What can a child inherit from a surrogate mother?
Couples who are considering the possibility of becoming parents with the help of a surrogate mother often ask the question, “Is there a genetic connection between the surrogate mother and the child she is carrying?” We have collected all the necessary information on this topic that will help you figure out whose genes a child born in will have surrogacy program.
Are the genes of the surrogate mother passed on to the child?
This myth arose due to the misconception that the greatest popularity of all Traditional surrogacy is still used. This means that a woman donates her own egg and carries a child to help someone else become a parent. Consequently, she is a biological mother and after giving birth she has inalienable parental rights to the baby.
However, in Russia only gestational surrogacy is allowed, in which the surrogate mother is not genetically associated with the child. An embryo is created in a laboratory from the germ cells of future parents (or with the help of a sperm/egg donor - a surrogate mother cannot be a donor at the same time). The embryo is then transferred to the woman's uterus. DNA can only be passed on during the process of conception. Because fertilization occurs outside the surrogate mother's womb, she has no opportunity to share genetic material with the child she is carrying.
The child thus receives all of its genes from its parents—50% from the mother and 50% from the father. Moreover, during pregnancy, a placenta is formed in a woman’s body, through which the baby receives oxygen and nutrients necessary for growth and development. The placenta acts as a filter and prevents the exchange of cells between the woman and the fetus.
What effect does a surrogate mother have on the child?
The absence of a genetic connection does not mean that the surrogate mother does not influence the baby. There is a hematoplacental barrier between the woman and the fetus, which protects it from harmful substances and infections and allows only beneficial microelements to pass through. But, unfortunately, the barrier cannot filter out tobacco particles, heavy metals, drugs, and some chemicals that are definitely harmful to the child. In addition, stress and tension in the surrogate mother can also negatively affect the well-being of the baby. Therefore, for a successful and healthy pregnancy, a woman needs to eat right, walk a lot, not drink alcohol and cigarettes, engage in light physical activity, take vitamins and maintain a stable psycho-emotional state.
Blood tests and thorough medical examinations are equally important examinations of the surrogate mother to identify any infectious diseases even before the start of the surrogacy process, because viral diseases can be transmitted from the pregnant woman to the child in utero. All this is strictly controlled by ISA Agency, which provides the surrogate mother with the best care and conducts regular medical diagnostics of her body.
Will the child look like the surrogate mother?
Since appearance is determined by the human genome, the likelihood that the child will be look like biological parents, very tall. However, there is no 100% guarantee. When it comes to genetics, a lot depends on chance and luck - after all, children conceived in the traditional way often resemble, for example, their grandparents in their youth, and not like their mother and father! In any case, the baby will not have a physical resemblance to the surrogate mother, unless she is similar to his biological parents.
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What blood type will the child have?
One of the tasks of the placenta is to ensure that the blood of the surrogate mother and the fetus do not mix. Nutrition, oxygen and other essential substances pass through the placenta as if through a thin membrane and are transferred to the baby through the blood vessels in the umbilical cord. The woman's blood does not change the child's blood type or Rh factor; these data depend only on the DNA of the genetic parents. However, even biological mothers do not always have the same blood type as their own children.
However, during the surrogacy program, it is important to avoid Rh conflict between the baby and the surrogate mother, which is why women with a negative Rh factor necessarily checks for the presence of antibodies to Rh in the peripheral blood.
Does DNA testing need to be done for a child born from a surrogate mother?
DNA tests may be required in two cases:
- From the tenth week of pregnancy, the doctor can conduct a non-invasive prenatal testing to determine the baby's Rh factor and analyze the risk of developing a number of genetic disorders, including Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome and Patau syndrome. The accuracy of NIPT is 97-99%. The procedure involves the usual collection of blood from the surrogate mother, which already contains part of the child’s DNA, therefore it is safe for the woman and the baby.
- At the request of the biological parents or for legal reasons (for example, if the family lives abroad) after the birth of the baby, specialists can conduct DNA tests for maternity and paternity. They will provide the couple with proof that the child was conceived through a surrogacy procedure and confirm that the baby is the biological child of its parents. Depending on the test chosen, the mother or father will be required to provide a DNA sample, which will also be taken from the newborn baby.The test is a scraping that the specialist takes it from the inner surface of the cheek with a cotton swab. The procedure is absolutely painless and safe. DNA tests provide results with an accuracy of more than 99.99%.
Myths about children born through a surrogacy program
The child will be weak and sick
Rather quite the opposite: only women in ideal health can enter the SM program, who undergo several thorough medical examinations, and all embryos are given genetic screening in advance for possible chromosomal abnormalities in order to select the healthiest and most viable ones. So, reproductive specialists create all the conditions so that pregnancy and childbirth go without complications, and the baby is strong and healthy.
A surrogate mother gives birth only with by caesarean section
The vast majority of births to surrogate mothers take place without surgical intervention, since they have much fewer indications for caesarean section than women with gynecological and other diseases who became pregnant naturally.
A child from a surrogate mother will suffer from infertility
There is no scientific evidence to support the link between how a person conceives and their ability to have children in the future. People born through a surrogacy program, just like others, give birth to healthy ordinary children without the help of assisted reproductive technologies.
The child is not will love biological parents
Another misconception is that future parents will not be able to establish a connection with the baby, since he will have a strong attachment to the surrogate mother. However, raising a child after birth brings people closer together than the process of pregnancy itself. As soon as the surrogate mother gives birth, the baby will be immediately handed over to you, so that from the first minutes of his birth you will be together. It is those who care for and love a child who build strong and warm family relationships with him for life.
We know how difficult it can be to decide on a surrogacy program. But you don’t have to go through this journey alone - the experienced team at ISA Fertility will make this process as comfortable, safe and simple as possible.
You can always discuss with any fears and doubts with us - call orleave a request for websiteand our team will answer all your questions about this amazing journey that will change your life.
