Due to increased declining health patterns in the people of our country, it invites more hazards to health. This may not concern the individuals at an early stage of life but can create problems later in life.

In the recent few years, the trend of surrogacy has been prevailing in our country. With celebrities and film stars going for this process, the stereotype and the orthoxidical approach associated with Surrogacy is fading away. This was not very common practice before, but with change in trends, attitudes and lifestyle patterns it has been generalized.

What is surrogacy?

Surrogacy is a process whereby, a woman agrees and conforms to carry for prospective parents who are unable to give birth to a child in return of a remuneration. The woman who carries the baby for nine months (instead of the prospective mother) is called the surrogate mother.

The eggs and sperms from which the embryo is developed are of the parents and therefore the genes of the parents and fetus remain the same.

The following are the reasons that the prospective parents have to rely on surrogacy-

1. Singles who feel like filling their family with that of a baby, opt for Surrogacy.
2. The delay in the age of the prospective parents often leads them to go in for surrogacy as increasing age results in lower libido and deterioration in the quality of eggs and sperms.
3. With unhealthy lifestyles, many modern couples face the problem of Recurrent Miscarriages. Such a miscarriage often leaves an imprint on the minds of the prospective parents which often leads them to be hesitant to conceive. Many such couples also go in for pregnancy.
4. With decriminalization of Section 377 in India, same-gender couples who are willing to complete their family can also go in for this.
5. In today’s modern times, to upkeep with the social prestige, many women avoid pregnancy to get away with unnecessary weight gains and disfiguredness and stretch marks on the body.

Thus, it very important to find the right surrogate mother for your baby since the actual development and formation takes place in the womb. It is always very essential to be abreast of the health issues of the surrogate mother and the baby and taking care of their nourishment. Also, a background check of the surrogate mother is important. Mutual consentment is necessary between both the parties and they must cater to one another’s need and satisfy them as well.

Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2016

But recently, the Lok Sabha passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2016 which only promotes altruistic Surrogacy whereby putting a complete ban on the commercial activities associated with Surrogacy. Which completes negates the interest of single couples and same-sex couples as it only seizes to focus on only Indian married couples who have been married for at least 5 years.

Altruistic Surrogacy thereby means that the surrogate mother shall not be gratified (in cash or in kind) except for the medical expenses borne by her. The law also states that the Surrogate Mother for the intending parents must be a “close” relative of the prospective parents. Therefore, the surrogate child born complying out of the rules and regulations of this law will be deemed to be the biological child of the expecting couples.

In conversation with Dr. Rita Bakshi, Senior Gynaecologist and IVF Expert, International Fertility Centre