Fact box

Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a baby for someone else. The woman who carries the baby is the surrogate. The parents-to-be are known as the intended parents. They are involved in the pregnancy, are present at the birth and become the child's (legal) parents after the baby is born.

Methods

Traditional surrogacy: the surrogate serves as both the egg donor and the surrogate for the embryo. She is impregnated using a procedure known as intrauterine insemination. The surrogate is also the child's biological mother.