Couples look forward to Surrogacy Regularization in India

In Oct 2008, the Supreme Court ruled that "commercial surrogacy is legal and an industry in India", making it a legally protected and viable option for international couples. Now after 12 years, surrogacy in India has become a debatable sector.

Compensation, age and consent of the surrogate mother – the three major factors to be considered in surrogacy bill. Winter session of parliament is close and everyone has crossed fingers for a benchmark decision on surrogacy in India. Surrogacy in India has always been a controversial subject with activists blaming foreigners for exploiting poor women.

Recently, Department Of Health Research (Health Ministry) V M Katoch said to a leading newspaper that the final draft bill is now lying with the law ministry and, after being cleared, will be presented before the cabinet for approval.

It is a clear hint that the most debated practice in India is on the lines of regularization. In past 12 years, India helped thousands of couples to have children but the recent turn of events has put the practice under the scanner. Tightening of laws is suggested by activists and doctors to make the process transparent. India now has only the guidelines the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) released in 2002.

The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation)Bill, 2013, it seeks to address issues like how many pregnancies can be allowed for a surrogate mother, the age of the mother and due compensation to be paid to her. The bill will also provide a framework for letting foreigners use Indian surrogate mothers.

In 2012, an Australian couple left behind one of the twins born to an Indian surrogate mother because they could not afford to bring up two children back home. Earlier in 2010, a German couple, Jan Balaz and Susan Lohle, had to wait for two years before they could take their twin babies home. Their twin sons, Nikolas and Leonard, were trapped in a citizenship limbo ever since an Indian surrogate mother gave birth to them in February 2008. The boys were refused passports by their parents` homeland because German nationality is determined by the birth mother. The issue was finally settled after a prolonged court battle.

According to a 2012 study by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), an estimated 10,000 foreign couples visit India for reproductive services and nearly 30 percent are either single or gay. In earlier versions - in 2008 and 2010 - the bill relied on contract law to establish a relationship between the commissioning parents and the clinic. In the current version, the bill states that a professional surrogate will be hired by a government-recognized ART Bank and not private fertility clinics, which is the current practice. The compensation, as per the 2013 draft, will be a private negotiation between the surrogate mother and commissioning parents.

Highlights of Assisted Reproductive Technologies(Regulation) Bill, 2013,

-       The Bill addresses all issues pertaining to ethics in commercial surrogacy.

-       The Bill is only to help infertile couples and should act as a deterrent to commercial surrogacy.

The CII study estimated that nearly 10,000 foreign couples visit India for reproductive services and nearly 30% are either single or homosexual.

-        However, the Surrogacy Bill will disqualify homosexual couples, foreign single individuals and couples in live-in relationships from having children through surrogate mothers in India. The law also imposes age restrictions on surrogate mothers.

-        Homosexuals and foreign single individuals are barred from seeking surrogacy assistance in India.

-       Other than this, many restrictions imposed are not encouraging for business.

In earlier versions—in 2008 and 2010—the ART Bill relied on contract law to establish a relationship between the commissioning parents and the clinic. In the current version, the Bill states that a professional surrogate will be hired by a government-recognized ART Bank and not private fertility clinics, the current practice.

-         The compensation, as per the 2013 draft, will be a private negotiation between the surrogate mother and commissioning parents. Currently, IVF clinics decide the amount and pay the surrogate mother a portion. 

Last year, Home Ministry laid down certain norms on surrogacy as an immediate attempt to define the contours ofsurrogacy activities in India,

-        Home Ministry lays down conditions for grant of visa to foreign couples commissioning surrogacy in India

-        Home Ministry has already announced that it will not give tourist visas to foreigner nationals coming to India for commissioning surrogacy, of which several cases have been reported.

-        In order to ensure that the surrogate mother’s interests are protected, the Ministry said, such a visa may only be granted if certain conditions are fulfilled — the foreign man and woman must be duly married for at least two years.

-         The Ministry will also insist that the Indian embassy or Foreign Ministry of the country concerned enclose an acknowledgement, along with the visa application, that the country recognises surrogacy and that the child/children to be born to the commissioning couple through the Indian surrogate mother will be permitted entry into their country as a biological child/children of the couple.

-        Besides, the couple should produce a duly notarised agreement between the applicant couple and the prospective Indian surrogate mother. The Ministry has informed the Indian missions abroad that the commissioning couple needs to be told that they must obtain “exit” permission from the Foreign Regional Registration Offices before leaving India for their return journey.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Obstetrician & IVF Specialist

(MS, DNB, FMAS, DRM - Germany)

MBBS - Lady Harding Medical College - New Delhi

MS - Obstetrics and Gynecology (PGI - Rohtak)

DNB - Obstetrics and Gynecology

FMAS - World Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons

DRM - Diploma in Reproductive Medicine (Germany)

Fellow in IVF & Embryology – (USA)

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Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre

(Mata Laxmi Nursing Home)

Anupam Nagar, Near T.V. Tower, Raipur (Chhattisgarh) India

Phone:  +91- 771- 4052967, +91- 771- 4053285 Mobile:  +91- 9873083334, +91- 9329630455

Email - contact@raipurivf.com

Visit Our Websites

Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre - Raipur

Low Cost IVF India - Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre

Pahlajani Critical Pregnancy Care Centre - Raipur

What Is India Doing to Regularise Surrogacy

Pregnancy involves the whole person, body and mind, at every conscious and unconscious moment for nine months. The act of procreation, the primal behavior of human beings, is a gift which has helped thousands of infertile couples through Surrogacy in India. It is often termed as womb-renting, which represents the final conquest of the couples, who have failed to conceive despite several attempts.

Unending quest for a child has been answered by surrogate mothers. However, becoming a surrogate mother is often looked down as a way for women in socially vulnerable positions to sell fundamental human rights. But, in 12 years of its legal existence in India, surrogacy has emerged as the most preferred option for couples to complete their families. Surrogacy has not only given an answerto fertility problems but also has harnessed the technology to enhance reproductive freedom.

Woman undergoes enormous emotional challenges posed by the unrequited desire to have a child of one's own. Even the surrogacy in Raipur has witnessed a positive boast from all directions.

However, some social workers and feminist organization have condemned surrogate motherhood. They have argued that surrogacy exploits the woman’s body and her reproductive organs, and violates poor women’s human rights. The industry has been criticised for operating in a regulatory vacuum, and while there are some rules for people who take the journey to India, it is still a minefield for many unsuspecting parents.

If we consider the feminist approach, we would have to think that surrogacy means exploiting a woman’s body and her rights. Surrogacy has always been debated on ethical and legal issues. Even the argument from equality, specifically LGBT equality, has denied dying.

Recently, the Australian couple's move to abandon one of their twins born via a surrogate mother in India has raised new controversy for surrogacy in India. The case dates back to 2012 although it came to light recently after a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The report said the couple returned home with the baby girl while her brother was left behind.

Taking a strict cognisance, the Health Ministry has proposed new moves to regulate surrogacy and in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in India. The new rules will make couples mandatory to take custody of their child born through surrogacy. The bill also seeks to address issues like how many pregnancies can be allowed for a surrogate mother, the age of the mother and due compensation to be paid to her.

However, the new rules may bar foreigners from having surrogate babies in India. The Bill will also allow single parents to have children through surrogates. The Bill states that health insurance and regular tests will be make mandatory for surrogates. The proposed Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill is likely to be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament.

India is taking a move to regularise the industry for convenience of both surrogate mother and commissioning parents.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Obstetrician & IVF Specialist

(MS, DNB, FMAS, DRM - Germany)

MBBS - Lady Harding Medical College - New Delhi

MS - Obstetrics and Gynecology (PGI - Rohtak)

DNB - Obstetrics and Gynecology

FMAS - World Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons

DRM - Diploma in Reproductive Medicine (Germany)

Fellow in IVF & Embryology – (USA)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre

(Mata Laxmi Nursing Home)

Anupam Nagar, Near T.V. Tower, Raipur (Chhattisgarh) India

Phone:  +91- 771- 4052967, +91- 771- 4053285 Mobile:  +91- 9873083334, +91- 9329630455

Email - contact@raipurivf.com

Visit Our Websites

Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre - Raipur

Low Cost IVF India - Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre

Pahlajani Critical Pregnancy Care Centre - Raipur

Why Surrogacy in India?

Infertility is one of the biggest health issues faced by people today. Around 20-25 per cent women of child bearing age in India are obese. This increases the chances of them suffering from PCOS. There are multiple interventions available to treat infertility, IVF being the most advanced. In Indian, the medical equipment industry has also spurred growth. Low cost surrogacy in Raipur and IVF in Raipur has become an option for lot of couples in India and in abroad to have their children through surrogacy.

In India, modernity has trampled over traditional taboos. It is proven by the fact that none of the family members, even in-laws, of the surrogates interviewed in Hyderabad objected to their decision as long as it brought returns.

Surrogacy involves the carrying of an embryo and the subsequent birthing of a baby by one woman, referred to as the surrogate, for another individual or couple. There are two primary types of surrogacy - traditional and gestational. 

With gestational surrogacy, because the sperm and the egg both come from the intended child's biological parents, the surrogate will not be biologically related to the child and is only used for carrying purposes. This can be of extreme importance to many parents.

Using In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), it typically takes between three and five days before the embryo develops in the lab before it can be implanted into the uterus of the surrogate. Once the surrogate has been impregnated, she will then carry the embryo until the time of the child's birth. Low cost surrogacy  has given a chance to many couples for starting their families.

Because many women are capable of producing healthy eggs, yet are not able to become pregnant, they are ideal candidates to choose a gestational surrogate, as are those who may be able to become pregnant but have a history of miscarriage. 

What is Egg Donation?

A woman desiring to be an egg donor provides several eggs during one cycle to the intended parents to help them create their child. Egg donation is highly desirable for intended parents, regardless of whether the intended mother or a gestational surrogate will ultimately carry the pregnancy because the donated eggs belong solely to the intended parents immediately when the doctor harvests them from the egg donor’s ovaries. The egg donor has no claim or control over the eggs or resulting embryos, regardless of whether they will be fertilized with the sperm of the intended father or donor sperm, and regardless of whether the resulting embryos will be transferred to the uterus of the intended mother or a gestational surrogate.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Obstetrician & IVF Specialist

(MS, DNB, FMAS, DRM - Germany)

MBBS - Lady Harding Medical College - New Delhi

MS - Obstetrics and Gynecology (PGI - Rohtak)

DNB - Obstetrics and Gynecology

FMAS - World Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons

DRM - Diploma in Reproductive Medicine (Germany)

Fellow in IVF & Embryology – (USA)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre

(Mata Laxmi Nursing Home)

Anupam Nagar, Near T.V. Tower, Raipur (Chhattisgarh) India

Phone:  +91- 771- 4052967, +91- 771- 4053285 Mobile:  +91- 9873083334, +91- 9329630455

Email - contact@raipurivf.com

Visit Our Websites

Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre - Raipur

Low Cost IVF India - Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre

Pahlajani Critical Pregnancy Care Centre - Raipur

How to deal with failed IVF

How to deal with failed IVF

The introduction of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) more than 30 years ago has made parenthood possible for millions who otherwise would never have been able to conceive. When your body says no to in vitro, you at least have options like surrogacy to discover and still have child with your own genes.

It is understandable that an IVF procedure requires an enormous emotional commitment at each level of the program, whether or not IVF is successful. From a personal experience, it was observed when the couples were undergoing IVF in Raipur, failed IVF leaves broken heart.

What if experiencing the failure of your last IVF is the key that begins to end the misconceptions? What if spending time with your tender broken heart can not only help balance your hormones, but can help you heal every other failure you have yet to heal? 

Technical Truths

IVF patients need to be prepared for the fact that about 15-20% of pregnancies miscarry, and the risk of miscarriage after in vitro fertilization is probably the same as for natural conception. The reason the IVF miscarriage rate sometimes appears to be higher is that an IVF pregnancy is diagnosed long before it normally would be in the case of a natural pregnancy.

Most women who conceive on their own do not test themselves for pregnancy until they have missed their period, whereas with IVF the diagnosis of pregnancy is made before the woman misses a period. One should remember, however, that a pregnancy is not confirmed until the presence of a gestational sac has been diagnosed by ultrasound. If this criterion is used to verify pregnancy, then the miscarriage rate with IVF is no greater than that of the population at large.

Ask yourself. You are not a quitter right?

But miscarriage can have a positive side, however. Painful as it is to the couple, the very fact that they conceived at all indicates they are likely to be able to do so again. It is reasonable to expect that although a successful pregnancy was not achieved on the first try, the fact that they could initiate a pregnancy means that their overall chances of having a baby will increase on subsequent IVF attempts.

A failed IVF or a canceled in vitro cycle can be the first step of real healing. Don’t blame it on assisted reproduction for the rest of your fertility journey.

The physical demands of IVF ranging from the annoyance of hormone shots and blood tests to the discomfort of egg retrieval for the woman and the need for the man to produce a semen specimen on demand, all add to the emotional stress associated with the process. 

So, be emotionally prepared and call for support from your family throughout the treatment cycle. It will help both partners cope more effectively with the physical demands on the woman.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Website

http://www.raipurivf.com/

http://www.pahlajanipregnancycare.com/

http://lowcostivfindia.com/

Email

drpahlajaniraipur@gmail.com

What is Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill, 2013?

Commercial surrogacy is practiced in India, where the surrogate mother agrees to carry a pregnancy to term for a fee for commissioning couples. A study conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in the year 2012 revealed that the surrogacy sector is worth $2 billion, despite being completely unregulated.

After regular attempts to regulate the surrogacy sector in India, an Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill, 2013—an attempt by India to regulate commercial surrogacy—is likely to be presented to the cabinet on Thursday before being introduced in Parliament.

After making necessary modifications in the earlier versions of the bill passed in 2008 and 2010, the cabinet approved it with the vetting from Law Ministry and Planning Commission.

Below are the few highlights of Assisted Reproductive Technologies(Regulation) Bill, 2013,

-       The Bill addresses all issues pertaining to ethics in commercial surrogacy.

-       The Bill is only to help infertile couples and should act as a deterrent to commercial surrogacy.

The CII study estimated that nearly 10,000 foreign couples visit India for reproductive services and nearly 30% are either single or homosexual.

-        However, the Surrogacy Bill will disqualify homosexual couples, foreign single individuals and couples in live-in relationships from having children through surrogate mothers in India. The law also imposes age restrictions on surrogate mothers.

-        Homosexuals and foreign single individuals are barred from seeking surrogacy assistance in India.

-       Other than this, many restrictions imposed are not encouraging for business.

In earlier versions—in 2008 and 2010—the ART Bill relied on contract law to establish a relationship between the commissioning parents and the clinic. In the current version, the Bill states that a professional surrogate will be hired by a government-recognized ART Bank and not private fertility clinics, the current practice.

-         The compensation, as per the 2013 draft, will be a private negotiation between the surrogate mother and commissioning parents. Currently, IVF clinics decide the amount and pay the surrogate mother a portion. 

Last year, Home Ministry laid down certain norms on surrogacy as an immediate attempt to define the contours of surrogacy activities in India,

-        Home Ministry lays down conditions for grant of visa to foreign couples commissioning surrogacy in India

-        Home Ministry has already announced that it will not give tourist visas to foreigner nationals coming to India for commissioning surrogacy, of which several cases have been reported.

-        In order to ensure that the surrogate mother’s interests are protected, the Ministry said, such a visa may only be granted if certain conditions are fulfilled — the foreign man and woman must be duly married for at least two years.

-         The Ministry will also insist that the Indian embassy or Foreign Ministry of the country concerned enclose an acknowledgement, along with the visa application, that the country recognises surrogacy and that the child/children to be born to the commissioning couple through the Indian surrogate mother will be permitted entry into their country as a biological child/children of the couple.

-        Besides, the couple should produce a duly notarised agreement between the applicant couple and the prospective Indian surrogate mother. The Ministry has informed the Indian missions abroad that the commissioning couple needs to be told that they must obtain “exit” permission from the Foreign Regional Registration Offices before leaving India for their return journey.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

For surrogacy assistance visit our website – www.raipurivf.com

Or email – drpahlajaniraipur@gmail.com

Life of Surrogates at Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Center

Referring to one of the news publishing about social activists demanding to ban commercial surrogacy and to regularise it like egg donation. In the article, the data of three states are cited in reference to illiteracy, poverty and unemployment of women, who are mostly unaware of the contract terms and agree to become a surrogate mother mainly for funding the education of their children.

However, the scenario is different for women agreeing to assist infertile couples for surrogacy in Raipur. Although, Chhattisgarh has high women illiteracy rate but women who agree to become surrogate mothers for interfile couples at 

Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Center are given best understanding of the contract to ensure transparency and safeguard of the rights of both surrogate and infertile couple. 

To ensure that a surrogate does not feel exploited, a better understanding of her expectations from the process is taken. Considering that surrogacy is “commercial” in India, the balance in cost of surrogacy in India and remuneration to the surrogate mother is maintained.

At Pahlajani Surrogacy Care, the surrogates are kept under best medical care. They live in an environment of peace and sisterhood under the roof of Pahlajani Surrogacy Home, where they are given best medical assistance.

Indian surrogacy is often targeted about the authenticity of contract signed between commissioning parents and surrogates. The fact cannot be denied that there are several clinics which do not adhere to the provisions of remunerations. However, Pahlajani Surrogacy Care ensures that the rights of a surrogate, who is assisting a childless couple to complete their family.

Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Center is the only center in Chhattisgarh having an in-house embryologist and does not conduct IVF/ICSI in batches. With the number of successes in helping the childless couples in having their babies by providing best medical assistance to both surrogate and commissioning couple, we have climbed another step in the ladder of human connection. Knowing that giving birth for someone else is a job only a selfless human being with most giving heart can perform, Pahlajani Surrogacy Care derives its confidence from surrogates for showing their faith and performing commendable jobs for couples.

Along with the celebration of different festivals with the surrogates, we celebrate Mother’s Day, Women’s Day and even organise plantation drives for surrogates. Surrogates are made to feel like home in our surrogacy homes. The reports about the violation of laws and shortchanging the surrogates are baffling. Rights of surrogates should be safeguarded and they should be given best medical care.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

10 Must Read Books for Surrogates and Intended Parents

1.  Surrogate Motherhood and the Politics of Reproduction by Susan Markens (NON FICTION)

The book is about the social construction of surrogacy in the United States and debates surrounding two bills on surrogacy in 1992, one in California and one in New York, and at the way the feminist lobby and other factors shaped two very different outcomes. In New York surrogacy was eventually outlawed, while in California it is leniently practiced.

2.  Surrogate Motherhood: International Perspectives by Shelley Day Sclater (NON FICTION)

This edited collection takes an interdisciplinary approach to the subject of surrogacy, including perspectives from law, psychology, anthropology and social work.

3.  Surrogacy Was the Way: Twenty Intended Mothers Tell Their Stories by Zara Griswold (NON FICTION)

It is a collection of surrogacy journeys of mothers. Women becoming surrogates should read this book as it will be helpful in contracting a surrogate and even to those interested in becoming a surrogate for the insider perspective it provides.

4.  The Baby Business: How Money, Science, and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception by Debora L. Spar (NON FICTION)

This book gives the facts about commercial surrogacy and some interesting insights into the global market.

5.  Birthing a Mother: The Surrogate Body and the Pregnant Self by Elly Teman (NON FICTION)

Book narrates the personal experiences of surrogates and intended mothers. It breaks many common myths about surrogacy and about relationship between participants in gestational surrogacy arrangements.

6.  Surrogate Motherhood: Conception In The Heart (Institutional Structures of Feeling) by Helena Ragoné (NON FICTION)

The writer looks at traditional surrogates-- women who use their own egg and are inseminated with the intended father's sperm. The analysis sheds light on the way surrogacy changes established notions of kinship, family, and motherhood.

7. Due Date by Nancy W. Wood (FICTION)

Surrogate mother Shelby McDougall just fell for the biggest con of all—a scam that risks her life and the lives of her unborn twins.

Shelby McDougall, recent college graduate, is facing a mountain of student debt and carting a burden she'd like to exorcise. But Jackson and Diane have their own secret agenda, one that has nothing to do with diapers and lullabies.

8. Womb for Rent by Amanda Brian (FICTION)

It is two books in one.  It has stories of a wealthy business tycoon Derek Cameron and his own resident pet sitter Talli Paxton, and Jenna McBay, who owns a bookstore and wants to wed a man of means.

9. Her Sister's Baby by Janice Kay Johnson (FICTION)

Colleen will do anything for her sister Sheila, including having her baby. Sheila's husband, Michael, wants a baby, too. When Colleen offers to be a surrogate for his wife, he's deeply grateful.

10. And Baby Makes More: Known Donors, Queer Parents, and Our Unexpected Families by Susan Goldberg, Chloë Brushwood Rose (FICTION)

(Courtesy: www.goodreads.com)

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Embryo Donation and Adoption

Embryo Donation is a method of family building, which combines assisted reproductive technology with adoption, so that instead of adopting a baby, infertile couples adopt an embryo. It is a form of third party reproduction, in which couples give their embryos to another couple after successful IVF. This embryo is transferred to recipient mother’s uterus to facilitate pregnancy.

At Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Center, when we perform IVF, young women often produce many eggs. These can be stored, and we do this by freezing them in liquid nitrogen at -196 degree Celsius. If the parents get pregnant they often agree to donate their embryos to other infertile couples, to help them start families.

Therefore, when you undergo in-vitro fertilization, conceive a child and find yourself left with extra embryos, then you can donate your embryos to couples in need.  Couples often freeze their embryos in case they want to expand their family more someday. But, if they decide not to expand their families further, they can donate the remaining embryos to infertile couples.

Embryo donation can be done anonymously or on an open basis. Occasionally, a "semi-open" arrangement is used in which the parties know family and other information about each other, but their real names and locating information are withheld, in order to provide a layer of privacy protection.

Couples who want to donate embryos have two options: They can go through a fertility clinic or an agency, and the experiences are quite different. Interested recipients undergo physical and psychological screening. If it’s a match, the embryos change hands anonymously.

Embryo donation can be carried out as a service of an individual infertility clinic (where donor and recipient families typically live in the local area and are both patients of the same clinic) or by any of several national organizations. The process described below is typical of an "adoption-agency-based" national program.

Genetic parents entering an embryo adoption program are offered the benefits of selecting the adoptive parents from the agency's pool of prescreened applicants. Embryo ownership is transferred directly from the genetic parents to the adoptive parents. Genetic parents may be updated by the agency when a successful pregnancy is achieved and when a child(ren) is/are born. The genetic parents and adoptive parents may negotiate their own terms for future contact between the families.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Surrogacy in India Mythology

It was from the period of Mahabharat that surrogacy was practiced started. Not commercial though, but practice of carrying child for intended mother. There are references in Indian mythology to surrogacy, most notably in the legend surrounding Lord Krishna.

Notably, before the advent of modern assisted conception techniques, natural surrogacy was the only means of helping childless women to have children. Later as artificial insemination was accepted, this became the usual means of achieving pregnancy in cases of infertility, being more socially acceptable than the natural way. When assisted conception methods such as invitro fertilization (IVF) become available, it was a method to use the eggs of the women wanting the baby/donor woman and the sperm of her husband/donor male, to create their embryos in vitro and transfer these to a suitable host.

Another story of embryo transfer was regarding the seventh pregnancy of Devaki, by the will of the Lord, the embryo was transferred to the womb of Rohini, the first wife of Vasudev, to prevent the baby being killed by baby Kamsa. Therefore, surrogacy is practiced in India from the time of Mahabharat. 

Surrogacy has been a sensitive issue in India and there is constant controversy over Indian laws to regularise surrogacy sector.

However, unlike countries like Germany and Canada, where surrogacy is outlawed, India has maintained that the surrogacy beneficial for both surrogate mother and intended parents. In United Kingdom, surrogacy is highly regulated and very expensive while in Germany, there have been a few controversial cases.

Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh has dominated its presence by constantly making news about increasing ‘surrogacy tourism’. Surrogacy in India has benefited couples from the world to have babies. Pahlajani IVF Center ensures extraordinary surrogacy journeys of both surrogate mother and intended parents.

Despite knowing that surrogacy is practiced in India since Mahabharat age but still people let the inhibitions grow and attach unnecessary doubts to the entire process. It cannot be ruled out that surrogacy requires having confidence in third person sometimes you meet for the first time but reputed IVF Clinics in India ensure resistance free surrogacy journey in India.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Tips for Surrogates to Keep themselves Healthy during Pregnancy

For many gestational surrogates, finding the time and energy to eat right and exercise throughout this exciting journey can be much easier said than done. It is suggested that surrogates should form a routine and keep themselves active. There are certain light exercises, and other simpler ways to keep surrogates healthy, few are as below -

1. Walk

Surrogates do not need to stick to rigorous workout routine to stay fit but should prefer to walk at least 30 to 60 minutes a day to keep themselves healthy. This would give you energy and also fresh.

2. Eat healthy

Eating habits would also keep the baby happy. Stick with your fitness and nutrition goals is to write everything down. Not only is this a great way to keep track of your eating and exercise during your pregnancy, it could also turn into a journal or log of your surrogacy experience.

3. Exercise

Surrogates should to avoid traditional crunches and only run with doctor’s approval, low impact cardio, using the elliptical machine or treadmill, and Pilates are great for targeting your core muscles without much discomfort.

4. Bond with Intended Mother 

She might be your email friend or even workout partner, surrogates should try to use the company of intended mothers to give her assurance that her baby is fine and how much you are carrying for it. Consider attending a weekly Pilates or yoga class, or simply going for walks and cooking a healthy a meal together.

5. Home remedies

Keep some prenatal workout videos on hand to do in the comfort of your own home. There are certain routines designed with modifications to suit pregnant mothers who need different energy levels to keep them active.

6. Drink water

Be sure to always keep water nearby and drink plenty of it. As your surrogacy progresses, your workouts will begin to feel more difficult. This is normal, so listen to what your body says and reduce the pace when it asks you to slow down.

Always be sure to your doctor regarding exercise you should be doing while pregnant. It is important for you and baby to be health. So, stay calm, workout and never allow stress to invade your life. Even the simplest daily activities can make a world of difference when it comes to keeping you active and feeling great.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

What Questions You Need to Ask Before Becoming a Surrogate?

Few questions that you need to ask before becoming a surrogate are as below-

1. What is your current health condition?

The most important consideration is good physical health. A surrogate mother in India should not have long term or life-threatening illness, should not be a smoker and or use illegal substances. Also, surrogate mother should not be obese because of health risks that would pose for both you and the baby. Other risks include diabetes and high blood pressure. Therefore, the surrogate should have normal Body Mass Index (BMI).

2. Stressed about your financial condition?

Even though you are becoming a surrogate for financial purpose but being stressed-out over money is an undesirable state at any time. Surrogates should not be worried about money. Your mental health can affect your physical well being. Therefore, the amount you receive for becoming a surrogate should never be the main or only reason for wanting to become a surrogate mother.

3. Who are your supporters?

If you chose to be a surrogate, you need to be clear about who all would be around you to assist and support you throughout the process. Although, Pahlajani Surrogacy Home gives you an environment of love and care you need to be around your family and friends who are enthusiastic and positive about her decision to help another family realize their dreams. Also, the prospective surrogate must have reliable transportation, and be able and willing to travel as necessary – for screening, meeting and matching with the intended parents, in-vitro fertilization, and routine medical testing.

4. Why you need to be comfortable about sharing your personal history?

Surrogates need to be open about their medical history and lifestyle with the intended couple as well as doctor. You need to be comfortable about sharing the history of pregnancies, abortions, and/or miscarriages; your psychological stability and any periods of depression or mental illness and your record regarding sexually transmitted disease.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Does Bollywood, Set trends to boost IVF-Surrogacy Fertility Industry

Every time babies born through surrogacy are in news; After Aamir Khan, Bollywood megastar Shahrukh Khan is all set to become a father for the third time having through a baby via Surrogacy.  We thank to the Khans of Bollywood; the growing fertility industry is happy. It is time for the industry to attract more couples and medical tourists from Europe and America as well as local would be parents. Incongruously, it was his arch-rival Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao who made headlines by declaring they were having a baby through in-vitro fertilisation or IVF which went a long way in making these topics mainstream and getting rid of the taboo attached to it.

"Surrogacy is slowly becoming a popular trend in India. Top quality equipment, favorable pricing and a hassle-free 'legal' process has made it ideal for couples who fail to conceive naturally," says Dr Neeraj Pahlajani, Senior IVF Consultant at Pahlajani Surrogacy India.

“The incidence of infertility is much more prevalent than what we would like to believe. Up to one in six couples have difficulties in conceiving and many seek medical advice and treatment. But bells of joy are ringing in the life of many such couples, thanks to increasing awareness about Assisted Reproductive Technologies. Procreation is the greatest, most amazing gift of nature. Whether or not one believes in rival theo­ries about origin of life, the arrival of a new-born is always a moment of pure joy. Great civilizations and great cre­ations are the result of the urge to leave the best for posterity. And posterity is what most humans are engaged in cre­ating.

Human reproduction is a complex sci­ence of union of chromosomes but it all begins with a union of two individ­uals of opposite sex with that specific purpose - procreation. Our huge pop­ulation might suggest otherwise but the fact remains that reproduction still remains one of the most serious prob­lems faced by our people. For those who are physically and physiologically normal, having a biological offspring of their own is just about as natural as any other activity but for those who face difficulty in having a child of their own, the disappointment and trauma are unimaginable.

But thanks to new, emerging tech­niques in human biology- particularly reproductive biology - it is now possi­ble for all those unhappy couples to get a little bundle of joy they can call their own child. Practices of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) have brought about a much-needed revolu­tion in human biology that has helped bring in happiness to hundreds of thousands of households around the world, but also helped the society get over the unfortunate stigma associ­ated with childlessness. The subject has been prohibited in the media and entertainment industry with the 2001 film Filhaal being the only serious attempt to focus attention on the issue. However, a string of recent events have not only brought the subject of assisted repro­duction out into the open for public discussion, but also revealed the ex­tent of the problem of infertility.

Infertility affects approximately 13-14% of reproductive-aged couples. It is defined as the inability to conceive after one year of properly timed, un­protected intercourse. This definition is based on the cumulative probability of pregnancy. If a woman in the reproductive age group and her partner have been trying to have a baby for at least one year with­out success, there are many tests, which can be done to find out the reasons why. If the cause of your infertility has not been investigated previously, the clinic will carry out the necessary tests. These tests may include an analysis of the man's semen and the conditions of the woman's uterus, fallopian tubes and cervical mucus.

While some patients will need only advice others may need drug therapy or surgery. But some may need counseling to go in for assisted re­productive techniques. The possible treatments of infertility include drug therapy; surgery to im­prove blocked or damages fallopian tubes; intra-uterine insemination using the husband's sperm; insemina­tion using donor sperm if the husband or partner has no sperm or very poor perm or risks passing on an inherited disease, in-vitro fertilization (IVF); egg donation with IVF; embryo donation and a few other techniques. An increasing number of women aged above 35 years, especially profession­als and upwardly mobile, are now re­ported to be opting for having children through IVF technique.

Experts suggest that late marriages, ca­reer priorities and finance are the key reasons for this trend. National Registry of Assisted Repro­duction in India, which main­tains records of all in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) procedures in India, reveal that the number of women seeking test-tube babies has more than doubled since 2005. Doctors say that nearly 60% of patients above 40 have difficulty in conceiving naturally. The delay in opting for preg­nancy can be attributed to various rea­sons such as late marriage, career priorities and financial security. And due to awareness of procedures like IVF, women in their late 30s wanting a baby are more open to approaching doctors.

In Raipur - Chhattisgarh, the Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre does 150-200 IVF procedures annually, of which more than 50% are for women over 35. Most of these women are in the middle class, upper middle class, and high society, includ­ing many career women trying to beat the biological clock.

In National and International Arena

Celebrity endorsement of ART may be a recent happening in India, but in the west, it has always been a subject that captured public imagination. A host of celebrities have admitted without hes­itation about their reasons for turning to surrogacy. Hollywood actress Jen­nifer Lopez is reported to have gone in for Assisted Reproductive Technology at the age of 38; Other Hollywood celebrities included Emma Thomp­son, Courtney Cox and Celine Dion. A recent example is that of Hollywood actress Elizabeth Banks has a ten-month-old son through surrogacy and combines work as an actress with her new role as a mother.

Back to Bollywood again, assisted reproduction has become much talked-about because of a series of developments. First it was the birth of a child to film director Farah Khan who had been very open about the IVF procedure she chose to have a child. "I wanted to have chil­dren at a particular time and I had to choose IVF for it," she has said on record.

In December 2011, actor Aamir Khan announced the birth of a baby boy through surrogacy. His wife Kiran had a serious problem because of which she had problems in child birth. She had been advised IVF with the help of a surrogate, and this led to the accomplishment of having a son for her and Aamir. In the letter that Aamir and wife Kiran released to the media they thanked mir­acles of science and read: "This baby is especially dear to us because he was born to us after a long wait and some difficulty." It added that because of some complications, "we were advised to have a baby through IVF-surrogacy, and we feel very grateful to the Almighty that all has gone well."

Hopefully, this will take away the stigma attached to IVF in general and surro­gacy in particular, and more and more couples aspiring for parenthood will us surrogates to help them complete their family. IVF specialists hope that more and more couples shed their fears and come forward to fulfill their hopes of parenthood. However, some experts point out that if surrogacy gains popularity then it may become more acceptable as a method of family building and many-other infertile couples will follow blindly therefore misusing or overus­ing this technique. Due to lack of a proper law on surrogacy, the process remains a grey area. Presently, guide­lines formulated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 2005 are used for surrogacy cases. The latest development to clear the air about ART was the film Vicky Donor. Sperm donation laws vary all over the world, for example a single woman in India is allowed ART but it is illegal in various countries, so interested couples might travel to India where it is legal. Films -in India and elsewhere - have always played a crucial role in spread­ing awareness about social issues and problems. Right since the days when to interpretation of previously unthinkable subjects, films and tel­evision have helped in forming of pub­lic opinions. Hopefully, ART will be more widely acceptable now.