Surrogacy allows women to help others bring new life into the world and grow a family, but the medical process itself is different for surrogates than with a personal pregnancy. With surrogacy, the uterus needs to require preparation to support the upcoming pregnancy or implantation.Three hormones assist in this process. Estrogen and progesterone prepare the uterus by mocking the surrogate’s natural cycle, and lupron makes sure the timing remains synchronized.
Estrogen
It may sound counter-intuitive, but as a surrogate, it is typically required to take birth control pills to prepare for the surrogacy journey and coordinate the ovarian cycle. Estrogen helps thicken and build the uterine lining, maintaining early pregnancy.
Estrogen replacements are also given until the twelfth week of pregnancy. Why that particular week? That’s when the placenta takes over the job of hormone production. Estrogen can be administered through oral pills, suppositories, patches, or injection.
Progesterone
The body makes progesterone after ovulation. Once uterine walls are thick enough, you start taking progesterone replacements to ensure successful implantation a few days before the embryo is transferred into the uterus. Progesterone signals the body to start making the correct nutrients to nourish the embryo.
As with estrogen, you stop progesterone replacements around the end of the twelfth week. It can be taken in the form of pills, suppositories, or gels, but the typical administration form is by intramuscular injection. It’s just a pinch.
Lupron
With that influx of hormones, your body will naturally react and try to reassert its natural cycle. Lupron keeps the timing on track by safely blocking the hormones that control your cycle. It’s like putting up a “Do Not Disturb” sign. It helps to synchronize your cycle with the egg donor’s or intended mother’s cycle before the transfer.
You start taking Lupron about two weeks after you begin birth control and stop it days before the intended mother’s or egg donor’s egg retrieval. You receive Lupron by a self-administered injection with a half-inch needle.
As you take these hormones, you also receive weekly blood tests and ultrasounds to ensure everything is proceeding accordingly. You only need to supplement the pregnancy with hormones during those few weeks of the first trimester. After that, the body makes its own hormones naturally. Because individual needs vary in pregnancy and surrogacy, contact Joy of Life® to learn more about the medication process. As a leading surrogacy agency in California, Joy of Life® has ample experience help surrogate mothers enjoy their special surrogacy journey.
