When is the Best Time to Become a Surrogate?

The short answer to this question is whenever you are ready! Becoming a surrogate mother is a big commitment that requires a lot of thought, reflection, research, and time. Before applying to become a surrogate, it is important to understand the specific impact that being a surrogate will have on your life. Having a firm understanding of the timing throughout the surrogacy process will aid in determining when you should apply, become pregnant, and potentially give birth. Having this understanding will help you establish the right time for you to become a surrogate.

When Will I Get Pregnant if I Apply Today?

This is a great question! There are many variables involved in the surrogacy process that prevent us from providing an exact timeline, but women applying to be surrogates can expect an estimated overall timeline of about 14-22 months, from filling out the application to giving birth. If a woman applies to be a surrogate mother today, she will likely not become pregnant for 5 to 8 months. Prior to becoming pregnant a woman needs to complete a full application, begin the initial screening process with the Reproductive Possibilities team, the gathering of medical records for the surrogate, the matching process with Intended Parents, clinic screening and the finalization of legal contracts, beginning the cycle schedule & begin medications, and finally the embryo transfer. This process can take anywhere from 22 to 31 weeks or 5 to 8 months. To learn more about the specific stages of the surrogacy process, you can read the Surrogate Timeline blog post that breaks down each part of the process and what that entails.

Will COVID-19 Impact the Timing of My Journey?

As of June 2020, COVID-19 should not have a huge impact on your ability to begin the process of becoming a surrogate. As mentioned above, there are several months between filling out the initial application and undergoing an embryo transfer at a fertility clinic. If a woman was to apply this month, there should be little to no impact on her journey based on COVID-19. If an application were to be completed today, the surrogate would not be attending her clinic screening for at least 3 months, and would not be undergoing an embryo transfer until November of 2020. Many fertility clinics have begun to reopen and are allowing embryo transfers, and it is likely that this trend will continue over the next 6 months.

I Don’t Want to Get Pregnant Until 2021. When Should I Apply?

This year, 2020, has gotten off to a tumultuous start. Many parents have been working from home, unable to work, newly homeschooling children, or are in the process of making large lifestyle changes based on recent events. All of these things can be very overwhelming and can make someone uneasy about beginning another seemingly overwhelming process. We understand that and want to ensure that every surrogate that comes through our program has the best experience. This may mean wanting to delay your surrogacy journey until things normalize, or at least until schools and office buildings begin to reopen. Luckily, if a woman were to apply this month or next, it is likely that she will not become pregnant until the beginning of 2021.

I Am Ready to Apply, But Not Ready to Match. What Should I Do?

If that timeline still feels overwhelming, we still encourage you to apply when you feel ready to move forward with a specific agency. We can always put your application on hold until you are ready to be matched and become pregnant. If a surrogate is put on hold, we are still able to begin some of the initial stages of the process including the initial interview/screening, the collection of medical records, and completing the matching profile prior to moving her to the matching list. Once these first steps are done, and a surrogate decides she is ready to move forward, the process can move more quickly into matching when she is ready.