REQUIREMENTS TO HEALTH OF SURROGATE MOTHERS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Each surrogate mother must meet certain health criteria in order to make sure that she can bear a child and give birth without risk to her health and the life and health of the baby.

When you become pregnant in the surrogacy motherhood program, the couple hopes for your help to become parents and get the long-awaited baby. They will invest a lot of time, finances, emotions in the surrogacy motherhood program, so it is very important that you give them a chance to feel the joy of the birth of their biological child.

One of the most important criteria for assessing your ability to become a surrogate mother is an objective assessment of your state of health. Under supervision of surrogacy agency, you work for to become a gestational courier, you need to meet certain standards regarding lifestyle and health in order to be sure that you are able not only to undergo certain treatment and preparation for pregnancy but to deliver a healthy child without complications.

Surrogate requirements, including health requirements, vary from agency to agency, from clinic to clinic, but most surrogacy maternity specialists require a certain screening before you enter the surrogate motherhood program as a gestational courier. These examinations may include:

• Initial examination: the basic information forms about you with a history of pregnancy and / or surrogacy motherhood are usually filled in.
• Background screening: surrogacy motherhood agencies usually conduct federal and state criminal investigations, as well as financial checks, to make sure that you can effectively maintain yourself financially, regardless of surrogacy compensation. As the couple trusts you with their dream to become biological parents, these screenings are necessary to not only reassure them, but also to make sure that you are able to become a surrogate mother in general.
• Psychosocial screening: A social worker from your surrogacy motherhood agency can interview you and your husband, if applicable, in your home or in your office to assess your mental state and determine whether you are emotionally ready to become a surrogate mother. A specialist will evaluate your current emotions, ask what you feel during pregnancy and ask you to share your memories of your feelings after the birth of your child. It is important that you are psychologically ready for the process of surrogacy motherhood and decided to participate in the program for the right reasons.
• Health assessment: you need to visit a fertility specialist to make sure that you are physically fit for pregnancy. This screening will include screening of your personal history, laboratory blood and urine tests and a general examination by your doctor to make sure that you are ready for pregnancy.

In addition to these surrogate requirements, you also have to agree to abstain from alcohol, drugs and smoking during pregnancy to give the unborn child the maximum opportunity for a healthy pregnancy and birth. Other aspects to be taken into consideration when deciding whether you can become a surrogate mother will vary depending on the agency, but many agencies require that you already have given birth to a healthy child, your spouse approves your desire to become a surrogate mother and you do not use governmental subsidies.

As for the requirements for the health of the future surrogate mother, there are a number of common questions that need to be considered when deciding to become a surrogate mother. Your doctor will give you the most accurate conclusion about your state of health and answer the question of whether you can be a surrogate mother. Potential parents may also have certain requirements for a surrogate mother for their child, which may somewhat affect the waiting time to meet the pair's criteria.

Recall that the surrogate mother requirements vary depending on the clinic and the agency, but here are the answers to the most common questions about surrogate motherhood.

How old can a surrogate mother be? Why is there an age limit for surrogate mothers?

If you want to become a surrogate mother, you must be 21 to maximally 40 years old. As with any pregnancy, the older a woman, the higher the risk of complications, so many clinics dealing with IVF establish age limits for surrogate mothers. Women over 35 are excepted only in case their health condition is almost perfect.

Can you become a surrogate mother after tubal ligation?

You can become a surrogate mother, even if your tubes are ligated. Since pregnancy within surrogacy motherhood program occurs after the IVF procedure, when the embryo is obtained by fertilizing the biological mother's oocytes with the sperm of the biological father, the tubal ligation, which prevents the ovulation of the surrogate mother, plays no part in the process of pregnancy.

Can I be a surrogate mother if I have a human papillomavirus?

Most often, HPV does not affect the development of the child during intrauterine development. HPV is the most common type of STI in the U.S. And most often is a manifestation of genital warts. If you have an exacerbation of HPV in the last trimester of pregnancy, you will most likely be assigned a cesarean section to prevent the transmission of HPV to the baby.

Can you become a surrogate mother if you have the herpes virus?

Just like HPV, it is very rare that herpes in a surrogate mother provokes the birth of birth defects in the child. However, if the exacerbation of the disease occurred shortly before the birth, it is advisable to conduct a cesarean section in order to avoid infection of the child.

Can I be an HIV-positive surrogate mother?

Because HIV can be transmitted to a child through the placenta or during childbirth, you can not be a surrogate mother if you have a positive reaction to HIV.

Can I become a surrogate mother after pre-eclampsia?

Pre-eclampsia is a dangerous condition characterized by high blood pressure, impaired renal function, central nervous system and other vital human systems. If in the previous pregnancy you had pre-eclampsia, the probability of recurrence of this disease in subsequent pregnancies is high. Most likely you are not recommended for surrogate motherhood. You can get more information about this from your doctor.

Can you become a surrogate mother after ablation of the endometrium of the uterus?

The probability of pregnancy after ablation of the endometrium is extremely low, because with this manipulation the inner layer of the uterus is disrupted, which greatly reduces the success of implantation of the embryo. Even if pregnancy after ablation comes, the risk of miscarriage and other complications of pregnancy increases greatly. Most clinics will not accept you for surrogacy motherhood program if you have suffered ablation.

Can I participate in a surrogacy motherhood program with endometriosis?

Endometriosis may interfere with the onset of pregnancy and lead to miscarriage. Your attending physician will be able to objectively assess the extent of your illness and determine the chances of a successful course of pregnancy.

Are there any restrictions on participation in the surrogate motherhood program with polycystic ovary syndrome?

Although PCOS primarily affects your ovulation and the ability to conceive a child, it can also affect the course of a surrogate`s pregnancy. For women with polycystic ovary syndrome, such diseases as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and endometrial cancer are more common. As a rule, such women are more likely to give birth with caesarean section. With PCOS it is likely to give birth to a premature baby. Although only a doctor can determine the stage of your illness and its impact on the ability to bear and give birth to a child, the likelihood that you can be a surrogate mother is negligible.

Can a woman with adenomyosis be a surrogate mother?

Adenomyosis is a disease, when the endometrial tissue starts to germinate into the muscular layers of the uterus. This can negatively affect the implantation of the embryo inside the uterus, although the disease is treatable by reproductive physicians with the help of hormonal therapy. Talk with your doctor about whether adenomyosis will affect your ability to successfully tolerate pregnancy.

Can a woman in menopause be a surrogate mother?

Some agencies take women over 40 years of old to participate in the surrogacy motherhood program. The onset of pregnancy after menopause can cause many complications for you and the baby due to the fact that menopause is the way your body stops future pregnancies. It is extremely unlikely that after the onset of menopause you can become a surrogate mother.

Why can I not participate in the surrogacy motherhood program?

Despite the fact that agencies and clinics make different conditions for future surrogate mothers to participate in the program, your previous pregnancies should have been healthy and not complicated so that you could become a successful surrogate mother. Possible obstacles that will not allow you to become a surrogate mother may be premature births, miscarriages, abnormal placenta previa and other problems requiring medical intervention. Your doctor will tell you what problems that have occurred in previous pregnancies may not allow you to become a surrogate mother.

How long do I need to wait after the birth of a child to become a surrogate mother?

As a rule, reproductive clinics require that at least three months after natural delivery and at least six months after cesarean section have passed. However, in most cases you will have to wait longer to enter the surrogate motherhood program, that is not less than a year to start new examinations and preparations.

I'm breast-feeding. Can I be a surrogate mother?

Breastfeeding inhibits the restoration of the normal hormonal balance of a woman after childbirth. Such an imbalance can cause serious problems with implantation of the embryo. Therefore, to become a surrogate mother, you will have to stop breastfeeding and wait for the renewal of the regular menstrual cycle for a more successful process of in vitro fertilization.

Can I be a surrogate mother if I have never been pregnant?

Most clinics and agencies require that you have at least one healthy child before you become a surrogate mother. A surrogate mother without the experience of pregnancy and childbirth is a topic of a discussion of many additional questions: can she bear the child? Are there any deviations that she does not know about? Can she ever get pregnant? Not only that, a woman who was never pregnant. It causes a lot of questions from doctors; the situation is also incomprehensible from the emotional point of view. You do not know what you will feel, bearing a child, what emotions you will have giving birth, how you will feel after the birth of a child. All surrogate mothers should be aware of what will happen to them in the course of pregnancy and be prepared physically and psychologically for pregnancy and childbirth. That is why most agencies and clinics do not accept women to participate in the surrogacy motherhood program without the experience of pregnancy and childbirth.

How many times can you be a surrogate mother?

There are many factors that need to be considered to determine how many times you can become a surrogate mother. The decision will be completely connected with the surrogacy motherhood agency with which you work, with your doctor and your clinic on obstetrics.

Are there any restrictions on weight in order to be a surrogate mother?

Many institutions and clinics of infertility adhere to the BMI standard, which determines whether your weight is excessive for your height. BMI for a future surrogate mother will vary depending on the agency, but it will usually be within the healthy range of 19-33.

The normal weight of the surrogate mother will help ensure a successful concept and reduce the risk of complications of pregnancy. You can calculate your BMI with the help of the formula: BMI = weight (kg) ÷ height2 (m2). You can also consult your doctor for additional advice about your BMI.

Can a woman with a mental illness in an anamnesis be a surrogate mother?

Individual requirements of the agency on this issue will differ. As a surrogate mother, you will have to be able to plan and attend meetings, take medication at the right time and be legally competent. If you have a mental illness that may affect your ability to do this, you may be denied in participation in the surrogacy motherhood program.

Being a surrogate mother is quite an emotional process, so you also need to be stable enough to cope with emotions during pregnancy and after the birth of a child. Most agencies will also require you to stop taking antidepressants or other medications from mental illness for a certain time before you can become a surrogate mother.

Can a woman with sickle-cell anemia be a surrogate mother?

If you have sickle cell disease, there is a high probability that you will experience health complications during surrogate pregnancy, including miscarriage, premature birth and low birth weight. Most likely, sickle-cell anemia will be too dangerous for the child you are carrying and will not allow you to become a surrogate mother.

Can you become a surrogate mother with diabetes?

If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, it will be more difficult for you to control your blood glucose levels during pregnancy. Although it is possible to have an uncomplicated pregnancy with diabetes, many institutions will refuse to participate in the program as a surrogate mother because of the possible risks to your health and the child you are carrying.

As in the case of normal pregnancy, a surrogacy pregnancy is associated with a risk of developing gestational diabetes, that is a diabetes that lasts throughout the pregnancy before the birth of the child. This represents a risk not only for you, but it can also affect the child's growth and development rates. If you have a history of gestational diabetes, this may not immediately be an obstacle to becoming a surrogate mother, but you need to speak with your doctor and the reproductive clinic specialists to determine the possible consequences of your individual situation.

These are general answers to questions that may arise regarding the health requirements of future surrogate mothers. However, we strongly recommend that you talk with your surrogacy motherhood agency, your personal doctor and your birth attendance clinic about any of your health conditions, and how they can affect your ability to endure pregnancy. Remember that the surrogate mother requirements vary from agency to agency, and your application process will help determine if you are psychologically and physically set to become a surrogate mother.