents use a surrogate. A surrogate carries a baby to term on behalf of the parents. Upon birth, paperwork is filed to transfer all rights to the parents.
When you are using the help of a surrogate to grow your family, having a good relationship is key. Most surrogates are retained through a private service that makes introductions between surrogates and the prospective parents. There may be several rounds of interviews to get to know each other.
A surrogacy arrangement describes any legal arrangement where a surrogate mother carries a pregnancy on behalf of an intended parent or parents. Surrogacy can take many different forms.
A known sperm donor agreement (“KspDA”) is used when prospective parents want to make an agreement with a person known to them for sperm donation services. Sperm donation helps parents conceive in any case where the male partner is infertile or among same-sex female couples.
Even if you know someone who has agreed to serve as a surrogate mother for your future child – and even if that person doesn’t reside in your state – it’s still essential to find an attorney you can trust to help you through the process in your home state.
Egg donation happens when a donor gives her eggs to another person(s) to allow the recipient to become pregnant or to use with a surrogate. An egg donor may be someone known to the recipient or could be connected through the IVF clinic or an Egg Donor Program. To donate, the donor must be given medication to develop multiple eggs over a single cycle.
Surrogacy is a long journey for both the Intended Parents and the surrogate mother. It takes much longer than nine months – many Intended Parents work toward the dream of growing their family for years.
Every surrogacy process needs to include a surrogacy contract. The contract lays out the responsibilities and rights of all the parties to the surrogacy. While the idea of a contract can sometimes be intimidating, it is for the best when everyone knows exactly what to expect!
In a pregnancy, a gestational carrier has a role similar to a traditional surrogate. The difference is that the gestational carrier is not genetically related to the child. Before pregnancy, an embryo is fertilized using the egg and sperm of the intended parents or of donors the parents choose.
Bonding with a newborn is very important. Emotional bonding between a child and parent is essential to healthy development. These early bonds are the basis of an infant’s sense of security. Children develop their first instincts about whether their world is safe or unsafe – “approach” or “avoid” – based on parental bonding.
This raises an obvious question: How can you bond with your baby carried by a surrogate?
Surrogate Carriers are chosen based on a number of health criteria that maximize the odds of a healthy, safe, and simple pregnancy. But, like any pregnancy, surrogacy presents possible medical challenges.