Surrogacy is a wonderful gift and a privilege, but it entails a process. The process of surrogacy usually varies according to your circumstances, state laws, and chosen surrogacy professional. Below are the steps you must consider, so that you can prepare for your surrogacy journey:
1. Reflect if surrogacy is truly for you. Embracing surrogacy as a parent or as a surrogacy professional is a big decision. You should do your homework by researching the advantages and disadvantages, surrogacy professionals, and the surrogacy laws involved in the process.
- For the intended parents. You can be a parent through surrogacy if you and your spouse have been struggling with fertility issues; if you are someone who wants to be a single parent; or if you are part of the LGBT community. You should educate yourself about surrogacy first. Study its benefits and risks, including the emotional and financial investment that it requires.
- For the surrogates. If you choose to help couples have children by being their surrogate, you should understand that this is a fulfilling, life-changing decision.
- With this opportunity comes challenges as well. If being a surrogate is truly what you want, then you are committing yourself to selfless service and opening yourself to meaningful relationships with the families that you help.
Whether you’re a surrogate parent of an intended parent, you should talk to a surrogacy specialist or lawyer, so that you can be certain of the path you are going to take.Prepare yourself for the surrogacy process. Once you have decided to go through the process of surrogacy, you should choose which type of surrogacy you need.
- Gestational Surrogacy. This is where fertilization of the egg occurs in a laboratory. The surrogate mother carries an embryo from the intended mother’s egg and the intended father’s sperm.
- Traditional Surrogacy. This is where the surrogate mother is the biological mother of the child. Her egg will be fertilized by a donor or the intended father via intrauterine insemination.Know surrogacy professionals.
- Here are the two types of surrogacy professionals who can help complete your surrogacy process:
- Surrogacy attorney. This professional is required to complete the legal work.
- Surrogacy agency. They may give some or all the services you require during surrogacy, including screening, support, case management, and matching.
- Find the right match. These are the most important steps in surrogacy. Once a surrogate parent and an intended parent are matched, find a lawyer whose specialty is assisted reproductive law.
- Meet the legal requirements.
A surrogacy lawyer should help the parties draft a legal contract once the match is final. Each party should have an attorney to make sure that all legal interests are protected and represented.
Once the legal papers are put in order, the fertilization and the transfer of the embryo begins.
The chosen fertility clinic will handle this delicate phase. The surrogate mother usually starts to receive payments when there is confirmation of a healthy fetal heartbeat.
The intended parents should share the pains and joys of the pregnancy. They should provide financial and emotional support until the baby comes. The legalities of the entire process should be clear to both parties so that no conflicts arise after the birth of the anticipated baby.