Surrogacy is one remedy for infertility. It is the process by which a woman carries and delivers a child in her womb and delivers it for another couple. Like sperm donation, this method involves artificial insemination. It can be used in conjunction with sperm donation or it can be used for a couple to have a child together by way of a surrogate. Surrogacy can either be traditional or gestational. With traditional surrogacy, the surrogate mother's egg, in replacement of the other woman's egg, is injected with the paternal father's sperm by way of artificial insemination. This would mean that the genetic mother is the surrogate but the legal mother is the woman who used the surrogate.

The other form of surrogacy is gestational surrogacy. In this process, the surrogate can be genetically unrelated to the child that she carries in her womb. This would mean that a fertilized egg by a couple would be implanted inside of a surrogate's womb. This method may be chosen by women who cannot safely bear their own child. There are many different reasons why a couple or an individual would consider surrogacy. The reasons are vast but the end goal is the same. Those who chose the path of surrogacy want a child that they can call their own.

What happens to the surrogate mother though? Not every woman can become a surrogate mother. Generally, a woman must be between the ages of 21 and 38 and many require that a woman has given birth at least once in the past so that she is aware of any possible complications with birth that she may or may not have. A woman with transmittable diseases may not qualify as a surrogate because this would put a baby at risk. Overall, a surrogate mother must be healthy enough to successfully carry and bear a child on behalf of another.

Typically, the process of surrogacy rests on the principle of no further legal responsibility after the child is born. This is where the terms of the surrogacy contract are incredibly important. Most surrogate mothers sign a document that relinquishes all of their parental rights after the child is born. If the woman who will be the legal mother's egg is not used, this relinquishment of rights frees the to-be legal mother to be able to adopt the child. In cases where a sperm donor is used, a document will have to be signed by the donor in order to guarantee that his parental rights are relinquished from that point on.

Documentation is incredibly important in the case of surrogacy. There are legal issues that can arise with surrogate mothers. If a contract releasing the surrogate from parental rights is not signed until after the child is born, the surrogate may change her mind and want to keep the child or retain some sort of parental rights. It is for this reason that you would benefit from a skilled family law attorney to litigate these kinds of complicated issues to ensure that a child belongs to its rightful parents.