What is surrogacy?

Surrogacy is a legal and social arrangement between intended parents and a surrogate mother, who becomes pregnant through an embryo transfer and carries the pregnancy for the intended parents. The intended parents assume full parental rights, and the surrogate is compensated in exchange for her services.

Who works with a surrogate mother?

Surrogacy is an increasingly common choice for parents looking to add to their families. The following people might consider working with a surrogate:

• People who have struggled with infertility
• Prospective single parents
• Same-sex couples
• Anyone who is unable to safely carry a pregnancy to term

Can I pursue surrogacy as a single parent or same-sex couple?

Yes. Surrogacy can be a wonderful way for single parents and same-sex couples to add to their families. Look for a surrogacy agency who is a single parent and LGBT-friendly and who can meet your needs throughout the process.

Who are surrogates? How are surrogates screened?

Surrogates are women of all different backgrounds who want to help other prospective parents add to their families. While their situations can vary significantly, all surrogates must meet certain requirements before they can be matched with intended parents. Exact screening and eligibility requirements are determined by the agency you work with. Some common requirements for surrogates include:

Is it required that I have had a previous pregnancy & delivery before I become a gestational surrogate?

Yes. Being pregnant is unlike any other physical experience. You need to have gone through it once for yourself before you decide you are interested in being pregnant for someone else. It is also important that you have complete a pregnancy without any serious medical conditions. With gestational surrogacy, we are trying to find the most optimal situation and you successfully completing a health pregnancy and delivery Is one way to get us closer to that goal.

As a Gestational surrogate, am I genetically related to the baby?

No. Forward Fertility works with Gestational Surrogates. These are women who have healthy, strong, bodies that provide a sage and nourishing place for an embryo come from other people; either the Parents to be or possible donated from an egg or sperm donor. A true surrogate or traditional surrogate is a woman who provides the uterus and the egg. Due to more complicated legal and psychosocial issues, Yvision does not screen women for true surrogacy.

As a gestational Surrogate, is there anything required of my partner?

Yes. Partners play a big role in the support of a gestational surrogate. Of course, actually having the baby is the biggest role, but you need the support of your partner, too. There are four specific things your partner must be able to provide.

Infectious Disease Testing. Your husband or partner must agree to participate in medical screening. As we strive to create the most optimal environment for a pregnancy, we want to make sure no infections are present at the beginning. Avoiding any high risk behaviors is also important for your partner.

Relinquish rights of the child. If you are legally married, then your legal partner is a party to the Gestational Surrogacy Legal Contract and will need to agree with the contract, sign it, and relinquish any parental rights to the baby, once he or she is born.

Can my partner and I still have sex if I am a gestational surrogate?

If you are sexually active, you can generally continue your intimate relationship without restrictions. A healthy sex life is beneficial to your relationship and can reduce stress. However, some IVF clinics may place restrictions on intercourse around the time of the embryo transfer or if you are pregnant and experiencing bleeding. The medical provider at the clinic would be the person to make the final recommendation about intercourse. If you are considering surrogacy, you should be using a reliable birth control method, as being pregnant already would definitely exclude you from being considered?

Does any part of the gestational surrogacy process hurt?

Each person has their own tolerance for pain.

Becoming pregnant as a surrogate does involve a number of vaginal ultrasounds and speculum exams. These exams are not pleasant and if they are painful, you should let the medical provider seeing you or Yvision know. There are modifications that can be made to make the experience less uncomfortable.

The embryo transfer often requires the surrogate to have a full bladder. It may sound odd, but that is one of the most common things people complain about! The actual embryo transfer, for most clients, one will have minor cramps.

Once you’re pregnant, your experience of pain is unpredictable. Remember, each pregnancy is different. Severe nausea, cramping, miscarriage, varicose veins, heartburn, etc. are all options, even if you did not experience them before. Before my sister had children, she was worried about pregnancy and delivery being painful. I always reminded her that there were usually treatments or medications that could help for the various discomforts – it was parenting that presented the real challenge and not always an obvious solution. But that will be for the Parents-to-be to discover once you help them attain their dream of parenthood.

Will I meet my Intended Parents?

Yes. Just as the Parents to be will decide if they want to work with you as the Gestations Surrogate, you get the same opportunity.

A gestational surrogacy arrangement is not something you would want to enter without thoughtful consideration. Yvision works hard to connect with you, so your needs, desires, and visions are well understood.

When a good match presents itself, the gestational surrogate and intended parents (IP) get to meet and decide for themselves if it is a fit. If the IPs and gestational surrogate are not geographically close, a video conference call will be arranged. If you have a partner, s/he will be involved in meeting the Parents to be as well.

What happens if one or both of the intended parents die before the baby is born?

This is highly unlikely, however, it is good to think of the what if situations when you are about to make a very serious decision. If one intended parent dies, the other will take sole custody of the baby and fulfill the contact as if both were still living. If both intended parents die before the birth of the child, the surrogate mother will relinquish the child at birth to the person named in the wills of the intended parents to serve as guardian of the child.

Intended parents must provide Yvision with the full address and other contact information for guardianship. Intended parents are also required to carry life insurance naming the unborn child or a trust for the exclusive benefit of the unborn child as the beneficiary. The death of the intended parents prior to the birth of the child will not result in you being obligated or permitted to raise the child.

Will the IP’s micromanage my life?

Probably not! Yvision gets to know each participant in the process to help connect you with the right IP’s so you are not feeling micromanaged and the IP is confident in knowing that the surrogate is working with us,creating the optimal environment for their baby.

Sure, some I’s are invested in every last detail of the surrogacy process. That is ok – there is a surrogate for them. Some IP’s may not live in your area or may have incredibly busy lives. They have chosen to work with Yvision because they know the quality of people in our program is elite and have been selected for their honest, responsible, healthy, and genuine characteristics which will provide extra comfort on the part of the IP.

What kind of relationship will I have with the IPs?

It depends. Like any relationship, what you get out of it and what you put into it are related.

It’s important to remember, for some people turning to a gestational surrogate for their dream to have a family, it can be a very painful step to take. For some women, it can mean acceptance that she is giving up the dream of being pregnant. In the beginning, she may have mixed emotions towards the surrogate; on one hand being grateful and appreciative, on the other hand feeling jealous and sad. The gestational surrogate needs to be sensitive to these feelings on the other hand, in the case of being a gestational surrogate for men becoming dads, those feelings of loss and sadness may not be as present.

Most recipients and carriers develop a rich, genuine, respectful and caring relationship over the 12-18 months of treatment, pregnancy and beyond.