LilSugar

How Would You Handle the Implant of Wrong Embryos?

LilSugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:30:41 -0700

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After years of trying to successfully become pregnant, a viable pregnancy is the best news a reproductively challenged couple can receive. The rush of emotion is overwhelming, but not quite as strong as what they will feel in a few weeks when they learn that they were implanted with the wrong embryos.

Such is the case for Carolyn and Sean Savage of Sylvania, OH, who were faced with the decision to either terminate the pregnancy or carry it to term and hand over the newborn to its biological parents. Due to their religious beliefs, the Savages will serve as surrogates and hand the baby over to the genetic parents upon its birth. Given Carolyn Savage's medical history, this is the last pregnancy she can physically handle. Though doctors and fertility clinics are quick to explain the rarity of the situation, it is truly every fertility patient's worst nightmare. How would you handle such a situation if it happened to you?

Sarah Jessica Parker Welcomes Twin Daughters!

LilSugar — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:33:02 -0700

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick are said to be "over the moon" after welcoming twin daughters last night. According to People :

Born at 3:58 p.m., Marion Loretta Elwell Broderick weighed 5 lbs., 11 oz, and Tabitha Hodge Broderick weighed 6 lbs. Both Hodge and Elwell are family names on Parker's side."

The actors who are also parents to James Wilkie, 6, were present at the Ohio hospital where their surrogate gave birth to the girls. Congratulations to the party of five!

Would You Be a Surrogate for Your Child?

babysugar — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 05:00:34 -0700

There are few loves stronger, if any, than that of a mother's for her child. For 52–year–old Crystal Sirignano, a mother's love meant carrying surrogate twins for her fertility challenged daughter and son–in–law. After watching them struggle to conceive, the grandmother carried her own grandson and granddaughter to term, fulfilling her own child's greatest dreams.

The proud grandma told The Flint Journal:

I just feel so blessed and fortunate. It's the best experience of my life. . . I don't regret one second, even the times when I didn't feel good. None of that was as bad as watching what my daughter went through.

Would you offer your womb for your child's offspring?
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Would You Consider Being a Surrogate?

LilSugar — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:00:53 -0700

The hilarious Tina Fey's Baby Mama hits theaters soon. And, while the flick offers a comedic take on the womb-for-rent relationship, surrogacy is a timely issue with more and more women waiting until later in life to have children. And a number of hopeful moms-to-be having fertility issues.

Actress Deirdre Hall and journalist, Joan Lunden are two well known women who were very public about their use of surrogates. Though twelve states including New York don't consider the surrogate contracts between biological and adoptive mothers valid, California and a few others regulate the legalized practice. To finish this piece, read more.

A recent piece in Newsweek that focused on the women bearing the babies was particularly poignant saying that while the practice is a labor of love, it also involves a financial transaction. It said:

But what kind of woman would carry a child to term, only to hand him over moments after birth? Surrogates challenge our most basic ideas about motherhood, and call into question what we've always thought of as an unbreakable bond between mother and child.

Would you carry a child for a family member, friend or stranger?

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Wombing It Up in India

babysugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:45:15 -0700

A while back I saw a series on Oprah about surrogacy in India. Yesterday I was reminded of the topic when I read a New York Times article about it.

For many, becoming parents is a dream, sometimes unattainable through traditional methods. When people have to examine unconventional conceiving options, the dollar signs can be overwhelming.

IVF treatments can run about $10,000 per try. And surrogacy in the States averages $100,000. If you're a wealthy individual or pair, that may not seem daunting, but for many it's unrealistic.

To see what some Americans are doing to get their babes, read more.

India has quickly made an international name for itself as a place to go for medical procedures from heart surgery to plastic surgery. Now, it is also becoming a mecca for "womb rentals." Couples from all over the world are finding their dream babies in the heart of country.

When surrogacy can cost roughly $75,000 to $100,000 in America, it costs just $25,000 in India. And that includes all medical bills, payment to the surrogate, and air and hotel accommodations for two trips to India. For desperate couples, is it an answer to their prayers.

At PlanetHospital in California, President Rudy Rupak sent 25 couples to India in 2007. In 2008, he expects to send four times as many. As with most things on the "cheap," critics worry that the surrogates are being exploited for their less-expensive wombs.

To make sure the process is as wholesome as possible, there are rules set in place at many clinics. The surrogates must be younger than 45 and have a child of their own. Many of the hospitals pay the baby–carrying women directly, from which they typically receive about a quarter of the overall fee.

In a country where the average annual income is equivalent to $450, a $6,000 paycheck makes a world of difference.

The guest on Oprah's show summed it up:

You have not walked in my shoes as someone who cannot have a child. And you don't know how it feels to not be able to pay for your children to go to school, to not be able to . . . take care of your family. You don't know how that feels. And we were able to come together, [Sangita – the surrogate] and I, and give each other a life that neither of us could achieve on our own. And I just don't see what's wrong with that.

If you were in a situation where a surrogate was your only answer, would you consider India as a source?
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Sarah Jessica Parker's Surrogate's Safety Compromised

LilSugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:48:03 -0700

Sarah Jessica Parker and her hubby, Matthew Broderick were thrilled to announce that they were expecting twin additions via surrogate last month. But now the couple, already parents to son, James, 6, fear for the safety of the woman carrying their daughters as her identity has been discovered and her computer and phone were hacked into. The pregnant woman has also received threats. In an interview with Access Hollywood, Sarah Jessica said:

"I care deeply about her, and I am incredibly outraged by the sort of extraordinary and unprecedented invasion of her privacy. I think even given the unfortunate way we live now ... it has still shocked me, and it has still really disappointed me."

This is a concern for any mother wishing to protect her children, but being that the Sex and the City star lives such a high profile life - do you think she should have been so open about her impending babes?
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SJP and Matthew Broderick Expecting Twins Via Surrogate!

LilSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:04:21 -0700

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have announced they are expecting twin girls this Summer with the help of a surrogate mother. The couple, who EW reports is "overjoyed," has supposedly been trying for more children for years, and finally turned to surrogacy to make it happen. Sarah and Matthew are mom and pop to 6-year-old political tot and daddy's boy James Wilkie. Congratulations to the lucky family - here's hoping the girls have Sarah's passion for fashion!

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Do Some Methods of Having a Baby Take More Consideration?

LilSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:24:34 -0700

Having a baby is a big decision no matter how a couple goes about it, but do some methods take more thought than others? In last night's season premiere of Brothers & Sisters, Kevin and Scottie look into starting a family via surrogate and learn the best case scenario costs $137,000. While Kevin is ready to take out a credit line on their condo to get the process going, Scottie experiences cold feet reading hundreds of pages of paperwork. Surrogacy involves outside parties as well as legal contracts, so it's understandable that Scottie wants time to figure out if he's ready for fatherhood. Do you think certain methods of having a baby, be it surrogacy or adoption, take more serious consideration than nature's way?Photo courtesy of ABC

Creating Families: The Surrogacy Option

LilSugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:10:50 -0700

The true sisterhood of women is showcased when one woman carries a child for another. Domestic and international adoptions may be the most common ways families introduce nonbiological children into their lives, but last year's movie Baby Mama and Sarah Jessica Parker's recent addition of twins have made surrogacy a common topic. Though there are no national statistics on the practice, it is estimated that approximately 1,000 such births occur each year.

After dealing with infertility and still desiring a family, some couples turn to another woman to carry their baby. In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate is artificially inseminated, by either the child-to-be's father or an anonymous donor, while in gestational surrogacy, an egg is removed from the future child's mother and fertilized with sperm from either the father or an anonymous donor. The fertilized egg is then implanted in the carrier via IVF. Similar to the adoption process, families interested in surrogacy often work with an agency to help them find a suitable surrogate, handle the legal issues that the transaction involves, and help them through the process.

Qualifications: Similar to adoption, families meet and register with an agency to learn about the process. and to find a carrier. In general, agencies require carriers to be between 23-38 years old, have previously had at least one child on their own, be married or in a serious relationship, undergo a complete medical and psychological evaluation, and be financially stable.

To see the rest of our look at surrogacy, including a chart of the states where it is legal, read more.

Time line: In general, the entire process can take one to two years, based on the state and the health of the intended parents and carrier. Once a family has been matched with a carrier for a gestational surrogacy, the intended mother and carrier go through fertility treatments for egg retrieval and gestation. The embryos are then transferred and a pregnancy test is administered two weeks later. Assuming the transfer is successful, nine months later the process is complete.

Costs: Gestational surrogacy can range from $100,000 to $150,000, including the agency's fee, compensation for the carrier (approximately $25,000-$30,000), medical costs for fertility treatments, and the birth (though some carriers come to the process with their own medical insurance), travel, and legal fees.

Considerations: Before deciding to use a surrogate, parents must be comfortable with the idea of someone else carrying their baby. While they will meet and interact with that person prior to the birth, they will not have control over the carrier's daily life. They must also look into their state's laws about the process, as currently only six states legally recognize surrogacy contracts.

Photo courtesy of Universal Studios

Lil Links: Jude Law to Be a Daddy Again

babysugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:00:49 -0700

Jude Law was informed that a woman he was with at the end of last year is pregnant - PopSugar UK
Katherine Jackson, the 79-year-old mother of Michael Jackson, will raise Michael's children - Celebrity Baby Scoop
David Duchovny, Tea Leoni and kids bond over the Beatles - Celebrity Baby Blog
What's in that bottle? - Parentdish
Baby mama surrogate finder application for the iPhone - CafeMom
Are sonogram cakes a do or a don't? - Momversation
Angie Everhart talks pregnancy and what it's like to be a pregnant model - Fit Pregnancy
When life revolves around nap time - The Poop
Birth announcement from fellow mommy blogger Candy Kirby..."she's hee-eeere! - Laughing Stork