Surrogates are facing some general challenges after giving delivery to a child that she carries for intended parents.
These challenges are multifaceted.
Some are physical, whereas some are emotional.
A Surrogate can lead a normal life after her surrogacy journey only when she can cope up with these challenges.
However, coping with challenges matters to the afterlife of a surrogate.
Along with physical and emotional challenges that are considered normal for every usual pregnancy, surrogates also face the same issues along with the burden of relinquishing the child after delivery.
People are often interested to know about the relationship between the surrogate mother and the resultant child.
Surrogate may be known to intended parents or met through a surrogate agency or mutual friend.
A child born through traditional, partial, or straight surrogacy has a genetic relationship with a surrogate.
However, no genetic connection builds up between child and surrogate in gestational surrogacy.
Surrogate acts as a host who carries the child during the gestational period and delivers the child after completion of full-term.
Both genetic and gestational surrogacy are pursued in IVF clinics with artificial insemination sperm (either from the intended father or donor).
The embryo can be created by fertilization of gametes collected from either intended parents or donors in the case of gestational surrogacy.
In British surrogacy, the system allows building a strong relationship between the surrogate mother and the intended parents during the surrogacy pregnancy because no commercial surrogacy agency works for them.
Surrogate and intended parents have direct contact. They particularly give strain to maintain the relationship between the surrogate and the intending mother rather than intending father.
The positive relationship provides the boost to surrogate mothers to involve in this process morally and seriously serve their job for a successful pregnancy.
In certain surrogacy, intended parents continue the relationship with surrogate mothers even after childbirth.
The researcher of a study had found that keeping contact with surrogates maintained a good relationship over 10 years of the child being born.
But the frequency of contact may decrease over time.
But restriction of the intended parents & family to meet with surrogate mothers may hurt the relationship with the child.
In the case of known surrogates like close relatives, or friends may take a deliberate attempt to meet the child, which is especially common in the case of genetic-link surrogacy.
However, the long-term relationship is yet now not evaluated.
Maintaining direct contact with a surrogate after childbirth is easier in local surrogacy, but this may not be possible in cross broader surrogacy or surrogate belongs to another language in which surrogacy agency is the only bridge of contact.
There is a lot of debate on commercial surrogacy.
But the impact of disclosure of non-commercial surrogacy to a child is unknown.
This may create an emotional attachment of the child towards the surrogate mother when he/she is aware of only altruistic motivations for helping their parents is the only reason to pursue surrogacy.
Above all, experts always suggest disclosing the truth of the birth of a child is always provides a positive impact on the long-term relationship.
Ravi Sharma is a self-motivated, successful entrepreneur and has a solid experience in the fertility segment. and he is the director at ARTbaby Global (ARThealthcare). He is a pharmacy graduate with post-graduation in business administration and has 14 years of rich experience in the field of infertility segment. He loves to write about IVF, Surrogacy, and other ART (assisted reproductive technology) news, issues, and updates. He is a Pharmacy graduate (B. Pharm) and M.B.A (marketing).
His most recent success includes the successful launch of the medical tourism company, ARTbaby, which offers treatment options for infertility, egg donation, and surrogacy. He likes spending time with his family and writing about various aspects of IVF surrogacy and donating eggs.