What is involved in becoming a surrogate mother?

[juicychops]

my dp's sister cant carry a baby although can produce eggs. I had no idea about any of this until her mum told me confidentially during the week.

Anyway, since she told me i cant stop thinking about it. Her mum told me that even she is going to go to the docs to see if it is at all possible for her to be a surrogate mother but she is nearly 60.

i know her and her husband really want kids. they have had 2 failed attempts of IVF.

She has never mentioned that she cant have kids to me so i wouldn't ever bring it up until she did first, but i cant stop thinking that one day when she does bring it up, i pysically am able to do this for her.

Ive only been with dp for nearly 2 years, but i know his sis and her husband really well.

I also know this isn't a decision to be taken lightly, as emotionally there is a lot involved. but i cant stop thinking about how brilliant it would be for them to have a child and that i could do that for them.

i just wanted to know what the actual procedure is for this is from the start and how high the success rate is

bump i think it would be a wonderfull thing for you to do for your sil!
try a surogate site or wait for someone who bit more knowledgeable than me!

ive been on a few sites but it doesn't actually explain the procedure... its annoying. There are more sites than i imagined though!

bump

You sound like a lovely sil, no matter what you decide

A friend of mine was born without vagina/uterus, but with eggs: she found a surrogate online (I'm sorry, I don't know the site and am out of touch with her now) and they became fast friends. I know a fair bit about the process second-hand, and think I'm right in saying that the success rate with surrogacy is pretty good - the same as with pregnancy using donated eggs, which is near the 50% per cycle mark these days for some clinics, I think.

My knowledge is out of date, but thats what I remember - the process itself is basically IVF: my friend had drugs to stimulate her ovaries, had her eggs retrieved under light anaesthetic, eggs then mixed with partner's sperm etc; for the gestational carrier it involved having her cycle monitored using ultrasound, then having embryos inserted (via teeny tube inserted through vagina and cervix, feels a bit like a smear test, or not as bad) at opportune moment. Oh, and no sex from previous AF, of course!

You could get more up to date and specific info from the assisted conception forums, I reckon - its basically IVF where one woman goes through down regulation (where they control your natural cycle), stimulation, and retrieval - then the other woman goes through embryo transfer, and, hopefully, pregnancy.

HTH, and good luck gathering info, talking, and deciding - I imagine it could be an incredible journey, if it works out.