A little over 5 years ago, a high court judge in Britain warned surrogate agencies to carry more stringent checks on surrogate mothers. The caveat was after a mother deliberately hoodwinked two couples into believing she had miscarried their babies.
Even though the surrogate mother already had three children by different fathers,
she was motivated by “an obsessive desire to bear more children”.
The judge’s ruling was to hand over the kids to parents.
The judge also observed that women who put themselves forward to this role of bearing children as surrogates are very exceptional and may have genuine unrealized psychological needs of their own.
The above factual case starkly illustrates the need for surrogate agencies to be abundantly cautious while finding a surrogate mother.
Surrogacy arrangements may be legal in many parts of U.S., but it is not unusual for some cases to get mired in disputes. Most disputes surround on issues that decide on the best interests of the child.
Surrogacy arrangements, more often than not, are loosely binding. So it is not unusual for surrogates to change their mind and decide to keep the baby. If the couple disagrees, the case goes to court.
For the courts such cases become tough nuts to crack, since both the commissioning father and the surrogate mother are genetic parents and have equal claim on the child.
Legally, courts find it difficult to decide where the best interests of the child lie when the offspring has closely bonded with the mother.
Even with such risks in place there are surrogacy agencies with dependable reputation of finding the right mother who’d rent out her womb.
No doubt reputable agencies run checks like thorough medical screenings, getting honest answers on lifestyle habits, and acceptable blood test results to rule out any serious infectious disease.
Yet, other things matter too, like the emotive aspects that can crop up at later stages.
It is a challenge for surrogate agencies to come to a conclusion if the surrogate is stable and mature and willing to commit to all the physical and emotional hardships of the surrogacy process.
In such situations the only redeeming feature for intended couples is to make a check on agency’s experience in handling surrogacy. A good track record of having helped many intended couples have a family is an overriding advantage while choosing a surrogacy center.
For surrogates themselves the program offered by the center can be rewarding. First time surrogates can be paid a handsome sum with additional payments for maternity clothes, completing the embryo transfer, and other monthly expenses.
Fortunately, a study by researchers on the experiences of surrogate mothers has been positive. The results came to a conclusion that surrogate mothers do not appear to experience psychological problems as a result of carrying a child for another couple.
Even assuming this conclusion to be general in nature, choosing a center from among many surrogate agencies must be done with abundant caution.
Founded in 1994, Northwest Surrogacy Center is the leading and most successful among all surrogate agencies in the Pacific Northwest. The highly professional staff at this center has 35 years of experience in finding a surrogate mother and in helping intended couples create families
