It’s important to start by saying, the process of surrogacy in Australia is not an easy one.

Firstly, the intending mum/parents have to find their own surrogate.

A surrogate cannot be paid, the process must be altruistic. The people involved will need to go through IVF and create embryos, and VARTA (the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority) must approve the surrogacy.

In Australia, there must be a good medical reason, such as having had a hysterectomy for cancer, or other problems meaning the intending mum can’t carry a baby safely. VARTA (the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority) must approve all cases of surrogacy. They would never allow surrogacy to go ahead just because a woman didn’t want to carry a baby herself.

Deciding on surrogacy is more emotionally taxing than being able to carry a baby yourself.

There is the financial and emotional cost of everything involved in the process.
It is hard to find and decide on a surrogate. There is obligatory counselling and legal arrangements to prepare for.

You have all the normal worries of the pregnancy, but also the additional worry of the health of the surrogate.

You must be sure that you and the surrogate agree on a whole range of things. For example – I had a case where the surrogate would not have vaccinations during the pregnancy and the intending parents were pro-vaccination. Problems could also arise if the intending parents and surrogate had different ideas about testing for abnormalities during pregnancy. There are a range of support materials for anyone seeking a surrogate and you should take the time to review this documents to assist you through the process.

Eventually, an embryo will be transferred into the surrogate.

Just like every other pregnancy, there are different things that different families will need to agree on, for instance, I had a case where the surrogate would not have vaccinations during the pregnancy and the intending parents were pro-vaccination. Problems could also arise if the intending parents and surrogate had different ideas about testing for abnormalities during pregnancy.

Media: Body And Soul Magazine.

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