What to Expect: A Surrogacy Timeline with an Agency

Becoming a surrogate is one of the most rewarding and amazing things you will ever do.  Be Surrogacy is here to help you understand the ins and outs of surrogacy so that you are prepared for next steps.  We want to be your first friend in the community and to share our knowledge and experiences with you!

A big part of what we do is partner with the country’s best agencies that will help both you and parents in everything from matching through birth.  While all of our agency partners are amazing, they all do have their own teams, processes and general vibe.  They do all, however, follow a very similar path when it comes to key pieces like onboarding, matching and management of the journey.  Below are the basics about what to expect around the general process and timeline.

All of the Paperwork.

The good news is, this paperwork leads to something great… the match!  Agencies are going to ask you to fill out an application and profile that will be shared with the parent to see if it is a good match.  You will likely also be asked to complete a background check, submit a copy of your driver’s license, health insurance card (if you are insured), and some additional paperwork.

The initial video conference.

In order to create the most personalized journeys, the agency is going to want to get to know you too!  They will likely set up a zoom call to walk you through their process and to get to know your expectations.  This is the time to ask questions and to make sure that the agency is the right fit for you.  The agency should be able to answer any and all questions competently and to get back to you in a timely manner.  They will expect great communication from you and you should expect the same!

Your prior prenatal records.

One of the best parts of working with Be Surrogacy is that we will manage one of the more daunting tasks of collecting medical records and having them internally reviewed.  This will make for better agency partnerships for you and quicker match times with parents.  All IVF clinics are going to want to review these as well but the initial leg work will have already been completed by us!

The Psychological Screening.

The American Society of Reproductive Medicine outlines three major components of surrogacy that all good agencies and clinics follow.  The first of these is a psychological evaluation.  You will meet with a mental health professional (and your partner too, if you have one) usually on video, and talk about your life, job, family and why you would like to be a surrogate.  You will also complete a personality profile assessment that will scale you on honesty.  It is a long yes/no test but nothing that needs to be studied for.  Just be honest and yourself and you will be great.

Reviewing profiles

Agencies typically share a surrogate’s profile with an Intended Parent first.  If that parent is interested in your profile, they will then share the parent profile with you.  Sometimes parents would like a Non-Disclosure Agreement signed first if there are privacy concerns.  Take a careful look at their profile.  Feel free to ask questions to the agency about things that may not be on the profile or things you need clarity about.  Profiles are just a snapshot of a person or couple so they will not answer everything.  Once you are able to meet the parent on your Match Call, personalities and connectivity will be a lot more apparent.  If both parents and you are interested in each other’s profiles, you will move on to the next step!

Pregnancy Record Approval by the IVF clinic

As mentioned above, while we have already done an initial assessment of your past pregnancy history, each IVF clinic will have their own internal audit of your records as well.  The doctor is looking for problems in prior pregnancies including hypertension, preeclampsia, low birth weights, continuous medical care and healthy deliveries.  Clinics can take anywhere from a week to six weeks to review records.

The long awaited Match Call

Once your pregnancy records have been approved by the clinic, the agency will schedule a match call between the agency, you and the intended parents.  This is a low key introduction to each other and a chance to get to know one another.  Relationships are very important in surrogacy and while you might not be best friends, you do want to match with parents that feel connected, engaged and genuine.  This is also an opportunity to discuss big ticket items that may make or break a match like termination, number of embryos, how many embryos are wanting to be transferred, compensation and relationship.  The agency should be touching on all of these points to make sure that you and the parent are aligned on all major issues.

The Medical Screening at the Fertility Clinic

After the call, if everyone is still excited to move forward, we will be ready for your medical screening appointment. This will be done at the clinic where the parents’ embryos are located. All travel costs should be paid by the parent or agency.  You should be reimbursed for meals and time away from your job.  Keep in mind… this is a part of the surrogacy process and not time to go to a fancy dinner.  Keep in mind the cost of things and make thoughtful decisions about appearance, timeliness and professionalism.  At the IVF clinic, they will do a transvaginal ultrasound and lab work.  They want to make sure there are no lining of uterine issues that could impede pregnancy.  The lab work will detail your current health.  The labs should be back in about 10 days or so.  The IVF clinic should update both you and the agency with results.   Assuming everything looks good, you will then have medical clearance!

Understanding the Legal Clearance

Once you have medical clearance, your parent(s)’ attorney will draft the Gestational Carrier Agreement.  This document is the legal binding contract between you and your parents.  It will detail all information related to payments, medical parameters, travel, safety and health expectations.  This document will be reviewed with you by your attorney and then will be sent to the attorney representing the parents.  Once both parties agree, each party will need to sign AND NOTARIZE the contract.  This is true whether the parent is domestic or international.  Timelines vary in this process but can range from 2 weeks to 8 weeks depending on various scheduling factors. Once signed, you are legally cleared to start medication.

The Medications and Embryo Transfer

Once both surrogate and Intended Parent have signed the legal agreement, a calendar will be sent to you by the clinic detailing your medications protocol and transfer date.  This process is typically 4-6 weeks long and varies from clinic to clinic. The transfer will occur at the clinic where the medical screening happened.  It is a relatively quick process and is not painful for most women.   After the transfer, you will be asked to take it easy for a couple days.  Typically, bed rest is not required and you can do regular mom-life stuff the following day. It is important to note here that not all first-time transfers are successful, and it may take several attempts to have a successful pregnancy. We caution both surrogates and Intended Parents to be cautiously optimistic during this time.

The Duration of the Pregnancy

Once you complete your medication protocol and have confirmed pregnancy through both blood work and fetal heartbeat (at about 6-8 weeks gestation), you will ‘graduate’ to your own OB/GYN.  You will attend regular appointments (typically monthly) for monitoring, just as a natural pregnancy would require.

Payments and what to expect

Prior to confirmation of fetal heartbeat, most agencies have some sort of bonus structure that compensates you for your time in IVF.  Once you confirm heartbeat, your legal agreement will dictate how and when you get paid.  There are various ways parents put money into the escrow account that will hold all the funds so it is best to understand if it is being held by an attorney, by the agency or by an independent escrow company.

The Long Awaited Delivery!

Approximately 10 months after transfer, you will deliver in a hospital near your home.  You will not be required to deliver at or near the original IVF clinic, except in rare cases that will have been discussed on the match call and in the legal agreement.  If the Intended Parents are international, they should expect to spend 4-8 weeks in the United States both leading up to and post birth.  Domestic parents will be able to travel with their baby shortly after he/she is released from the hospital.

While all agencies work a little differently, we have partnered with some of the most well respected and competent agencies in the country to make sure that you are well taken care of.  If you ever have any questions or concerns, we are here to listen and help guide you through.  We were your first friend in surrogacy but we will not be your last.  We have known the joy of beautiful journeys and can not wait for you to experience it yourself!