Pathways To Parenthood: An Egg Donor & Surrogacy Agency is 7 years old!
This month of April 2020, we have been celebrating helping build families through surrogacy and egg donation for 7 years! Thankfully, with the unexpected challenge life has presented this month, this celebration has brought us feelings of joy, hope and excitement! Joy that we have been a part of the many happy endings for our families, surrogates and egg donors. And hope and excitement for all of the families that we are working with right now, and that we look forward to working with in the future.
We want to help you build your family through surrogacy and/or egg donation! Contact us today to get started. We look forward to meeting you!
An Uplifting Message for Surrogates, Parents & Egg Donors
Let’s all continue to do our part to combat the coronavirus. And take a few minutes to consider this beautiful message from Lori Deschene from tiny buddha https://tinybuddha.com/fun-and-inspiring/well-meet-each-other-anew/ . In the meantime, if you want to learn about the surrogacy process or surrogacy costs, or egg donation process as a surrogate candidate/egg donor candidate or future parent, contact us today at www.pathwaystoparenthood.com.
Surrogate Mother: What Does This Term Mean?
If you have been doing research about becoming a surrogate, or finding a surrogate through a surrogacy agency, you have likely come across the term surrogate mother. The term surrogate mother can create confusing thoughts and communicate misleading information about surrogacy. This information is offered to help you understand what it means, and why it is used.
The word surrogate originated from the Latin word surrogatus, meaning a substitute, that is, a person appointed to act in the place of another. Hence the word surrogate by definition is not related to reproduction or fertility. The term surrogate is also used in the fields of politics, law, and healthcare. The term surrogate mother was initially the term used in 1976 to describe a woman who carried a child for the intended mother (legal mother), to clarify the type of surrogate that was different from a surrogate used in other ways. Surrogacy arrangements have changed drastically since the first surrogacy arrangement in 1976, making the term surrogate mother less appropriate today. Nonetheless, the term surrogate mother is still used today.
The term surrogate is now the term most commonly known to define a woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a child she intends to give to its’ legal parents. Typically, the surrogate (carrier) is not the genetic mother of the child that she carries. There is a type of surrogacy in which the surrogate (carrier) is also the genetic mother of the child that she gives birth to. The intent is still legally for her to give the child to its’ legal parent(s). This type of surrogate is known as a traditional surrogate. In this type of arrangement, the surrogate is also the egg donor. Traditional surrogates become pregnant through insemination, usually with intended fathers’ sperm.
Most women that are surrogates are gestational surrogates. Gestational surrogates are not genetically connected to the child they carry in their uterus. Gestational surrogates get pregnant when an embryo that was previously created through in vitro fertilization is transferred into her uterus. The embryo is created with either intended mother’s egg or donor egg, and intended father’s sperm or donor sperm. Gestational surrogates are referred to as gestational carriers in the medical and legal fields of reproductive medicine.
It is helpful to learn and understand these important terms when researching surrogacy related terms. It is also helpful to know that women that help others by carrying a child so that someone else can become a parent, are wonderful and special human beings. It does not matter the title that describes their amazing and unique act of kindness. To learn how you can become a surrogate, or become a parent through surrogacy, contact Pathways To Parenthood: An Egg Donor & Surrogacy Agency at www.pathwaystoparenthood.com.
COVID-19 and Your Surrogacy Process and/or Egg Donation Cycle: How To Cope With Delays
We all are facing multiple challenges and fears in our daily lives due to the coronavirus pandemic. For those that are in the midst of building their family through surrogacy and/or egg donation, the delays and obstacles due to the coronavirus are another layer of stress, disappointment, and fear.
Regardless of where you might be in your family building journey, delays are undoubtedly occurring for you. Delays are occurring with your fertility clinic, your surrogate and surrogacy agency, your egg donor and egg donor agency, or your egg bank. There may be delays due to the financial aspects of paying for your surrogacy process and/or egg donation process. This reality, although extremely difficult right now, will change and get better over time.
But until then, coping in healthy ways with all of it is essential for your well-being today, and your overall health. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, you may be better prepared than your friends and family members who have never struggled with fertility issues. Or had to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to build their family. Why? Because you have had experience coping with life challenges that threaten every area of life. And make one wonder how they will be able to get through it all.
As you have likely done before, consider and decide how to best help yourself and your partner/ spouse cope with the delays in your family building plans. Along with all the other difficult issues you are facing related to COVID-19. And maybe you can share this information and help someone else cope with all that they are facing in these difficult days we are all living. To that end, here are a few ideas to consider. Some you may have used before, and some maybe you haven’t. Either way, if you can find a way to use them, they do help reduce stress levels, especially when utilized often over time.
- Decide what you have control over, and what you don’t. There are certainly many things you cannot control in your daily life right now. But step back and notice the smaller, daily choices and decisions that you do have control over, and how they impact your overall well-being. Whatever you can do to reduce your daily overall stress and worry, even on the smallest level, will open up resources for you to cope better with the things you cannot control.
- Identify your preferred coping strategies/mechanisms. We all have them. And some are effective at reducing short-term stress (like stuffing difficult emotions), however can create long term problems if over utilized. If you are not sure what coping strategies you typically use, ask someone whose opinion you trust. A counselor is also a good resource to help in this area.
- Gather information and plan ahead. But don’t go overboard! It is helpful to understand what your options are during difficult life experiences. Understand what yours are. And come up with a plan for each option. Once you have done this, it is important to let it rest, and let time pass. Once you have a good plan in place, you need to give it time to unfold. Easier said than done! But essential for your psychological well-being!
- Analyze and reduce/expand your support system. Friends and family can be your best support, or they can be your worst. It may be best to narrow down who you discuss what with. It can also be helpful to find new and different resources for support. If you are not sure where to find them, ask around! It is likely someone you know can offer you resources that you may not have thought of.
We are here for you in these difficult times, and can offer information, support, and guidance. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you in the surrogacy process or egg donation process at www.pathwaystoparenthood.com.