A gynaecologist and senior registrar in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Chinelo Okoye has advised couples affected by infertility, to go for surrogacy to sustain their marriages.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports on Monday in Awka that Okoye made the call in an online meeting of Enugwu-Ukwu Ugosimba Sisters Associations of Nigeria.
Okoye said that adoption and surrogacy are both once-in-a-lifetime experiences as many people choose to look at various options before beginning a family.
She said that married couples who had stayed awhile for a child in their union can engage in surrogacy alternative to have a child of their own, as it is medically sound to get involved in it if they are medically impaired.
Okoye said that some couples do go for adoption which is a significant endeavour; the best option for many couples, but on the other hand, surrogacy may be a preferable alternative in some cases because of its attendant benefits.
She said that surrogacy affords the couple to establish a relationship with their child before they are even born which adoption would not present to the couples.
Okoye said that the process also allows the people to choose whatever qualities they want of the child and control how much of their genetic material the child will receive.
“Every day, an increasing number of couples choose surrogacy over adoption, because they have zero doubt that the child is theirs. “The first advantage of surrogacy over adoption is that you will be sure that the child is yours. If you choose a typical adoption, you may not know who the biological parents are or their health conditions.
“There is a chance the child will have health problems due to the actual parents’ inherited conditions,” she said.
Okoye said that the ability to choose one’s surrogate is the second reason to choose surrogacy over adoption and that when a surrogacy agency is used, the people might locate a surrogate who shares the same values and interests.
“The couples can meet the surrogate and get to know her before determining if she is the ideal person for what his family likes and makes room for other background checks before commencement.
Okoye said that surrogacy’s success rate is the third reason to prefer it over adoption since it is considerably faster, even if one had previously struggled to conceive, the process will create a chance for biological children.
She said that while adopting a child can take months or even years, finding a surrogate can be quicker and there is control over the pregnancy by the couple.
Okoye explained that reasons parents go for surrogacy include expansion of their households or the inability to carry pregnancy following many miscarriages suffered from a medical condition.
