Surrogacy can be a great option if you’re struggling to or are incapable of having children on your own. Yet, it’s a very involved legal process, and for good reason. You don’t want to overlook something that could negatively impact your ability to secure parental rights and protect your child’s health.
That’s why before moving forward with the process you need to understand what goes into a strong surrogacy agreement, including provisions that speak to the gestational surrogate mother’s behavior.
You can’t fully control the actions of your gestational surrogate mother. However, there are key behaviors that you’ll want to address in your surrogacy agreement if possible. For example, you might want to include provisions that speak to the following:
- The surrogate mother’s diet
- The amount of exercise in which the surrogate mother engages
- Whether the surrogate mother will be allowed to use certain chemicals on themselves when pregnant, such as those used in hair dyes
- Any travel restrictions that you want to place on the surrogate mother, which would be aimed at reducing their risk of exposure to dangerous diseases
- The type of medical care the surrogate mother receives.
There may be other behaviors that are directly tied to the child’s well-being. If you think of any, be sure to address them in your surrogacy contract.
How you handle your surrogacy agreement can have a profound impact on you, your child, and your family. That’s why you need to be as diligent, thorough, and thoughtful as possible when negotiating one of these agreements. By doing so, you’ll hopefully be able to put your fears to rest and confidently move forward with the process that offers so much promise to be realized.