Infertility can be an emotional, trying experience for couples looking to build a family. As hopeful parents, you have spent several years and even a fortune on infertility treatments without achieving success and perhaps, that is when you thought of turning to the surrogacy process.
We know that many Intended Parents prefer infertility treatments such as IVF and IUI over gestational surrogacy since it gives them the chance to have a personal experience of pregnancy. Hence, quitting infertility treatments for the surrogacy process is a big and difficult decision. It is no wonder that abandoning those expectations may engulf you with a hard-to-cope-with emotion of failure.
But there is hope!
While surrogacy may not be something you have planned in the first place, it does allow you to experience the joys of parenthood. And at the end of the day, looking at your healthy baby laugh and play is the most cherishable experience you had craved for.
In the following discussion, weโll guide you through some important questions you need to ask yourself to be sure you are prepared to make the transition to surrogacy process.
1. Does your partner agree with the surrogacy option?
One important factor in transitioning from infertility treatments to surrogacy is whether or not your partner is comfortable with this option.
It is up to both of you to decide whether it is the right option for you.
We recommend that both of you research gestational surrogacy together and find out what it’s all about. This will give you a comprehensive idea of what to expect and let you know if it’s an ideal parenthood option for you.
2. Are you ready to forgo other infertility treatments?
Another factor you need to consider is whether or not you are ready to quit other infertility treatments.
A lot of people who arrive at this point in their parenthood journey have already passed through years of unsuccessful infertility treatments. These people are pursuing surrogacy because their previous infertility treatments failed, and new ones may fail too. This makes the surrogacy process the best choice for them to grow their family.
3. Are you okay with parenthood without pregnancy?
The fact that you won’t be carrying your own baby, makes switching from infertility treatments to surrogacy a hard decision.
A lot of people who opt for surrogacy as a family-building option do so because their desire for a baby is stronger and greater than their ability to become pregnant. And we know this can be a harsh reality to accept.
However, it is important to note that you are not alone. We are going to be there with you each step of the way.
But first, you need to be okay with allowing another person to carry your child for you. This is a special partnership, and you have to be ready for the emotional part before commencing the process.
The doctors and staff are well acquainted with the emotional rollercoaster hopeful parents go through. With our empathy-driven support and the help of our highly experienced fertility experts, you can be sure of a seamless, rewarding surrogacy experience.
4. Are you well aware of the surrogacy requirements?
Surrogacy process itself requires a great deal of time, money, and energy. Hence, if you are considering surrogacy, you and your partner must go through all the resources – consult with a fertility specialist or a surrogacy professional in order to gather necessary knowledge of what it entails.
Take the time to discuss with your partner and the surrogacy counselor:
- How are you going to prepare for your surrogacy journey?
- What qualities do you want in your Surrogate Mother?
- Can you use your own eggs to create the embryo or require an Egg Donor?
- If donor eggs are needed, what qualities you want in the donor (ethnicity, eye color, educational background, etc.)
- Are you ready to accept twins if the IVF surrogacy results in multiples and what options are there in such cases?
Talking to the surrogacy professional and infertility treatment specialist, you will have a better understanding of the surrogacy journey ahead of you.
5. Lastly, what does your fertility doctor say?
Your fertility doctor’s opinion is a crucial part of your infertility treatments as well as in surrogacy.
Although surrogacy is sometimes the best and only option for many hopeful parents, it may not be a viable solution for everyone.
Thus, talking to your fertility doctor about the pros and cons, can help you better plan spending time and energy in the process. Our fertility doctors can provide a complete insight if you are looking at surrogacy process as your family-building option.
The Surrogacy Process for Intended Parents
As discussed above, it’s important that Intended Parents have a good understanding before starting their surrogacy journey. We have prepared a brief, step-by-step procedure guide to give you firsthand information on the surrogacy process.
Getting Started
The number one step in the surrogacy process is to fill out our consultation request form.
One of our coordinators will get in touch with you once you have done this. A consultation will be then arranged with our medical experts. During the consultation, your situation, the whole process, the cost, and other important issues will be addressed.
We will also introduce you to our surrogacy agency partner, the only physician-managed surrogacy agency in the country.
Matching
The second step is matching.
We are going to send your Intended Parents’ profiles to the Gestational Surrogates who fulfill your requirements. We will also send you the profile of any potential Surrogate that likes your profile.
If both of you agree to work together, a moderated call will be scheduled. And after the match has been made, our surrogacy agency partner will set up an escrow for the Surrogate Mother’s expenses, and the screening process will commence.
Screening
All Surrogates shown to you, have already undergone medically evaluation. However, we will do one final screening at our fertility clinic.
Both you and your spouse, as well as the potential Surrogate, will be medically be evaluated before starting the IVF process. However, the process can be restricted to the Surrogate only if your embryos are already frozen.
Legal
This is a crucial step in the surrogacy process. During this step, you will have to sign and submit a legal match sheet, which covers all the financial aspects of the surrogacy contract.
You will then pay a lawyer’s retainer, and the surrogacy contract will be created and checked by you and your lawyer.
The Surrogate will also review her own copy with her lawyer, and the two parties will cosign the agreement.
Medical Process
The Surrogate Mother will be given a calendar with the clinic appointments, and your coordinator will guide you through the calendar to ensure you understand the timeline.
After this, the Surrogate will start administering fertility medications, and the embryo or embryos will be transferred into her womb. You are free to attend the embryo transfer if you want to!
Five days after the transfer, the Surrogate mom will conduct a home pregnancy test, and a blood test will follow two weeks later.
Once pregnancy is confirmed, the Surrogate will start getting compensation, which may be split into small equal payments.
Conclusion
If you are preparing to move from infertility treatments to gestational surrogacy and start your parenthood journey, we can help!
Our team is made up of former Surrogates, Egg Donors, and leading fertility doctors who can give you the right advice and guidance based on their own experiences.
The first step is to schedule a consultation with our medical experts. If you want to get basic details about infertility treatments and surrogacy, explore our website and have a chat with our team.
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