Surrogacy to become a motherSometimes your cervical cancer is not caught in time to save your uterus. Surrogacy can still be an option for you because you may be able to keep your ovaries. Hiring a stranger to be your surrogate is an expensive option. It's often out of the financial ability of the average person. But if a friend or family member can be your surrogate, it is a great experience for everyone. What an amazing gift to carry a baby for your sister or cousin or friend or even a stranger! Genetically, the baby would still be yours if you have your ovaries because you can go through in vitro fertilization to retrieve your eggs. Then the fertilized embryos would be transferred, and hopefully implant, in your surrogate's uterus. There are programs affiliated with many hospitals. I remember picking up a brochure at my hospital. I also think that organizations like The Organization of Parents through Surrogacy are really helpful. If you hire a surrogate, you pay a fee, plus you pay her medical expenses. Your health insurance will not pay for the surrogate's medical bills. Your health insurance may pay for the in vitro fertilization procedure for you, though. A woman I know had a surrogate carry her baby because she had had cervical cancer. She was scared that she wouldn't bond with the baby because she hadn't carried the baby for 9 months of pregnancy. All those fears evaporated the minute the nurse put the baby in her arms. She fell in love instantly with her baby, and that's what's important. She may not have been pregnant with the baby, but she is the mother.
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