What does surrogacy involve?
The gift of surrogacy is truly extraordinary! For women facing medical conditions or surgeries that make pregnancy unsafe or impossible, surrogacy opens up a world of possibilities, allowing them to experience the joy of motherhood.
Surrogacy involves the use of IVF technology to create an embryo, which is then placed in the uterus of a surrogate.
In New Zealand, the surrogate is often referred to as the 'intending birth mother'. If pregnancy occurs, the surrogate carries and nurtures the baby until birth, after which the 'intending parents' adopt the baby through a regular adoption process, welcoming their precious child into their arms and hearts.
Surrogacy is a beautiful testament to the power of love, compassion, and the incredible miracles that can happen when hearts unite.
Regulation of surrogacy
- surrogacy requires an ethical application to ECART
- intending parents must have a medical condition that prevents pregnancy or makes pregnancy unsafe, or have unexplained infertility and have not become pregnant from other treatments
- the intending birth mother must be assessed as being capable of a safe pregnancy and birth. She should have finished her own family
- surrogacy with donor eggs may also be an option for gay men
- when a child is born from surrogacy, the surrogate is the child’s legal mother and her partner is also a legal parent. Because of this, preparation for surrogacy must include preparing for adoption with Oranga Tamariki. The usual rules for adoption apply.
Key ethical issues to be aware of
Our counsellors will help you to discuss the issues and how to manage them:
- ensuring everyone is fully informed about the psychological, social and ethical issues before they go ahead, so there are no regrets or surprises later
- the emotional risks of giving up a child for adoption.
FAQs for surrogates
Who is surrogacy for?
Surrogacy may be an option when a woman doesn’t have a uterus (for instance after surgery) or has a medical condition that makes pregnancy unsafe.
What are the steps to become a surrogate?
Surrogacy is a complex and lengthy process.
A typical timeline for an ECART application for surrogacy can usually take 12 weeks or more. This timeline can be found in our Pathways booklet.