Surrogate mother health requirements are an important topic for both intended parents and surrogate mothers.
Surrogate Mothers are doing a wonderful job all around the world to complete the family of childless intended parents. She needs to be medically and emotionally sound and undergo a lot of lifestyle changes to be an ideal gestational surrogate mother. In this article, we will touch upon the surrogate Mother’s health requirements.
While finding a surrogate mother, agencies conduct a few medical and psychological tests so that she can meet all basic pregnancy requirements. Same way, a gestational surrogate is asked to follow certain rules and regulations throughout the surrogacy process.
Surrogacy requirements needs may be different from agency to agency, there are a few common procedures that every agency may want to complete before finalizing a becoming a surrogate for would-be parents.
Some of these are –
- Initial Application – The initial application is all about knowing why you want to be a surrogate, your medical history, and your family history.
- Background screening – Background screening is done to ensure that you don’t have any criminal background and it will also check your financial background. This will not only help the intended parents to know you better but also will determine whether you are fit for being a surrogate or not.
- Medical screening – In medical screening, you will be asked to go for medical tests. These tests will ensure your reproductive assessment and generally, samples of blood and urine will be taken to ensure that you are fit for being a surrogate or not.
- Psychological Screening – In this screening process, a social worker from the agency will come to your house and assess the emotional well-being of you and your partner. This will help them to know how well you feel during pregnancy and childbirth. This will determine whether you are mentally and emotionally stable to be a surrogate.
Apart from passing the above requirements, the surrogate has to abstain from drinking and smoking.
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Few FAQs regarding the Surrogate Health
- What is the age of becoming a surrogate?
While there is no age for becoming a surrogate, most agencies will want the surrogate to be of 21 to 40 years of age.
This is because as you age, the chances of pregnancy start decreasing. So, it is essential for a surrogate to be at least 21 years of age and not more than 40 years of age.
- How old is it to be old to become a surrogate mother?
It’s all about biology. A menopausal or postmenopausal woman (usually women over 40) will get pregnant much harder than a woman in her twenties or thirties.
Even if she became pregnant, there would be a more dangerous pregnancy for an older woman. Remember, intended parents, want a surrogate mother that gives them the best chance of a successful and healthy pregnancy. A woman over 40 is unable to do that. Surrogacy practitioners, therefore, set a surrogate age limit to protect all involved parties.
- Can I be a surrogate without having a child of my own?
The response, unfortunately, is no. The surrogacy process will disqualify a woman who is pursuing surrogacy without a previous pregnancy.
It is important that you have demonstrated that you can carry a pregnancy safely before you become a surrogate. This is for your own well-being and to ensure that the embryos of the intended parents are placed in the woman’s uterus, with the best chance of a successful pregnancy. If you become a first-time mother, you are putting yourself and your planned parents at risk.
You have no idea how your body (emotionally and physically) will react to a pregnancy, and the intended parents have no guarantee that you will be able to deliver their baby safely.
- Can I have a surrogacy child with tubes tied?
Yes, you can definitely have the child by surrogacy after tied tubes or tube ligation. Tube ligation will halt the process of ovulation. Here the embryos used are not your own but are implanted in your uterus. This will, in fact, ensure that you will not become pregnant with your own baby while carrying the surrogate child.
- Can women be surrogates after menopause?
Surrogacy professionals work only with women who offer the best opportunities for a successful pregnancy. Because menopause comes with effects that will stop future pregnancies, it is a risky and difficult process to be a surrogate mother after menopause. This is why many practitioners set surrogacy age restrictions at 40.
- Can I be a surrogate mother after testing HIV positive?
No, you cannot be a surrogate after being tested HIV positive because there is a chance of spreading HIV to the baby. Hence, you cannot be a surrogate in that case.
- Can I be a surrogate while breastfeeding?
Surrogacy practitioners will need prospective surrogates to stop breastfeeding before beginning the surrogacy clinical cycle, as breastfeeding creates a normal delay in returning to fertility.
Nevertheless, while you are still breastfeeding, you may be able to start the initial surrogacy application process, so you can plan to stop until you start medical procedures.
- Can I be a surrogate having HPV?
During pregnancy, HPV will not affect a developing baby. If you have a wart outbreak before your due date, a cesarean section would likely have to be done to avoid HPV transmission to the baby.
- Can I be a surrogate with diabetes?
If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, your blood glucose levels during pregnancy may be more difficult to control.
While a healthy pregnancy with diabetes may be possible, most organizations will choose to disqualify you from becoming a surrogate due to the potential health risks to you and the child you are carrying.
Like other pregnancies, a surrogate pregnancy involves having gestational diabetes— diabetes that lasts until the child is born for the duration of the pregnancy. As a pregnant woman, this not only poses a risk to you but can also affect the baby’s growth rate.
- Can I be a surrogate if I have suffered from Herpes?
Herpes is rarely going to affect the child that is born to you. So, you can be a surrogate provided you meet other test requirements
- Can a surrogate with PCOS be possible?
PCOS primarily affects the ability of a female to ovulate.
People with this disorder, for example, are more likely to develop preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and other complications of pregnancy. Talk to your doctor and fertility specialist to determine if your diagnosis of PCOS may affect your ability to be a surrogate.
- Can I be a surrogate after ablation?
Ablation also removes a thin layer of the womb lining, making it very difficult for potential embryo implantations. Many surrogacy providers would disqualify you from being a surrogate if you have had ablation due to the risks it presents to your pregnancy.
- Can I be a surrogate having a sickle cell?
During pregnancy, the sickle cell can cause health complications such as miscarriage, early birth, and low birth rates. This condition also means that attempting surrogacy is too dangerous — both for you as a surrogate and for the child you are going to carry.
- Can I be a surrogate with Adenomyosis?
Adenomyosis is a condition that causes endometrial tissue to develop into the uterus ‘ muscle layers, making it very difficult to implant an embryo. Your doctor will be able to determine best if your condition can be successfully treated in order to be a surrogate.
- Can I be a surrogate with Endometriosis?
Endometriosis is another hormonal condition that can make pregnancy unpleasant for you and can increase your risk of abortion. The severity of your condition can best be determined by your doctor and whether it will affect your ability to become a surrogate.
- Can I be a surrogate after having C sections?
You will not automatically disqualify from becoming a surrogate if you have a prior cesarean section.
Though, to decide if your previous C-sections will cause trouble in any future pregnancies, you will need to talk to your doctor. Many surrogacy agencies will also set requirements on how many previous C-sections you may have in their health requirements for surrogates.
- Who is eligible for surrogacy?
Any woman who is in the right age group (21 to 40 years of age) with one baby of her own and average reproductive history can be a surrogate mother. On the humanitarian side, having a kind and compassion for childless couples can be an advantage. On medical aside, she needs to be free of physical, mental, and emotional illness.
- How many times can you be a surrogate?
There is no fixed answer to this question. Some can be just one-time surrogates due to health or family or medical condition. But some women can be surrogates 5 times. It depends on the woman’s ability to carry the baby safely and have the best of health during and after the pregnancy.
It is best to speak to your agency as sometimes they have limitations on the number of times a woman can be a surrogate mother. Healthwise, a doctor’s recommendation should be taken.
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Conclusion
Therefore, to be a prospective surrogate is not easy by all means. A strict Surrogate Mother Health Requirements criterion is underlined by the surrogacy agency and fertility doctor. If you have any other condition, just consult with the doctor about the same.
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