The decision to go with surrogate motherhood in order to have a child is not a choice that is ever made lightly. Under less serious circumstances, most people who decide to have a child will do it the traditional way. The mother in the couple simply allows herself to get pregnant, and then nature takes its course, carefully monitoring her health for nine months until the time of birth.
Unfortunately, for some couples, the expected, traditional method doesn’t work. Same-sex male couples, for example, simply don’t have this option. Even male/female couples may not necessarily be suitable for a variety of reasons. Age, for example, means that an older family, especially with a mother in her late 40s to 50s, might be at medical risk in attempting to carry a child. On the other hand, some couples may have had other medical complications, such as surgical removal of the uterus, or extensive medical treatments that have resulted in infertility as a side-effect.
In these instances, surrogate motherhood is still a viable solution, especially for families that still wish to pass on some genetic characteristics, such as a family resemblance. However, this means a careful and extensive search for a surrogate mother. So what about the surrogate mother? How is the mother cared for, let alone selected, in such a process?
Degrees Of Care
The type of care a surrogate mother requires is always the same during the pregnancy stage. But what about before that? It turns out that a certain amount of medical care, concern, and expertise may be important for a potential surrogate mother even before the pregnancy occurs, depending on the type of surrogacy that is used.
For example, if a hopeful family chooses to go the route of traditional surrogacy, then there may be more medical exams required to ensure the health of the surrogate mother. There will also be a greater emphasis on the genetic “health” of the surrogate mother, as her egg will be used, and thus, any genetic disorders she may carry pose a possible risk to a child.
Normal Precautions
On the other hand, for gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate mother is not also the donor of the egg, the care restrictions relax somewhat. Now the surrogate mother’s genetic background is not so critical, because the emphasis is really on her physical health and her lifestyle.
When it comes to surrogate care at the time of pregnancy, the surrogate mother is treated like any other mother. Her diet must be carefully monitored to ensure she is getting the appropriate nutrients and passing that onto the child. Regarding lifestyle, as with any normal pregnant mother, certain substance choices, such as the consumption of cigarettes, alcohol or drugs must drop to zero. Otherwise, there is a risk of transmitting related disorders to the child or even creating an addiction to a substance without the child consuming them.
Finally, there is regular medical checkup and evaluation that is required to ensure the health of the surrogate mother, as well as that of the child. Depending on the type of arrangement a family may have for surrogacy, the surrogate mother may live with the family, may continue to live her life on her own, with additional medical support, or, in some cases, transfer to a compound to live in carefully monitored comfort and safety, especially during the more delicate, later stages of pregnancy. When the time comes, the medically supervised birth occurs.
Selecting A Surrogate
In Tbilisi, Georgia, surrogate mother selection can be quite a comprehensive process due to Georgia’s own legal system. In this country, surrogacy is completely legal, and well defined within the Georgian legal system. As a result, Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia, has established, professional agencies experienced in working with surrogate mother applicants and candidates.
Depending on the need, surrogate mothers are screened both for physical health, as well as genetic characteristics. In the event that a surrogate mother is chosen for traditional surrogacy, she may be meticulously examined to ensure no genetic disorders may put a developing baby at risk. Alternatively, she may be filed for specific genetic characteristics, such as ethnicity, or physical characteristics of her appearance if it is desirable to pass on those genetic traits.
The surrogate mother herself must also be carefully screened for her own medical health and lifestyle. Obviously, a healthy woman, in good physical shape, with no questionable lifestyle habits, such as excessive drug use, has a far better chance of safely bring a child to term than an unhealthy woman with an addiction problem. Experience is also an important factor for selection, as a woman that has already had a least one child is more physically and psychologically prepared for the experience, as well as able to provide medical care with more information, based on her past pregnancy experience.
These and many other reasons are why surrogacy selection services in Tbilisi are full-featured, comprehensive and helpful for hopeful families trying to narrow down their surrogate mother options.