Surrogate Mothering

Programs that offer an alternative method of childbearing for infertile couples when the woman is unable to bear children. Traditional surrogacy utilizes a woman, known as a surrogate, who agrees to be artificially inseminated with the husband's sperm and carry the baby for the couple. The surrogate mother (and her husband, if she is married) agree to relinquish all parental rights. The husband, who is the natural father, assumes custody with his wife, and the couple legally adopts the child. Gestational surrogacy involves the production of embryos through in vitro fertilization, using the eggs and sperm of the intended parents, and transfer of the embryos to the uterus of the surrogate. Gestational surrogacy is indicated for women who can produce a viable embryo but cannot carry it to term.