Definition of Surrogate mother

Surrogate mother: Also known as surrogate. A woman who agrees to become pregnant and carry a child for another individual or couple, who will become the child's legal parents. In some situations and locations a surrogate mother may be paid for her services. In traditional surrogacy, the woman becomes pregnant using her own eggs and is the biological mother of the child. The term is sometimes used to refer to a woman who carries a biologically unrelated child for another couple that was conceived through in-vitro fertilization (IVF), but the term gestational carrier or gestational surrogate is more accurate in this situation.