Surrogacy represents a great life commitment from the intended parents and surrogate mothers. This is because it is a complex process that involves financial, legal, and health decisions.
To help you solve your doubts and concerns, Love & Kindness has created a simplified guide about how surrogacy works:
Finding a Surrogate
You can ask a family member or close friend to be your surrogate. However, you will also have to find an assisted reproduction attorney.
The other way is to find a surrogate, is through a surrogacy agency.
Legal Issues
Three main legal issues surround surrogacy: State Laws, Surrogacy Contract, and Pre-Birth Order.
State Laws
Nebraska, Louisiana, Michigan, and New York are the only states to have banned surrogacy.
Regardless of where the intended parents live (including outside of the U.S.), Love & Kindness can match them with a surrogate. Therefore, helping to find a surrogate from a state where surrogacy is legally allowed — to help them start a family.
Surrogacy Contract
The surrogacy contract aims to ensure the safety of everyone involved. Therefore, this includes the intended parents, the baby, and the surrogate mother. Furthermore, it establishes clear terms of communication. The contract usually includes the financial compensation and responsibilities of the surrogate.
Pre-Birth order
Pre-birth orders are documents where the parental rights are removed from the surrogate and assigned to the intended parents.
The Surrogacy Journey: A Step-by-Step Guide
Here is what you can expect from a journey with Love & Kindness Surrogacy:
Step 1: Surrogate Application
First, our surrogates have to undergo an application process:
- Submit an online application.
- Have an interview with Love and Kindness Surrogacy.
- Criminal background check
- OBGYN check-up (if applicable)
- Medical review of records
Step 2: Matching
The surrogate and the intended parents will review and approve of each other’s profiles. After matching, they will meet through video chat. However, no contact information is shared at this point.
Step 3: Screenings and Evaluations
This is a physically and mentally challenging endeavor. Therefore, the surrogate will complete medical and psychological evaluations to prevent any health issues with the baby and herself during pregnancy.
Step 4: Surrogacy Contract
The signing of the contract comes after passing the medical and psychological evaluations.
The surrogate and the intended parents, with the help of their lawyers, shall verify that their interests, expectations, and limits are properly represented in the contract.
Step 5: IVF Embryo Transfer
The surrogate will start taking a three-week hormone treatment — known as IVF treatment — to prepare for the embryo transfer. Then, the intended parents’ embryo(s) will be transferred to the surrogate’s uterus.
A pregnancy test and an ultrasound will confirm the pregnancy.
Step 6: Pregnancy
The surrogate will continue with the hormone treatment through the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. Furthermore, the surrogate will carry the baby just like in any other pregnancy.
Step 7: Pre-Birth Order
During the second trimester of pregnancy, the pre-birth order goes to the court.
Step 8: Childbirth
After delivery, the parents get to take their baby home from the hospital. Furthermore, they are now the legal guardians.
At Love & Kindness Surrogacy we aim to do our best to help intended parents and surrogates to work towards the dream of building a family.
We strive to provide a safe and honest surrogacy journey. We offer guidance from our agents. Therefore, we can offer a realistic expectation of surrogacy or answer further doubts you may have. Reach out to us. We are here to help!
