In surrogacy a woman becomes pregnant with the purpose to hand over the child after birth to the couple who cannot conceive a child themselves - they are known as "intended parents". Hence, this woman carries the child for the intended parents who seek a baby but they cannot give birth to their child naturally. A Surrogate gives childless couples the family they have longed for. There is a conventional surrogate where a woman gets artificially inseminated with the father's sperm and then carries the baby, and delivers it for the couple to raise. In another type of surrogacy, i.e., Gestational surrogate where through a technique called in vitro fertilization (IVF) where the eggs are collected from the mother (or an egg donor), fertilized with sperm from the father (or a sperm donor) and place the embryo into the uterus of a gestational surrogate. The surrogate then carries the baby until birth. They don't have any genetic ties to the child because it wasn't their egg that was used. In the U.S., gestational surrogacy is less complex legally. That's because we see many babies’ births through gestational surrogacy there. In this, both intended parents have genetic ties to the baby. As a result, gestational surrogacy has become more common than traditional surrogacy. About 750 babies are born each year using gestational surrogacy. Surrogacy is governed by laws that vary from state to state. Prior to engaging in a surrogacy arrangement, it is best to speak with a legal professional that is experienced in surrogacy law. In some places, couples have to clear the adoption procedures to get legal custody of the child. Countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Bulgaria prohibit all sorts of surrogacy. But in the UK, Ireland, Denmark, and Belgium, surrogacy is allowed where the surrogate mother is not paid, or only paid for reasonable expenses. So commercial surrogacy is prohibited there also. Experts say that countries popular with parents for surrogacy arrangements are the US, India, Thailand, Ukraine, and Russia. Mexico, Nepal, Poland, and Georgia are also among the countries described as possibilities for surrogacy arrangements. Costs vary significantly from country to country, and also depend on the number of IVF cycles needed, and whether health insurance is required. Nicola Scott, a lawyer with UK family law firm Natalie Gamble Associates, says that about 25% of her firm's clients go to the US, often because they feel it is safer. "The US has a very long history of surrogacy. One reason is that the parents know there are established legal frameworks in many states, particularly California, so there is safety associated with going there," she says.