Ini Edo Surrogacy

Renowned actress Ini Edo revealed that the reason that she decided to use surrogacy to have her child was that she wanted to avoid the issues and problems that arise from single parenthood. In a recent interview, she said that she chose a donor for the peace of mind of her and her baby. The 39-year-old has said that the usual process is that someone will get married before having children, but that it is not an ideal world. She has said that the banter and controversies that arise from conflicting parties concerning children and parents who are at war scare her so much. 

Ini Edo said that she wanted to tell her daughter about the way she had her through surrogacy during her first birthday but that mischief-makers had beat her to it. She revealed that she donated the egg that was used in the surrogacy process. She also revealed that she still has eggs that she donated and froze in case of a need in the future. The actress also talked about her past and the multiple miscarriages that she had which influenced her choice to choose surrogacy. In this article, the process of surrogacy and its intricacies will be discussed.

What is Surrogacy?

Surrogacy is a form of assisted reproductive technology in which a woman agrees to be the surrogate and offers to carry a pregnancy for another person or a couple who are referred to as intended parents. It is a very complex process which involves many steps that need to be taken to ensure that all parties make the best decisions. Surrogacy requires a high level of involvement and preparedness from the intended parents. This is because the process requires financial, emotional, and psychological involvement. Also, in order to make the best decisions, legal advice, extensive counselling, and mental and psychological assessments will be required for both parties. Since some countries have restricted surrogacy, intended parents can seek overseas medical treatment via medical health travel agencies or meditour agencies. This could be considered a type of health or medical tourism. 

What are the types of surrogacy?

There are two types of widely recognized surrogacy currently. There is the traditional surrogacy or altruistic surrogacy, and the gestational or commercial surrogacy. Traditional surrogacy is the type of surrogacy that is only allowed in countries like Canada and Australia, while gestational surrogacy is allowed in countries like Georgia and Russia. 

In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate uses her eggs and is artificially inseminated with the sperm from the intended parent in order to get pregnant. In this type of surrogacy, there is a genetic link between the surrogate and the intended parents. It may become a legal issue in the case that post-delivery, the surrogate changes her mind about handing over the baby to the intended parents. This is why traditional surrogacy is not popular with a lot of fertility agencies. 

In gestational surrogacy, like in the case of Ini Edo, an embryo is created using an egg and sperm that is from the intended parents or donors. The embryo is placed into the surrogate’s uterus after being grown in the lab for a few days. The surrogate carries the child to term, gives birth, and then gives the child to the intended parents. In this type of surrogacy, there is no genetic relationship between the surrogate and the baby, curtailing any issues that may arise from a change of mind of the surrogate.

What is the financial implication of surrogacy?

The exact cost of surrogacy is hard to pin down. This is because there are a lot of variables that will depend on the individual circumstances of the surrogacy process. It is expected that the intended parents will cover the cost of the entire surrogacy process. This will include all the expenses that were incurred by the surrogate and her partner if any, as well as the fee that will be paid to the surrogate, usually agreed upon at the initial stages of gestational surrogacy. The variables that may impact the cost of the surrogacy treatment include:

• The country where the surrogacy is being conducted
• The type of fertility treatment that is required
• The type of surrogacy that is being done
• The need for donation of gametes (sperm and eggs)
• The number of cycles needed to get a baby
• The amount agreed to be paid to the surrogate after the process

It is important to understand that while the financial implications may seem overwhelming, it is not usually expected that the intended parents will pay all at once. Depending on the individual situation of the surrogacy process, the payment may need to be made over several months. Some of the payments will be made before conception of the pregnancy, some of the expenses will be during the months of the pregnancy and birth, and the rest of the payments may come after the birth. Some of the expenses that may be made include:

• Legal advice
• Fertility treatments
• Egg donation and storage fees
• Financial cover for the pregnancy and birth
• Counselling and psychological assessment fees
• Fees for the parentage order
• Travel costs for the surrogate and the intended parents
• Life insurance policies for the surrogates
• Loss of income for the surrogate and their partners
• Allied health treatments

Surrogacy and egg donation are now more common than ever, especially with the recent phenomenon of celebrities like Ini Edo leading the way as some of the most vocal supporters of the surrogacy process. After all, even though they are in a vaulted position in society, celebrities are humans too, and they undergo the same biological constraints as other people. Just like everybody else who is having difficulty in conception, or having multiple miscarriages or multiple IVF failures, many celebrities have turned to surrogacy or egg donation to start their own family.

It is essential to know the procedure of going about the surrogacy. The normal progression is:

• The initial consultation
• Sourcing an egg and/or sperm donor
• Choosing the surrogate
• Fertilization and embryo transfer process
• Maternity and the birth of the child
• Transfer of legal parenthood