Family Planning - Modern Methods

Modern Methods

Some families use modern medical advances in family planning. For example in surrogacy treatments a woman agrees to become pregnant and deliver a child for another couple or person.

There are two types of surrogacy: traditional and gestational. Traditional Surrogacy is where the Surrogate uses her own eggs AND carries the child for her Intended Parents. This procedure is done in a doctor's office through IUI. This type of surrogacy obviously includes a genetic connection between the surrogate and the child. Legally speaking, the Surrogate will have to disclaim any interest in the child to complete the transfer to the Intended Parents. A gestational surrogacy occurs when the Intended Mother's or a donor egg is fertilized outside the body and then the embryos are transferred into the uterus. The woman who carries the child is often referred to as a Gestational Carrier. The legal steps to confirm parentage with the Intended Parents are generally easier than in a traditional because there is no genetic connection between child and Carrier.

In sperm donations, pregnancies are usually achieved using donated sperm by artificial insemination (either by intracervical insemination or intrauterine insemination) and less commonly by invitro fertilization (IVF), usually known in this context as Assisted reproductive technology (ART), but insemination may also be achieved by a donor having sexual intercourse with a woman for the sole purpose of initiating conception. This method is known as natural insemination (NI).

There is generally a demand for sperm donors who have no genetic problems in their family, 20/20 eyesight, with excellent visual acuity, a college degree, and sometimes a value on a certain height and age.

In cases were couples may not want to have children just yet and plan with time family planning programs help a lot. Federal family planning programs reduced childbearing among poor women by as much as 29 percent, according to a University of Michigan study.

Adoption sometimes used to build a family. There are seven steps that one must make towards adoption. You must decide to pursue an adoption, apply to adopt, complete an adoption home study, get approved to adopt, be matched with a child, receive an adoptive placement, and then legalize the adoption.