Becoming a Surrogate: 8 Questions for Working Moms
Can I become a surrogate and maintain my current job?
Hello surrogate mother candidates!
If you’ve reached this blog, you are interested in becoming a surrogate and may have questions about the surrogate process when you are employed full-time or part-time. Today we will be discussing a few issues due to becoming a surrogate with a surrogacy agency in California.
We want you to be informed on some of the issues surrounding becoming a surrogate. Some of you prospective surrogate mothers have questions regarding your job. How does surrogacy work with your job?
We want to address a few questions we have had regarding the full-time or part-time working mom:
#1 – Am I required to notify my HR that I am a surrogate?
Depending on your state’s employment laws, you are generally not required to disclose to them the nature of the pregnancy that you have. Whether by natural or by surrogacy (IVF), for all sense-and-purposes, it should not matter who’s baby it is in your uterus.
At Made in the USA Surrogacy, we recommend if you are in the “good graces” with your support staff at work you should tell them if you feel comfortable doing so. We leave this up to the surrogate mother and her work situation, but generally, we advise that you are not required to tell them the personal details of your pregnancy.
We advise women to treat the pregnancy as a natural pregnancy with work situations- as it is your body and who’s baby it is should not influence how your work treats your pregnancy.
#2 – How does the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) work with a surrogacy?
FMLA is a federally protected program allowing employees to take up to 12 weeks after birth for bonding with the child. Generally speaking, FMLA is not covered with a surrogate pregnancy since the child naturally will not be coming home with the surrogate nor is the baby genetically related to the surrogate.
#3 – Will I receive paid time off?
If you receive paid time off will depend on your individual employer and any time you may have that is accrued. We hope for each working surrogate mother to have time to take out from work for her scheduled appointments that are paid leave.
However, if the surrogate does not have any time off accrued or their employer does not allow paid time off for medical appointments- they may not be paid for this time off.
#4 – How am I paid for time off of work through my surrogate compensation?
You will be paid for time off of work in 3 ways after becoming a surrogate and the embryo transfer.
- Each surrogate receives $250/month on top of their base compensation as a stipend for their individual medical appointments and gas
- Each surrogate will receive the equivalent of their hourly pay (with verification of 2 months’ pay stubs or bank statements of income) for time off of work for their individual medical evaluation at the intended parent’s fertility clinic (if they have to travel and must take time off). They will also receive the equivalent of their hourly pay for time taken off for the embryo transfer. Generally speaking, it is about 4-7 days of compensation between the two appointments.
- Surrogates will receive compensation for time off of work for the 6-week recovery period following the birth. In the case that the surrogate is able to qualify for state work disability due to having a birth- the parents will pay the amount equal to their hourly pay less any payments made by disability qualification.
For more information on surrogate compensation please visit this page.
#5 – Will I receive Paid Family Leave disability payments for maternity leave, as a surrogate?
We are unable to account for how each state handles compensation for disability due to birth, but for California, we know that if the surrogate mother qualifies for disability in her work situation (although she does need to qualify based on these standards for EDD).
#6 – Will I be required to disclose my compensation with them?
You are not required to disclose your compensation or the fact that you are paid at all to your current employer.
#7 – When will I be required to return to work?
Generally speaking, if your birth is a vaginal birth, you would be required to return to work when disability payments cease- normal time is 6 weeks. We have had some surrogates who have worked out other situations with their employer on a one-on-one basis.
If your birth is a C-section you are usually given more time for recovery than a normal vaginal birth.
#8 – Are surrogates able to keep their full-time job while facilitating surrogacy?
We encourage all working moms to keep their life as active and unaffected by the surrogacy as possible. Nothing is more important than your physical health and well-being. We want you to avoid stress, keep positive, and maintain your current habits! How great is it that you can be pregnant by surrogacy, but also go to work – essentially doubling your pay in a year’s time?
We think that surrogacy is the best second job in America- and we want you to tell your other mom friends about the opportunity as well!
We hope these answers provide you with some much-needed advice on becoming a surrogate with our agency, and how the surrogate compensation part should work if you are employed. If you are thinking about becoming a surrogate- don’t hesitate to call 916-226-4342 and fill out this inquiry!
