If you decide you want to have children but find that you are unable to achieve this in the conventional manner you have options. You may decide to become a foster parent. Foster care is a system wherein a minor who has been made a ward is placed in a private home, group home or institution in which an individual or couple (or a group) has been state-certified as a caregiver. This is usually arranged through a social-service agency or the government. Foster parents are compensated for expenses incurred by the child or children in their care by the government or the social-service agency which placed the minor or minors in the home.

Or you may consider adoption. Some parents want a better life for their child than they feel like they are capable of providing. In such cases a child born to parents who make this decision will need to be placed with a new family. There are many kids out there looking for loving, stable and nurturing parents and home environments. They come from different places. Some live with birth relatives or in orphanages until they can be adopted. Some might presently be living in a foster care home. Others might come from a foreign country and would be a case of international adoption. There are a lot of great kids out there eligible for adoption who can enrich your life just as you can help build theirs.

It could be that surrogacy is the answer for you. A woman who is willing and agrees to carry a baby for another couple or person is known as a surrogate or carrier. The couple or person wishing to take custody and raise the child is called the intended parent(s). In the process called gestational surrogacy the carrier is implanted with an embryo created from either sperm and/or egg from the intended couple or a donor. In gestational surrogacy the carrier is only responsible for gestating the baby until birth and the infant has no genetic relationship to the carrier. In the case of traditional surrogacy the surrogate may be the child's genetic mother. In a traditional surrogacy the process of conception varies. The child may be conceived via ICI (intracervical insemination) performed at a health clinic or through home artificial insemination using fresh or frozen sperm or impregnated via IUI (intrauterine insemination).

The legalities concerning surrogacy may vary depending on the laws of the state you live in. In some states a step-parent adoption occurs after the baby carried by the surrogate is born. In other states there exists a legal structure for obtaining a pre-birth order. This makes it legally possible for the names of the intended parents to appear on the baby's original birth certificate. Either way, the intended parents take the baby home from the hospital and are the legal parents from the beginning.

If your inability to have a child begins with a failure to conceive you may want to explore the possibilities of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). In this process an egg is fertilised by sperm outside the body: in vitro. IVF is one of the leading treatments for infertility as it often proves successful when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed. When the IVF procedure is successful it is combined with a process known as embryo transfer, which involves physically placing the embryo in the uterus. There are five basic steps in the IVF and embryo transfer process which include the monitoring and stimulation of the development of the healthy egg or eggs in the ovaries. The eggs are collected and the sperm secured. The eggs and sperm are collected together in the laboratory and provide the appropriate environment for fertilization and early embryo growth. Finally the embryo is transferred into the uterus.

Being a parent is one of the most rewarding and challenging life events you will ever experience. Perhaps you have tried to start a family but have run into some unexpected roadblocks. Your ability to successfully overcome the difficulties you may be facing will demonstrate to you that you are capable of rising to the task of being a mom or a dad. Your determination and perseverance will help you to achieve your aim of having a child. You will also find that these same qualities benefit you enormously in matters of raising that child. Explore your many options and get ready to succeed.