Cross Border Surrogacy

Cross-border legal and ethical problems has recently become a concern for Indian surrogacy sector especially after a Thai surrogate mother bore twins and the Australian parents took the healthy child and left the one with Down syndrome behind in Thailand.

Surrogacy is having another woman bear a child for someone else. Surrogacy in India and its increasing popularity has increased the movement of couples towards the country for assistance. However, the thriving business comes with risks of to devious online brokers, questionable private clinics, thriving underground market.

Why cross-border arrangements are risky?

In different countries, laws are different even medical practices, customs or codes of ethics. Looking at the positive aspects of surrogacy, it empowers women to choose whether to participate and gain financial compensation for their valued service. Surrogacy also permits otherwise childless men and women to have children.

In vitro fertilization is fertilization in a laboratory by mixing sperm with eggs surgically removed from an ovary followed by uterine implantation. IVF in Raipur offers assistance to the couples with egg donation, IUI and other fertility techniques.

Most common are two types of “traditional surrogacy” where the surrogate is the biological mother and the sperm is from the intended father or a donor. The other four types are “gestational surrogacy” where the surrogate is unrelated to the baby with the egg coming from the intended mother or donor, and the sperm is from the intended father or donor. When both the egg and sperm are from donors, the baby is genetically unrelated to the surrogate, the intended mother or the intended father. In addition, the actual parentage is often undisclosed or unknown.

Australia and the United States, relevant laws vary by state or province and type of surrogacy. For example, while New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia permit altruistic surrogacy and Arizona, Michigan and Nebraska forbid surrogacy— California, Connecticut and Massachusetts are surrogate-friendly, making them magnets for couples from other places with stringent anti-surrogacy laws.

How to go about surrogacy in India?

Generally, the couples considering surrogacy option are not sure how to go about the process, from where to start or who to consult. They might find it difficult to list down authentic surrogacy clinics from the list of numerous faux and dead links all over the internet which might lead them nowhere. For them, there are few things they should consider before selecting a particular clinic.

1.      Ensure that you establish a direct contact with the doctor and not through any agencies.

2.    Read the success stories of the particular clinic you are considering for surrogacy assistance.

3.    Find out whether the doctor writes blogs for the patients.

4.    Try to resolve your queries and question everything before deciding. (Ask about how surrogate would be arranged? Egg donation process?)

5.     Calculate the cost and compare it with other clinics.

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- 9770997645, +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

Be aware of fake Surrogacy Clinics. Spotting Your Surrogacy Clinic in India

If you wish to have a limited relationship with the surrogate mother, but have the benefit of excellent healthcare, then Surrogacy in India is an attractive option.  With a range of alternative medical solutions to childlessness becoming available, surrogacy in India has emerged as one route for many couples.  For couples who want to have their names on the birth certificate, Surrogacy in Raipur should be your destination.

While some countries have banned the practice, commercial gestational surrogacy, in which a woman is paid to have a baby to whom she has no genetic link, has caught on in India. Here, the surrogates have no parental rights and cannot change their mind about handing over a child to the intended parents.

Many couples have pursued surrogacy in India and have been able to have a child with the parents own genetic material, or with the assistance of a donor egg, and the help of an Indian surrogate. After the first surrogate delivery in India in June 1994, India has steadily emerged as aninternational surrogacy destination.

India has offered relatively low cost surrogacy and medical facilities, with the use of latest reproductive technology, and the availability of surrogate mothers, who show dedication. Although the commercialisation of motherhood has raised ethical and social questions, has also raised fears of the exploitation of surrogate mothers. There are hundreds of quack infertility specialists, who have adopted this practice to fool the couples and extract huge sum of cash. In an effort to regularise the sector, the Indian Council of Medical Research in 2005 issued guidelines for the accreditation, supervision and regulation of surrogacy clinics, but those remain on paper. An expert committee drafted the 

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill, 2010.

How to spot you surrogacy clinic in India?

1.      You need to find a clinic that has experience with working with International clients. Therefore, ask questions and investigate.

2.    Ask for the statistics of surrogacy clinic

3.    Calculate and review the costs of surrogacy. Get a detailed list and cost for both a successful and an unsuccessful attempt. Also ask about additional costs (for instance, neonatal intensive care costs if the baby is born pre-mature).

4.    Be clear on what you want. If you are looking for egg donor then review the availability of Indian and Non-Indian donors. If you are sending your embryos to India, then ask about the process. If you are using your own eggs, check out the facilities.

5.     On your first meeting with your treating doctor, discuss with the doctor how many embryos you want to transfer. Most reputable clinics will only allow up to four embryos, but this will depend on the quality of the embryos. While this can increases the odds of a successful pregnancy, it also increases the odds of a multiple pregnancy. This is a very personal decision, but be aware that under the current laws gestational surrogates can only carry twins and a higher order pregnancy will result in a foetal reduction.

The Union government is now set to table in Parliament theAssisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill 2013. It would address the issue of absence of appropriate legal provisions to ensure that surrogate mothers, who often enter into loosely drafted agreements with commissioning parents, do not become vulnerable is a serious issue. A comprehensive regulatory framework and binding legal provisions could bring order to the field, but the larger moral question whether human reproduction should be commercialised would still remain.

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- 9770997645, +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

Surrogacy and Adoption in India

Surrogacy 

Adoption and surrogacy are the two options to bring a child into the family.

The desire for a genetic link and increasing desire of prospective parents to monitor the child's prenatal care and medical history has made surrogacy a more preferred option.

The parents wanting a child through surrogacy need to go through a few steps,

1. Locating the surrogacy clinic,
2. Screening and working with an appropriate surrogate mother,
3. Medically and psychologically examination of surrogate,
4. Establishing a legal contract, and
5. Finally transferring embryos to the surrogate's uterus and confirming the pregnancy.

Adoption

For those parents who simply yearn for a child—genetically related or not—adoption can be both a compassionate and enriching experience. In fact, many parents choose adoption precisely so that they might provide a better family life not only for themselves, but also for the adopted child whose need, after all, is apparent.

Below are the seven stages of adoption in India as defined by Central Adoption Resource Authority, Ministry of Women and Child Development,

1.  Registration
2.  Pre-adoption Counselling and Preparation of the PAP(s)
3.  Home Study and Other requirements
4.  Referral and Acceptance
5.  Pre-adoption foster care
6.  Legal Procedure
7.  Follow up visits and post-adoption services

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Are You Willing to Become a Gestational Surrogate?

To become a gestational surrogate for a couple is a decision that requires huge amount of emotional investment. The whole phase of 10-12 months and even the period after that is life changing. For a woman, who wants to become a gestational surrogate, she might be surrounded with certain reservations. Some of those frequently asked questions are answered below,

1. Should a woman have had a previous pregnancy and delivery before becoming a gestational surrogate?

Yes. Before becoming a surrogate for someone else, you need to have gone through it once for yourself before you decide you are willing to go through same for someone else. Women who have healthy, strong, bodies that provide safe and nourishing places for an embryo to grow into a fetus and be delivered as a baby are selected for gestational surrogacy process. You would be medically examined and asked whether you have completed a pregnancy without any serious medical conditions.

2. Are gestational surrogates genetically related to the baby?

No. It is because the gametes, i.e., the egg and sperm used to make that embryo are of intended parents or donors and you are required to carry the embryo formed from those gametes. Therefore, the child would not be genetically related to the gestational surrogate.

3. What are the age requirements for gestational surrogates?

A woman must be at least 21 years of age and below 40.

4. Is there anything required from surrogate’s partner?

Yes. Your partners needs to assist you in,

• Emotional support

• Infectious Disease Testing. In medical screening (HIV, Hepatitis B and C, CMV, and any other sexually transmitted diseases or disorders) to avoid any high risk behaviors is also important for your partner (no tattoos with unsterile needles, new sexual partners, etc.).

• Participation in psychological meeting.

5. Are gestational surrogates allowed to have sex?

If you are sexually active, you can generally continue your intimate relationship without restrictions. A healthy sex life is beneficial to your relationship and can reduce stress. However, some IVF clinics may place restrictions on intercourse around the time of the embryo transfer or if you are pregnant and experiencing bleeding. The medical provider at the clinic would be the person to make the final recommendation about intercourse.

6. Does any part of the gestational surrogacy process hurt?

Becoming pregnant as a surrogate does involve a number of vaginal ultrasounds and speculum exams. These exams are not pleasant and if they are painful, you should let the medical provider seeing you. There are modifications that can be made to make the experience less uncomfortable.

The embryo transfer often requires the surrogate to have a full bladder. It may sound odd, but that is one of the most common things people complain about! The actual embryo transfer, at most would be a little bit crampy, for most clients.

7. Can I continue the medications I regularly take during the process?

Yes, most medications are safe during pregnancy. Pahlajani Surrogacy Care 

will review each medication you take and discuss it in the context of becoming pregnant. The fertility medical provider you will be seeing at the IVF clinic is the person who will make the final decision about which medications you can take, which ones may need to be switched, and if any medicines need to be stopped. Your health and well being is a top priority, so no changes will be made without your agreement.

As a gestational surrogate, you would be expected to take prenatal vitamins and possibly some supplements, based on the vitamin you are taking. These costs would be reimbursed, per your Gestational Surrogacy Agreement.

Your First Meeting With Surrogate - What You Need to Ask?

Your first meeting with a woman who would carry your baby for next nine months can be awkward. You might have spent meticulous efforts to form a massive checklist of questions, like:

“Do you smoke?”

“Are you sexually active?”

But these are not the right questions to be asked on first meeting. Don’t worry, your doubts would be cleared after the surrogate’s medical and psychological exams, and you’ll be made aware of them by a professional.

When you sit down face-to-face with a potential gestational carrier, try to empathize with what she’s going through. After a huge amount of deliberation and soul searching, she’s decided to do something incredibly generous, terrifically inconvenient, and more than a tiny bit risky, for a virtual stranger. She is also nervous about the meeting, you need to ease her.

1. Why did you become a surrogate?

Although her weak financial stability might be the reason, but it can never be the only reason. Yes, money is important but with all a surrogate goes through, she’s going to earn that cash, and it is a limited sum. No one’s getting rich as a gestational surrogate, so it’s a safe bet she has bigger motives.

2. What were your other pregnancies like?

You will know all the medical information about the surrogate and her previous pregnancies from her medical examination report. But by asking this question you show some curiosity and empathy towards her. It can be a good start to build a good relationship. By knowing small details about her cravings and small needs, you’ll know just what to put in her care package.

3. How do your friends and family feel about you being a surrogate?

Surrogate mother needs support as it is both physically and emotionally demanding. If you assure her of becoming a good support and appreciate what an amazing thing she’s doing, then she would be happy throughout her pregnancy.

4. Will you be comfortable if we assist you with doctor’s appointments and in delivery room?

Most surrogates will fully anticipate and welcome your participation in the process, but raising the issue in a polite and respectful manner will set the right tone for when those intimate moments inevitably arise.

5. What kind of communication would you like to maintain after the birth?

Some surrogates and intended parents want to stay in close touch. It’s important to reiterate that your surrogate will have no legal rights to your child. Once your baby is born, you are well within your rights to cut off all 

contact with the surrogate and never see her again.

Once your child is old enough to understand how he or she came into the world, they’ll likely be curious about who their surrogate was, so it helps if you’ve kept up the relationship.

6. What are your concerns about us or this process?

You never know what your surrogate may be thinking or how you may come across to her. She might have a special request that’s very important to her or a fear she’s working to get over.

Let her know that her concerns are important to you, and in case she does have a vastly different idea of how the birth should go, it’s better to find out now rather than a trimester or two into the pregnancy.

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 after Embryo Implantation Failure

India is acknowledged for being a global leader in IVF technology for two basic reasons - surrogates are easily available and IVF treatment is much less expensive, many couples travel to India for surrogacy treatment.

Typically, women who ask for surrogacy are older women, or women who have failed many IVF cycles. Surrogacy is the solution to their problem of repeated failed embryo implantation.

Here there is a common reason why embryo implantation fails. Some women think that it is because of their defective uterus but actually the implantation fails because of genetically abnormal embryos. Now, if the embryos are abnormal it might be the reason for an abnormal baby. While these defects are often random, they are commoner in older women. This is because the eggs of older women have more genetically abnormalities, because they have aged and have genetic defects, which cannot be screened for.

As women get older, their fertility declines. Most assume that this is because their reproductive system is aging - and for most women their reproductive system consists of their uterus. With reduction in fertility the functioning of uterus becomes poor.

Surrogacy in India has benefits considering the women being more receptive towards the entire process and the cost of surrogacy in India is affordable. Even Indian laws are flexible. With gestational surrogacy, infertile couples can pass on their genetics to children. Therefore, surrogacy after repeated embryo implantation failure should be considered after consultation with doctor.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Becoming a Surrogate Mother – Ways to Draw Support from Your Family

For a woman to become a surrogate is a big decision. It can difficult to balance emotions with your family and it is important to have support from your family upon your decision to become a surrogate mother. It is necessary that your family, spouse and children are comfortable with your decision. It is because your family is your emotional support and therefore becoming a gestational surrogate holds same importance as it holds for you. Below are few ways you can break the ice with your family about surrogacy,

1. Discussion

Talk to your spouse openly about the idea without hiding your inhibitions and tell him the reason why you are thinking about embarking on. You should tell him that you have a strong desire to help another family. Once you are confident on your part and have valid reason to support your decisions, you are sure to convince your partner. 

You should understand that being a surrogate is going to affect their life enormously, and pregnancy means work for a spouse or partner too, with medical checkups, travel to meet with intended parents and other obligations. Your husband or partner needs to know that there are restrictions on intercourse after birth and in some cases during pregnancies as well.  

2. Use facts to deal with insecurities

Sometimes, husbands become insecure at the notion of his wife carrying “another man’s baby.” For such a situation, you need to tell him about the process of gestational surrogacy —there is no genetic tie to you or to your husband. If it takes more than one time to assure your partner, then do it. It is your duty to explain the process precisely and clear their doubts so that your family and the family for which you are carrying baby both are happy.

3. If you already have kids, thank them

It is important for your children to know about your decision. Do not make a mistake to leave them in oblivion. Pregnancy is something you cannot hide and it would be a wise decision to discuss things before your children start thinking otherwise. You should know that once you tell your children about it, they will be proud of their mother.

4. Avoid hiding things and be truthful

You should be positive about the whole idea of surrogacy and discussing things with your husband and children. Believing that things would work and everything will be fine will keep you going. Explain to children that mommies carry babies in their wombs, and that the intended mother’s womb just isn’t working — so you are simply helping another mother by carrying her baby for her until it is born.

5. Do not expect your children to accept things in first go

Give your family time to process the whole idea. Be absolutely certain your child is aware that the baby you’re carrying is not yours, is not a little brother or sister.

6. Reassure your family and remind them that they are needed

Never make your family feel ignored. Always tell them that you are doing this only because they were around you. Tell them about your ideas and your perspective. Reassure them early and often that this is not the case, and that this pregnancy is simply a wonderful and generous service you are performing for another family who cannot do it themselves.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Egg Donation

Egg donation is the process in which a woman donates eggs, also called ova or oocytes for purposes of assisted reproduction. The donated eggs are used for in vitro fertilization as the eggs are fertilized in the laboratory or are frozen and stored for later use by the intended parents. 

Below is the process of egg donation -

1. Locating Egg Donors

For finding egg donors, you can contact donation agencies or fertility clinics in India.

2. Educating donors 

It is important that a donor is educated about the medical process, reproductive system, effects of donation, medical implications, legal requirements, and complications involved in the process.

3. Medical background of donor

The donors would have to undergo some specific tests before donation to ensure they are fit for the program, and will give good results as expected by parents. 

4. Signing Contract

After discussions, briefing, understanding the responsibilities, limitations, financial considerations, a contract is signed with the donor.

5. No contact with Intended parents

As per the Indian laws, the egg donation is anonymous.

6. Medical Procedure

The retrieval of egg is done through medical procedure by ensuring best medical facilities at Pahlajani Surrogacy Care.

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

Surrogacy - Laws and Rights

Employment Rights for Surrogate Parents

Legal landscape surrounding surrogacy in India is cultivated on child-protection perspective. It was the day in 2002 on which surrogacy was legalized in India, when legal authorities started striving to push the sector on legal tracks.

India is abode for thousands of surrogate mothers, who are bearing children for Indian as well as foreign childless couples. The sector has widened its horizon in years, adding new criterion to safeguard the rights of surrogate mothers in India, recipient couples and the children born through surrogacy.

In a stride to ensure rights to them, the Madras High Court held that a woman who had had a child through surrogacy was entitled to maternity leave on March 5, 2013.

It was when a mother, who had child through surrogacy with the consent of her husband, after her 20-year-old son was killed in a road accident in 2009.  She applied for maternity leave to look after the new born after the surrogate mother gave birth to a girl baby in February 2011.  She also applied to include the child under the family medical insurance scheme. However, her employer rejected the application, on the ground that there was no provision in the rules for granting leave to those who have a child through surrogacy. 

Later, the Judge, Justice K Chandru said, "Even in the case of adoption, the adoptive mother does not give birth to the child, but yet the necessity of bonding of the mother with the adoptive child has been recognized by the Central government, therefore, the petitioner is entitled for leave.”

"This court does not find anything immoral and unethical about the petitioner having obtained a child through surrogate arrangement," the Judge observed.

The mother was granted leave on the same terms applicable to those who had become parents via adoption. Also, the employers were ordered to add the child to the insurance scheme.    

Rights of Children Born Through Surrogacy in India

In surrogacy, the rights of child/children born are to be respected without discrimination of any kind including birth or other status.  While this provision was originally intended to protect illegitimate children, its inclusiveness suggests a generous and expansive application, including children born of surrogacy.

Under one of the seven guidelines issued by Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi pertaining to surrogacy in India, the foreign couple would require ‘exit’ permission before their return journey from India and would need to carry a certificate from concerned ART clinic regarding the fact that child/children have been duly taken custody by the foreign couple and the liabilities toward the India surrogate mother are fully discharged as per agreement. A copy of birth certificate(s) of surrogate child/children will be retained by Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO)/Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) along with photocopies of the passport and VISA of the foreign parents.

Adoption of child under Indian Laws

Also, the intended parents can apply for adoption under the Guardian and Wards Act. As per the provisions the foreign citizens and NRIs are subject to the Guardian and Wards Act of 1890. Under this act, the adoptive parent is only the guardian of the child until she reaches 18 years of age. Foreign citizens and NRIs are supposed to formally adopt their child according to the adoption laws and procedures in the country of their residence. This must be carried out within two years of the individual becoming a child’s guardian.

But as per Indian Laws pertaining to adoption the parents can’t chose a specific child for adoption. Also the ICMR guidelines under Guideline 3.10.1 require the intended parents to adopt the child if through genetic fingerprinting they can’t establish the biological link between the child and the intended parents.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani 

Pahlajani Surrogacy India: Very Low Cost Surrogacy and Surrogate Mother

Each year, an estimated 25,000 foreign couples visit India for surrogacy services, resulting in more than 2,000 births. Surrogacy is a negotiate in India  running anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000, the service is roughly a one fourth of the U.S. price and the traditionally lax regulations surrounding the industry have made it a popular destination for couples from countries where surrogacy is not legal, including several European nations and most of Australia. The combination of excellent medical facilities and attractive cost brings couples from all over the world to India.

Infertility is not about being unable to conceive, it is the trauma that an individual or the couple passes through. Surrogacy is a method of assisted reproduction. Surrogacy, sometimes dubbed "rent-a-womb” is a procedure by which a woman carries another women's fertilized egg to term, usually in cases where the biological mother is unable to carry the pregnancy. Many couples that cannot bear children are increasingly turning to surrogacy as a possibility to fulfill their parenthood dreams.

In general, couples first investigate surrogacy in their home country.  Some couples find that either the cost, or their country's legal environment, makes it very difficult to pursue surrogacy and then start investigating options for surrogacy abroad.  The most common overseas option is surrogacy in India. The high cost of surrogacy in Europe and the US means many Western women are outsourcing pregnancy abroad.

Commercial surrogacy is a booming industry in India with legions of childless foreign couples looking for a low-cost, legally simple route to parenthood. It is estimated that the industry now generates more than $2 billion in revenues annually with an estimated 2000 surrogacy births in year 2010, up to 50% in two years. Part of the demand is financial, in the USA; the cost of surrogacy is around 100 thousand dollars. In India, it is about half- and that includes all medical expenses.

Aspiring parents for whom surrogacy is not an option in their home countries can easily find a surrogate mother for hire in India to expand their family. In many countries around the world, surrogacy is either too expensive, illegal, or not available to certain demographics. Surrogacy in India is available to all. Surrogacy costs for a single successful round typically range from $15,000 to $20,000 with success rates as high as 50% depending on the age of the woman providing the eggs. 

Once the journey of surrogacy is decided then the question arises next is the selection of surrogate mother. If the couple has decided to go for surrogacy abroad in India then they are at advantage. Same like the surrogacy treatment the cost of surrogate mother is also cheaper in India. Prospective parents can expect to spend 50% less on a surrogate mother for hire in India than they would in a developed country. The low cost of surrogacy in India may surprise you. The factors responsible for low cost of surrogates in India includes

A.       The biggest factor responsible for such low prices is the cost of living in India which is significantly cheaper than in the Western countries.

B.       Healthcare facilities available are cheaper in India. In fact, India is a very popular destination for medical tourists seeking great deals on everything from cosmetic surgery to dentistry to heart surgery.

C.       Many surrogacy clinics in India offer attractive packages that includes facilities like fees of doctors, fees of surrogate mother, legal fees, other medical necessities like tests and medications, Visa /Passport for Parents and New-Born, IVF/ICSI procedure including Embryo Freezing, Medications and other expenses for the surrogate, hotel accommodation and site seeing for intended parents. This makes it very advantageous for the foreigners.

Surrogacy arrangements currently costs from $15,000 to $20,000 approximately in India, most out of which actually goes to the surrogate. How much money goes to the surrogate mother depends, just like in any profession, on the experience of surrogate mother. For the surrogate mothers who are starting first time the amount paid is less then compared to the amount paid to the experienced surrogate. But normally about one-fourth of the package price goes to surrogate mother.

Normally surrogate mothers in India come from lower middle-class families. Surrogate mothers do it to enhance their family's financial condition. Many do it to pay their debts, to buy their own house or get their children a good education.

Pahlajani Surrogacy India is getting on a quiet revolution regarding a secure, permissible, affordable, and frustration-free journey to parenthood. The center has all the facilities required to deliver a full range of services to couples requiring assistance conceiving.

Pahlajani Surrogacy India’s services offered at the Infertility Clinic includes basic work-up of the infertile couple, One Stop Fertility Diagnostic Services including IUI, IVF , ICSI, Egg Donor, embryo Adoption, Sperm Donation , Sperm Banking hormonal testing, Diagnostic Laparoscopy & Hysteroscopy, Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Clinic, Reproductive Endoscopic Surgery, Fallopian Tube Recanalization, Minimally Invasive Ultrasound, Uterine Artificial Insemination, Semen Cryopreservation, Semen processing, Ovulation Induction & Monitoring, Evaluation of male patient, Gonadotropin Cycles, Embryo Freezing, Oocyte Donor Program, Surrogacy, Assisted Hatching, Surgical Sperm Retrieval. Over the 21 years of experience in Infertility treatment since its inception.