The journey of surrogacy doesn’t end with the birth of the child – after delivery and labor, surrogates start a new chapter of postpartum recovery, which typically takes anywhere from
Reproductive Possibilities’ Unique Process
Every member of the Reproductive Possibilities team believes in establishing a personal connection with all of our surrogate mothers from Georgia, Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and throughout the United States. We recognize the courage and strength of your decision to become a surrogate mother and will be a consistent support and advocate for your needs.
With Reproductive Possibilities, you can be assured that we will do whatever it takes to make the smoothest, most enjoyable journey as possible.
Below is a step-by-step look at the surrogacy process.
Step 1: Surrogate Application
The first step is to fill out a detailed application to share your medical and personal history. We will review the information provided with a focus on your pregnancy/delivery history, as well as your understanding of the surrogacy process and your support system.
If your application meets our surrogate mother requirements, you will be contacted to complete a series of interviews with our experienced team, where we’ll ask additional questions, discuss your medical and criminal background and answer any questions you may have about surrogacy, our support and your next steps.
Step 2: Create Your Profile
Your profile will be created to be shared with our intended parents to determine a match. This profile includes your surrogate application, information about you and your family, as well as photos that will help tell the story of who you are and why you would like to be a surrogate mother.
Your surrogate profile enables potential intended parents to get to know their potential future surrogate mother on a more personal level. Carrying a baby for someone is an intimate experience. We take your privacy seriously, so all personal details — such as last name, full address, email address and phone numbers — will be redacted from your profile.
Step 3: Collection of Medical Records
To become a surrogate mother, you must have a healthy medical history with uncomplicated pregnancies and births. You will be asked to gather your medical records, which will be reviewed by the intended parents’ fertility clinic. These records include:
- Prenatal OB records from your pregnancies
- Labor and delivery records from the hospital(s) at which you delivered
- A clearance letter from your OB, stating that you are cleared to carry another pregnancy
- Recent pap results from within the last 12 months
Step 4: Match with Intended Parents
Once intended parents express interest in your profile, we will recommend scheduling a conference call with a member of the Reproductive Possibilities team. We will host the call and ask all parties a series of questions relating to preferred forms of communication, willingness to carry multiples, reduce and/or terminate a pregnancy, as well as family and support systems. We ask all parties to communicate with our team the following day to discuss whether you would like to move forward to matching.
If you and the intended parents both agree to move forward, then you are considered matched, and the screening process begins! If you feel that it’s not a good fit, share your thoughts and concerns with us, so we can help to find intended parents that are a better match.
Once matched, your coordinator in our office will share contact information to begin communication. The relationship that develops between you and your intended parents may be slow to start but will likely change as the process continues. The level of communication you develop with your intended parents is unique to your journey and based on each party’s comfortability. You’ll discuss communication on the initial phone call prior to being matched.
Step 5: Embryo Transfer
Your medications will be managed by the intended parents' fertility clinic, and you will be monitored at a facility local to where you live that will work in tandem with the clinic. You will have weekly blood work and bi-weekly ultrasound monitoring for about four weeks to ensure that your body is responding appropriately to the medications and that your uterus will be ready for the embryo transfer. Please note that monitoring schedules vary by clinic.
You will travel to the intended parents' fertility clinic to have final testing to confirm your uterus is prepared and ready for the embryo transfer. You will typically relax in a nearby hotel for a 24-hour bed rest post-transfer. These arrangements are managed by our office or the responsibility of the intended parents.
Step 6: Pregnancy
Weekly monitoring will continue at a facility local to you post embryo transfer for HcG level observation. When the pregnancy is confirmed, you will slowly stop medications — monitored by fertility doctors — to allow the pregnancy to progress naturally. An exciting time early in the surrogacy journey is the heartbeat confirmation, which typically happens around 6 weeks. Once the heartbeat has been confirmed via ultrasound, you will be released into the care of your OBGYN around 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Step 7: Delivery
Typically, your intended parents arrive in your home state a couple of days to a week or so prior to the estimated delivery date. You will communicate with your intended parents and our office as soon as labor starts, should your intended parents need to make or change their travel plans. Then you will be able to deliver the baby to their happy parents!
Ready to Become a Surrogate?
Common Questions for Surrogates
How long does it take to be matched with Intended Parents?
Your wait time to match depends on your preference for intended parents and your physical and medical preparedness to proceed. You will have a shorter wait time if you have no restrictions for the parents and a healthy physical and medical background. We estimate that a match can be made within a couple of weeks from the time your profile has been completed.
Can you be a surrogate more than once?
Yes! Many of our surrogates come back for another surrogate journey, either with new intended parents or, sometimes, for what we call an “Encore Journey” with the intended parents you worked with previously. Some even have the opportunity for additional journeys when they have safe and healthy deliveries.
Related posts:
Embarking on the selfless path of gestational surrogacy can bring immeasurable joy to intended parents and provide life-long satisfaction to you as the surrogate, knowing that you’ve done something unique
Embarking on a journey as a surrogate is both commendable and transformative. Surrogacy gives intended parents (IPs) the opportunity to fulfill their dream of having a family. Here is a