Using A Surrogate Mother: What You Need to Know

By God’s plan, the most important purpose of marriage is companionship. However, in most developing countries, children are the focus of marriage and a marriage without children is seen as a bad omen.

Every woman, therefore, yearns to be a mother. Unfortunately, global studies shows 10 per cent of women cannot have children by natural means.

The causes of infidelity in women are many; the inability to produce healthy eggs, blockage of fallopian tubes and defective uterus which reject fertilised eggs. 

Although surrogate motherhood has been the subject of much philosophical and political dispute over the years, especially in Africa.Many are now embracing it if you recall one-time beauty queen Nike Osinowo got her twins via surrogacy in 2013.Iyaloja General, Shade Tinubu-Ojo, and first daughter of the National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has welcomed a baby boy, through surrogacy. Report has it that the baby was born on 25 December 2017 through surrogacy to the Sade and her husband, Tunde Ojo, who have been expecting a baby several years after marriage.

Surrogacy is a method or agreement whereby a woman agrees to carry a pregnancy for another person or persons, who will become the newborn child’s parent after birth.Sometimes, it is commercial as an agreed amount of money is paid to the surrogate mother.

There's still some controversy about using a surrogate mother to have a baby. The legal process is also tricky because it varies from state to state. Even so, whether it's because of fertility problems or other reasons, surrogacy is an option for you and your partner. Find out how it works and see if it's right for you.

Nike Oshinowo Gives Birth To Twins Via American Surrogate Mother

What Is a Surrogate Mother?
There are two kinds:

Traditional surrogate. It's a woman who gets artificially inseminated with the father's sperm. She then carries the baby and delivers it for you and your partner to raise.

A traditional surrogate is the baby's biological mother. That's because it was her egg that was fertilized by the father's sperm. Donor sperm can also be used.

Gestational surrogates. A technique called "in vitro fertilization" (IVF) now makes it possible to gather eggs from the mother, fertilize them with sperm from the father, and place the embryo into the uterus of a gestational surrogate.

The surrogate then carries the baby until birth. She doesn't have any genetic ties to the child because it wasn't her egg that was used.

A gestational surrogate is called the "birth mother." The biological mother, though, is still the woman whose egg was fertilized.

In the U.S., gestational surrogacy is less complex legally. That's because both intended parents have genetic ties to the baby. As a result, gestational surrogacy has become more common than a traditional surrogate. About 750 babies are born each year using gestational surrogacy.

Who Uses Surrogates?
If you're a woman, you may consider a surrogate for several reasons:

Medical problems with your uterus
You had a hysterectomy that removed your uterus
Conditions that make pregnancy impossible or risky for you, such as severe heart disease
You may want to think about surrogacy if you tried but couldn't get pregnant with a variety of assisted-reproduction techniques, such as IVF.


Surrogates have also made parenthood an option for people who might not be able to adopt a child, perhaps because of their age or marital status.

If gay men decide to use a traditional surrogate, one of them uses his sperm to fertilize the surrogate's egg through artificial insemination. The surrogate then carries the baby and gives birth.

A gay couple might also choose an egg donor, fertilize that donated egg, and then have the embryo implanted in a gestational surrogate to carry until birth.

Those who will accept

Women have many needs and for a young woman with little money to spend but wanting to be abreast of modern fashion, surrogacy appears an easy option to be rich. You only need proper antenatal care for nine months. 

In the US for example, a surrogate mother could earn up to $50,000 for carrying someone’s baby for nine months. 

You will be given the best of what life has to offer during your pregnancy –insurance, good meals and good accommodation to ensure the safety of the unborn child.

Many marriages in Ghana break down due to childlessness. If you accept to be a surrogate mother, you save a marriage and grow a family which Pope John Paul sees as the sanctuary of love, a place where life is nurtured and protected. 


In some tribes in Ghana, a woman who has difficulty getting children may be given a child by a sibling or close relative. Surrogacy could be a better option. You will look back and be proud of what you have done.

Those who will not

During pregnancy, nature creates a special bond between the mother and the unborn child. However, a surrogate mother has no legal rights or responsibility towards the child. You may never see your ‘child’ again. 

This may create emotional hurt which may dispose you to mental and physical harm.

To be a surrogate mother, you have to give complete medical history of yourself, parents and siblings to enhance eligibility. 

For example, you have to go through test to ensure you are healthy, within 21-35 years and have already given birth to healthy baby or babies. 

Many are uncomfortable giving personal medical details of themselves.

Some religious faiths including the Catholic Church reject surrogate motherhood. 

The reason is that pregnancy must come from husband and wife in normal penetrative intercourse because only the two spouses have reciprocal rights over each other for purpose of pregnancy. 

Surrogacy is contrary to the dignity of procreation of the human person and therefore unethical.