If you have had at least one successful pregnancy and enjoyed being pregnant, consider helping someone else complete their family! Become a surrogate today!
At The Fertility Agency, we connect gestational surrogates with intended parents and help support and guide them throughout their journeys.
Gestational surrogacy is the process of carrying a baby for a couple or person who cannot carry themselves (ex: infertility, LBGTQ+ couples, single parents, etc.). Gestational surrogates share no genetic relation to the baby they carry, as the eggs either come from an intended parent or an egg donor.
Since 2004, we have helped bring over 1,100+ babies into the world. Consider helping us deliver dreams by becoming a surrogate mother, using these 7 steps below.
Become a Surrogate Mother in 7 Steps
If you are considering becoming a surrogate, it is important to fully understand the entire process prior to filling out an application.
While surrogacy is an amazing process that helps expand families, it also is a major commitment in terms of the time it takes, impact on your body, etc., and we want to make sure to acknowledge that.
We are extraordinarily grateful that you are interested in helping a family in this amazing way.
The process of becoming a surrogate with TFA can be explained in 7 simple steps:
- Meet the Surrogate Requirements
- Talk to a Surrogacy Agency
- Gather Past Pregnancy & Health Information
- Get Matched with Intended Parents
- Medical & Physical Health Screenings
- Prepare for the Embryo Transfer Procedure
- Embryo Transfer and Pregnancy
1. Meet the Surrogate Requirements
At The Fertility Agency, our goal throughout the entire surrogacy process is to minimize risk factors for both the surrogate and baby. We do everything we can to try to make this process as smooth as possible for everyone involved. One of the ways we achieve this is through making sure our requirements are always in line with ASRM standards, which are adhered to by fertility clinics.
If you are interested in what these requirements entail… here is a brief list of some of ours:
- Between 23 and 40 years old
- MUST have successfully carried at least one child of your own to term
- Have a BMI <32
- An English speaking US citizen
- Non-smoker, non-drug user who maintains a healthy lifestyle
Sounding like you would be a perfect fit? Explore our full list of qualifications to become a surrogate to learn more!
2. Talk to a Surrogacy Agency
While some women choose independent journeys, there are an abundance of benefits to choosing a long-standing agency like ours to help you along your journey.
- We will be with you for the entire process: helping with contracts, medical appointments, how much you get paid to be a surrogate, etc.
- Our team is filled with former surrogates and intended parents who will help answer any questions and act as a support network for you the entire time.
- We have connections to top fertility clinics and doctors.
We would love to use our expertise and experience to help guide you throughout the surrogacy process.
While it is important to choose an agency with impressive results and reviews, it is also important to choose an agency that is right for you and meets your specific needs. This is why we recommend doing much research prior to submitting an application. On our website, you can read many reviews from former surrogates who have worked with us.
If you are interested in scheduling a call with one of our Surrogate Coordinators to learn about what sets our agency apart from others, you can even do so prior to submitting an application.
If you apply and qualify… the next step is to schedule a consultation with one of our Surrogate Coordinators.
During this call, you can ask questions about us and your journey. We want to know some more things about you, including discussing your pregnancy and medical history as well as your support system. We will answer all your questions while taking you through everything you will need to know.
This intake process helps to make sure that a surrogacy journey can be healthy and successful for you and your family.
3. Gather Past Pregnancy & Health Information
Before getting matched, additional information is needed to confirm your eligibility and ensure that you are healthy, safe, and fit for this process.
You will need to reach out to your OB(s) and get:
- Your previous pregnancy and delivery records
- A pap smear (if you have not had one in over a year)
- A medical clearance letter from your OB stating that you can move forward with a surrogacy pregnancy
We also will run background checks on you and your partner. We want to make sure you have a safe and stable environment for the health and safety of both you and the surrogate baby.
All of this is done to attempt to minimize risk factors for everyone involved, while simultaneously focusing on providing successful outcomes. Overall, helping to expand families! 😊
Congratulations! Once this is fully complete, it is officially time to get matched with intended parents!
4. Get Matched with Intended Parents
Similarly to the process of matching with a romantic partner on a dating website, compatibility and preferences deeply matter to everyone involved.
To focus on compatibility and ensure matches align with everyone’s preferences, it is essential to fill out your profile.
Matching is a delicate process that requires expertise and experience. The right or wrong match can make or break an entire journey.
Our program, TrueMatch™, is a unique and complimentary service developed by our agency through the years that goes beyond our intuitive sense of what makes an excellent match and provides a more successful fit – and we have thousands of babies to show for it.
This is an extremely exciting time in your journey. Who knows who you will be helping on your journey!
Not only do you match with an intended parent/s, but they also match with you. Intended parents typically look for someone healthy and stable that they can feel comfortable around.
Wondering how long the matching process takes? From the time you complete your application process, it could take a week, a month, or a little longer to find the right match for you. We pride ourselves on making good fits for everyone.
Once we think we have a good fit, the next step is to show you the intended parents’ profile and they will also see yours.
If it still seems like a good pairing, we will schedule a Zoom chat with everyone, and if all goes well…congratulations, you are matched!
You will then be assigned your own Case Manager who will assist and support you throughout your entire journey <3.
5. Medical & Physical Health Screenings
After you are matched, you must then go through both psychological and medical screenings.
You may be confused why these take place after matching; however, these procedures are all paid for by the intended parents.
The first step is to meet with a licensed psychologist specializing in surrogacy. They will help ensure that you are fully aware of the commitment being a surrogate takes and that you are emotionally prepared to proceed. They will also make sure you have a stable support system in place.
The next part of the process often involves travel; again, fully funded by the intended parents! Your Case Manager will make these arrangements.
Even though your medical records will have already been approved by the intended parents’ fertility doctor, the doctor will want to do an in-person medical evaluation. This will consist of blood tests and cultures and a gynecological exam.
Your partner will only need to have blood work done to screen for sexually transmitted diseases. If your partner does not go with you, they can have this completed at a lab near to their home or work.
Once you receive medical clearance, this step is complete!
Excitingly, contracts can now be reviewed and signed! You will have your own surrogacy lawyer to go over everything in the contract and make sure you agree with all aspects of it. Again, all fees will be paid by the intended parents.
The contracts outline how much you get paid to be a surrogate, when these payments occur, how everyone involved will behave in certain situations that may arise, and what each party’s obligations are to the other.
Once contracts are signed, you will have legal clearance, and your monthly allowance will begin! 😊
6. Prepare for the Embryo Transfer Procedure
After contracts, you will begin preparing for the embryo transfer. As you may have expected, this does involve taking various medications.
In addition to medication, this includes a few monitoring appointments at a local clinic for bloodwork and ultrasounds.
Before starting this process, you will receive instructions for taking the medication and a medical calendar. Our agency will be there to support throughout the entire process.
If all goes according to plan, next, you will travel to the intended parents’ clinic for the embryo transfer.
Prior to the transfer, it is important to get your head and heart in the right place. We recommend taking the time to investigate our blog, Embryo Transfer: What to Expect and How to Prepare, where we dive into recommendations for how to mentally prepare for this process.
7. Embryo Transfer and Pregnancy
The question of how surrogate mothers get pregnant is one we frequently answer. Fairly, you may be wondering, what is the embryo transfer process like for surrogate mothers.
Embryo Transfer Procedure
Former surrogates describe the embryo transfer as feeling similar to a Pap smear with the majority describing it as pain-free.
In most cases, a single embryo is transferred through a catheter to your uterus, and you will go back home or to a hotel to rest for only one day! Isn’t that amazing?
Each doctor has a slightly different protocol, and you must follow all the doctor’s instructions.
Regarding travel, our contract will cover all such eventualities as the need for childcare, lost wages, etc., so you will never have to worry about money to meet your surrogacy obligations.
How long does it take to find out that I am pregnant?
After the transfer, you will have to wait a week to 10 days for your first beta test. This is a blood test that determines whether you are pregnant!
We do not recommend pregnancy tests, as they are not always accurate. Remember to continue all prescribed medications no matter what the personally purchased pregnancy test tells you. This is extraordinarily important!
On the day of your beta test, you will go to a local lab, have your blood drawn, and hopefully be getting that great news later the same day – YOU’RE PREGNANT!
Monitoring Throughout Pregnancy
After your positive beta, the clinic will have you do a few more blood tests. A couple of weeks later, you will have an ultrasound to make sure the baby is developing properly. Until about 10 weeks into the pregnancy, you will continue to take medications and be overseen by the intended parents’ fertility doctor.
When your own body starts producing the hormones without medication, you are ready to be released to your very own OB, and from this point forward it will be like your typical pregnancies…except there are intended parents and an agency to support and be in communication with you the whole time!
Relationship With Intended Parents During Your Pregnancy
The intended parents and everyone at our agency love to receive photos and updates throughout the surrogacy journey as well as afterwards! 😊
Regardless of if the intended parents live in a different country, they always try to be present at birth. Communication after birth, like during the process, depends on the desires of everyone involved.
You will have positively impacted the lives of the intended parents and the baby, and that is a gift that is immeasurable!
Become a Surrogate Mother with The Fertility Agency
Those seven steps are all it takes to become a surrogate, and drastically change people’s lives.
Many of these initial steps, such as meeting the requirements, having a call with our agency, gathering medical information, and both screenings, are all in place to ensure that this process would be a promising idea for you. We understand how serious of a commitment this is and want to make sure that you are the right person for surrogacy.
Gestational surrogacy is an amazing process that helps so many people complete their families, especially LGBTQ+ people, single parents, and people dealing with infertility.
Here at The Fertility Agency, we are so ecstatic that we get to play a role in this amazing process.
Not only is most of our team comprised of surrogates but our agency was founded by two intended parents. Our firsthand experiences and years of expertise provide us with the perfect balance of business and passion. Our extensive list of testimonials can back our values and expertise.
If all of this sounds manageable to you and you are still interested in becoming a surrogate, we would love the opportunity to help you along your journey. Please complete our surrogate application or contact us if you need more information.
If you are interested in surrogacy but worried about what your partner may think, we understand and also have resources for that.
Our goal is to help intended parents expand their families while attempting to make the surrogacy journey as seamless as possible for everyone involved!
