It’s natural for people who commit to a lifelong relationship to take things to the next level and start a family. This is always a big decision that involves a lot of commitment; for most couples, the actual process creating a family is simple. The woman in the relationship becomes pregnant, after approximately 9 months, a baby is born, and a new life begins as a family.
Unfortunately, not everyone has access to this option. Sometimes serious obstacles get in the way of a couple going the more conventional, traditional route of routine pregnancy and childbirth. Sometimes those factors are medical conditions, but through surrogacy, where another woman agrees to become pregnant on behalf of a couple, it’s still possible for these hopeful families to get the child they dream of.
Here are a few medical circumstances where traditional pregnancy is not recommended or possible, and surrogacy becomes a good option for hopeful couples with dreams of starting a family.
Heart Conditions
This is one of the most crucial medical challenges, and this medical condition has a lot of variance. Some women may have heart disease or even have already had surgery for their heart. The biggest factor here is that once a pregnancy gets underway, this puts more demands on the heart to circulate blood and other fluids to deliver to the growing fetus.
A woman with a heart condition centering around the narrowing of certain parts of the heart, such as the mitral valve or aortic valve, are at the most risk. These narrowed valves respond poorly to the increased demands of pregnancy and can put the life of both the woman and the growing baby at risk, potentially resulting in the death of both. Women who have already had heart surgery or must take certain medications to control their heart condition also put themselves and their babies at high risk if they try to become pregnant.
Age
As with illnesses, pregnancy can put very young and older women at more risk. The general recommendation in the past has been that women over 35 are, physically and medically speaking, considered an Advanced Material Age, or AMA. However, even during the menopausal phase, as certain hormonal levels change, it’s still medically possible to become pregnant, though women who choose to do so expose themselves to the risk of conditions like:
- Miscarriage
- Congenital disabilities
- Gestational diabetes
- Chromosome problems like Down’s Syndrome
And others. While it is now not unusual for some couples to start families later in life due to the demands of modern careers, some women dramatically increase the risk of something going wrong during pregnancy the longer they wait.
Surgery
Certain surgical measures are a major medical factor that makes natural childbirth impossible. In some instances, women have been diagnosed with specific types of cancer, such as uterine or ovarian cancer, which means their reproductive organs are no longer reproducing normal cells. If left unchecked, this condition can eventually lead to death as the mutated cells spread throughout the body and affect other organs.
The most effective way to deal with this condition is to surgically remove the compromised organs so that mutated cellular reproduction is no longer possible. Unfortunately, removing the uterus means that the womb required for a fetus to grow is no longer there. Thus, natural pregnancy and childbirth are now biologically impossible for the woman that had the life-saving surgery.
For these medical circumstances, surrogacy can be the solution, although many couples are now taking their surrogacy needs to other countries, such as Georgia, which offers Surrogacy Agencies that have alliances with clinics such as:
GGRC Clinic
The GGRC clinic is well-known for its end-to-end surrogacy support. It can even help couples in the earliest stages, finding and negotiating with a surrogate mother. This clinic can even help foreign couples with post-birth legal considerations, such as addressing citizenship requirements, depending on the intended country of residence.
Zhordania IVF Center
The Zhordania Center is an In Vitro Fertilization facility in the capital city of Georgia, Tbilisi. It is a fully equipped modern lab facility with expert staff. The center can collect donor eggs; however, if preferred donor eggs are stored in cryogenic facilities elsewhere, they can safely transport them to their labs and retain their viability for use in implantation.
Chachava Medical Center
Chachava Medical Center is an elder statesman of the Tbilisi medical community, having been in operation for over a century. It opened its doors to locals in 1875 but now welcomes patients the world over. It has comprehensive surrogacy services, like obstetric and gynecological-related medical assessments and treatment.
Inova IVF Center
The Inova IVF center is recent, having opened only in 2015. This is also an IVF service, including important additional options like Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis. This technique helps couples with hereditary disorders in their family history screen out these illnesses and ensure their baby is born healthy.