Traditional surrogacy used to be the only way for a couple to use a surrogate, and is still used by many people. Artificial insemination is easy, pretty painless, and significantly less expensive than IVF, a selling point for many surrogates and intended parents. There is a high success rate when working with a surrogate with proven fertility, and the rebound time after a failed attempt is a matter of weeks (unlike IVF, where it's often months).
There are a few ways of actually performing the inseminations: doctors may perform intra-uterine inseminations (IUIs) or cervical inseminations (ICIs) depending on the quality of sperm, whether they're working with fresh or frozen sperm, and personal preference. ICIs are basically the "turkey baster" method one imagines when speaking of artificial insemination, although it's a small catheter rather than any cooking utensil used to actually deposit the semen by the cervix. IUIs are done only with washed sperm - that's semen that's been sent through a centrifuge and spun until the seminal fluid is removed from the sperm, and only the strongest little swimmers remain. A catheter is threaded through the cervix into the uterus, and the sperm are inserted through it directly to the uterus. Another option is home inseminations, where the surrogate simply does an ICI at home with the sperm. This is free (other than the cost of a few medical supplies required) and allows more privacy; however, some people are more squeamish about doing it themselves instead of having a doctor do the procedure. Some have also done home inseminations to avoid the quarantine period many states require when working with sperm not from a woman's husband.
In general, traditional surrogates do not have to be on any special medications. They keep track of their own menstrual cycle and time the inseminations around when they naturally ovulate. In some cases, intended parents and their surrogate will choose to use mild fertility drugs, such as Clomid, to fine-tune the timing of ovulation or increase the chances of twins. Through charting their Basal Body Temperature, watching their cervical mucous, and using ovulation predictors or fertility monitors, and/or through ultrasound monitoring by a clinic, the surrogate can pinpoint when she's most likely to ovulate and do the inseminations to coincide with this.
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