How to Make Money Being a Surrogate Mother

Surrogacy is a controversial issue and countries differ in how they implement surrogacy laws. For example For-Profit Surrogacy is banned in such countries like Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, UK. In Australia it is banned in all states except in the Northern Territory but they all allow some form of Altruistic Surrogacy.

Altruistic Surrogacy is when the surrogate does not receive financial compensation from becoming a surrogate. Most altruistic surrogates usually have close relations with the intended parents. They can be family members or close friends.

There are countries however that totally prohibit all forms of surrogacy. Countries such as Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain are such countries. The preceding country list information provided is as of 2017. One should check their own country’s surrogacy laws if one is interested in the issue of surrogacy especially if one intends to become a surrogate.

In the US it is also a controversial issue and not all US states allow it. So if you live in the US be sure to check if the state where you intend to be a surrogate and not exactly the state you live in allows surrogacy or you might get in trouble with the law. A US citizen surrogate can expect to earn between $25,000 to $55,000 according to Circle Surrogacy who claims that 40% of its staff are either donors or recipients of egg or surrogacy programs.

Not everyone can be a surrogate though. A potential surrogate must meet certain qualifications to be approved as one. For example one must be between the ages of 21 and 40. They should also have experienced giving birth to at least 1 child and is raising them currently. They should have a BMI of between 19 and 32. They should be living in a stable environment and situation.

Candidates should also pass a background and medical check. They should also prove that they can handle the physical, social, and psychological stress and problems of becoming a surrogate. They are also tested to check if they can handle the health risks of a typical pregnancy.

The site Surrogate.com provides an interesting article about Commercial Surrogacy. It is titled What is commercial surrogacy? The article reports for example that many couples from surrogacy restrictive countries who want surrogates turn to countries like India, Russia, Thailand and Ukraine due to their lower cost and more open laws.

Is It the Exploitation of Women?

No study of the surrogacy business is complete without a talk of how these businesses exploit the women of developing nations who become surrogates. An article from Mother Jones explains the surrogacy business in their article titled Inside India’s Rent-a-Womb Business. But this issue is controversial especially when you consider that these women actually do it willingly and receive good pay.

The situation is true for surrogates in Russia. An article by openDemocracy titled Workers or mothers? The business of surrogacy in Russia informs that most Russian surrogates primarily treat becoming a surrogate as a job where they can earn good money. They are less concerned with the social factors such as having an emotional bond with the child they produce.

Surrogacy is more than just earning money. This is especially so if you are in countries like the US where the amount of money you could earn from becoming a surrogate is only slightly equal to a good paying job. Considering that you would have to spend 9 or more months being pregnant it is comparable to working a normal slightly high paying job.

If you are in countries like India and Russia you can consider the money factor more as the compensation would be greater than normal ways of making money in these countries. This is so true when you consider that there are surrogates from these countries who become surrogates more than a single time because of the high payouts they receive.

Conclusion

No matter what your reasons are for becoming a surrogate like earning a good amount of money you would not normally earn or to give the gift of life to a childless couple the main factor you should consider is whether you could safely carry a healthy child in your womb for 9 months. 10% to 15% of pregnancies end in miscarriage and can be fatal.