Requirements for Becoming a Surrogate Mother

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Becoming a surrogate requires a lot of steps to take before, during, and after your pregnancy. Joy of Life wants to ensure that surrogates and the intended parent(s) are aware of all the required procedures in order to better the chances of successful surrogacy. This blog lists the requirements and options to help you determine how to approach surrogacy during the surrogate mother process.

Meet the Requirements of Becoming a Surrogate Mother

The physical and mental strength required during pregnancy is enormous. If you want to become a surrogate, you will need to remain in great physical and mental health throughout all nine months of pregnancy, as determined by a screening process completed through the surrogacy agency. Most agencies require the surrogate to be between 21 and 39 years old to prevent any health complications from extremes of age. You must also have had a previous pregnancy with no complications. As a surrogate, you must agree to drug and criminal screenings, among others, so that the fetus and/or your own body isn’t harmed in any way during the pregnancy.

Medical Requirements During the Surrogacy Process

It’s also important to know that health monitoring is crucial throughout the entire surrogacy process.

• Medical screening:

This screening process takes place before the pregnancy and tests for STDs, infections harmful to fertility, the health of the uterus, and any drug use. Your partner will be checked for STDs and drug use as well.

• Fertility Treatments

Blood tests, injections, and ultrasounds will occur during the embryo transfer process to determine hormone levels and the health of the lining of the uterus. Medications will be prescribed to prepare you for in vitro fertilization (IVF).

• Embryo Transfer

The embryo will be transferred into the surrogate’s uterus in an efficient and painless way. This process requires the surrogate to remain at the clinic for a few hours after the transfer and to rest for a few days following the transfer.

• Prenatal Care

During the pregnancy, the surrogate is required to make regular visits to the fertility clinic to receive blood tests and ultrasounds. As soon as the pregnancy is confirmed through a heartbeat, the surrogate can see her own OB, whom she will visit frequently for check-ups.

I Want to Be a Surrogate Mother. Now What?

Determine the type of surrogacy you are interested in.

• Traditional Surrogacy

The surrogate’s own eggs are fertilized by the intended father’s or donor’s sperm, making the surrogate genetically related to the baby. Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is the medical procedure that transfers the sperm of the intended father directly into the uterus of the surrogate mother.

• Gestational Surrogacy

Gestational surrogacy requires the use of another woman’s egg to create the embryo. The surrogate doesn’t have any genetic relationship to the baby and is just considered the “birth mother.” The fertilized embryo is implanted through IVF.

Choose a surrogacy professional.

You have the choice to work with either a surrogacy agency or attorney, depending on your needs. Be aware of your own requirements and preferences while doing your research for a surrogacy professional.

Develop a surrogacy plan.

This takes place after you have selected a surrogacy agency and received a proper screening. The steps you take in developing a plan will guide you to your ideal type of surrogacy, because you will then know the type of intended parent(s) you want to work with, your comfort level with carrying more than one baby at a time, and anything else that will assist in making sure you have a smooth pregnancy.

Joy of Life is a California-based surrogacy agency that has helped many couples build families. If you have any other questions, please contact us at info@joyoflifesurrogacy.com or 909-908-0772.