Becoming a Surrogate: When is it okay to start the process?
Have you ever thought about how to become a surrogate?
There are about 6.1 million women in America within peak pregnancy age that are struggling with infertility. You could help them achieve something that they believe to be impossible–having a biological child.
This article will discuss surrogacy and when you should start the process of surrogacy.
When is it OK to start the process?
If you’re wondering how to become a surrogate, then you should start earlier rather than later.
If you’ve had a healthy pregnancy and you believe that you could carry someone else’s baby for them, then you should begin soon. That’s because the process of surrogacy can be a lengthy one.
There are many factors to consider when deciding to begin surrogacy.
This is especially true for surrogates who have just had a baby and are in the transition time of whether they should start the process. Read on to find out when the best time to start being a surrogate mother is depending on your situation.
Becoming A Surrogate
The process begins with a desire to help intended parents who struggle with infertility.
You likely have a child yourself and you understand the wonder and joy that they can bring to your life.
Surrogates who decide to help intended parents make their dreams come true are truly incredible people. Being pregnant isn’t always easy, but the fact that you’re giving a couple who have wanted a baby of their own for years is worth all of the discomfort!
Once you’ve decided that you’re going to become a surrogate, you need to find a surrogate agency.
Our surrogacy agency in California, Made in the USA Surrogacy, features a strong population of surrogate mothers with healthy medical records and a healthy history of pregnancies.
We can match you with intended parents who are eager to meet you and get the process of pregnancy started. For those in California, a quick search for “surrogacy near me,” will help you find us.
There are a few surrogacy qualifications that you first need to pass in order to become one of our surrogate mothers.
The first is having medical tests conducted and forwarding your medical records. The second is to show that you already have had a healthy pregnancy in the past or that you are healthy to carry children.
Our surrogacy agency in California wants to ensure the intended couple that their surrogate is healthy and able to carry the baby full-term.
This is something that doesn’t always happen.
Sometimes it’s because the embryo transplant didn’t work. It may not have been recognized by the body. Sometimes its because the embryo itself is too weak.
There are many reasons why the pregnancy may fail and it’s difficult for the intended parents in that situation because they’ve already experienced many failures up to this point.
To help limit the chances of a failed transplant, we like to ensure that our surrogates are healthy.
Our surrogate agency also has a few more surrogacy qualifications that you must pass, such as:
- Possess US Citizenship
- Be 23-38 Years Old
- Have Had One Full-Term Pregnancy Without Complications
- Either Never Had a C-Section or Only One C-Section
- Live in a State That Is Surrogate-Friendly
- Possess A Body Mass Index of 30 or Lower
- Not Taking Anxiety, Depression, or Pregnancy-Harming Medications
- Non-Smoker and Not Exposed to Second-Hand Smoke
- Living Without Federal or State Assistance
- Possess No Criminal Record
- Financially Secure
If you do not pass these qualifications currently, then you can start becoming a surrogate by working towards meeting these goals.
For those who haven’t had a baby yet, now is the time to start your family and contact us when you are finished with having your healthy pregnancy.
It’s important to understand how your body performs when pregnant. You may find that being pregnant doesn’t quite agree with you. These qualifications may seem strict.
However, it’s only to further ensure that the chances of a healthy surrogacy for the intended parents and the surrogate are high.
Should I Become A Surrogate If I’m Not Finished with My Own Family?
For those who desire to become a surrogate but haven’t quite finished adding to their own family, it’s best to sit down with your partner and discuss your goals; such as, are you currently where you want to be financially?
Are you overwhelmed with life and family currently? Are you stressed with children as it is now, or can you not wait to finish having children of your own?
We have had surrogate mothers who reflect on these questions and goals, and different answers come for each one.
For our founder, Samantha decided that having a second child after the first child was not feasible at the moment- but she couldn’t wait to make an impact for another family. Others feel that they want to complete their family first.
It’s important to remember also that despite the rumors you have heard, women can go on to have more children after having a surrogate baby. Many have done this that we know personally.
How Long Should I Wait After Being Pregnant?
For women who have just given birth to their last child for their own family, you may be wondering how soon you can get started with becoming a surrogate.
Physically speaking, you can start the physical part of being a surrogate, in-vitro fertilization, six months after being pregnant.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to wait until then.
After finding our surrogate agency in Sacramento, you’ll likely have more time to wait, due to the process of finding your medical records and completing preliminary medical exams.
You’ll also need your medical files to be sent to the agency. This all takes time.
It may be shorter than six months and it may be longer than six months. Being matched with a pair of intended parents can take a while as well (though most of our surrogates in the year 2019 have been matched within 3 months of signing on).
You can always inform our agency that you need a certain amount of time until you’re ready to begin the physical process of being a surrogate. Most likely we’ll tell you there’s more than enough time during the waiting process.
For many who are in the surrogate world—it goes without saying there’s a lot of “hurry up and wait.”
However, you also don’t want to wait too long before applying to become a surrogate. Intended parents are eager to add to their family.
Because the process isn’t always smooth, it may take a few attempts for the embryo transplant to be successful, too. That can eat up time in itself. And it’s important to keep in mind that surrogates are not compensated the base compensation until pregnancy is fully confirmed.
A good rule of thumb for asking when it’s good to become a surrogate is to wait six months after being pregnant but to get started with the paperwork and application side of things a few months earlier than that.
How Long Should I Wait To Apply For A Surrogacy Near Me If I’m Breastfeeding?
If you’re currently breastfeeding your child, then you’re likely unsure of just when it’s appropriate to start the surrogate process.
In order to prepare your womb for an embryo transplant, you’re going to be given several medications.
These medications help open your womb to the embryo and recognize it as its own. As a result, the body accepts the embryo and allows it to start developing and growing.
Those medications might impact your breastmilk-at least for a given time.
Breastfeeding also impacts your fertility.
This is because your body is telling itself that you’ve just had a child. You don’t need another one just yet. It is known that breastfeeding reduces your fertility. This can also make embryo transfers all the more difficult.
Surrogacy can be more difficult than you might originally think in terms of timetables if you are early on in your breastfeeding, or not close to weaning your child.
For women who are breastfeeding, you shouldn’t expect to begin the physical part of being a surrogate until after you have weaned your child.
The World Health Organization suggests that you should breastfeed your baby for six months at the very least, though we know many women who breastfeed for a full year before attempting to wean them.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to wait until then to get started. The initial process of being a surrogate can take some time, and matching with a family also takes time. You should start around six months after birth and during breastfeeding if you are.
By the time you’ve been matched with a couple and have had all of your qualifications checked out, you’ll likely be at or past that nine-month or one-year mark of having your child.
In Summary
Getting started with being a surrogate can take time.
There is a lot of paperwork that has to be completed and many steps to the process. You’re also frequently placed on a waiting list until the perfect intended parents have been matched with you. Because of that, it’s better to get started sooner rather than later if you’ve decided that becoming a surrogate is right for you and your family.
For pregnant women, wait for 3-6 months post-birth and then begin the process. For breastfeeding women, wait six months, and then start the surrogate process.
If you’re a prospective surrogate mother looking to become a surrogate in the Sacramento area or become a surrogate in California—you’ve come to the right agency.
Made in the USA Surrogacy is equipped to help you through your surrogacy journey and will support your progress from matching with a family all the way through birth. We encourage you to contact our California surrogate agency today and get started as soon as you’ve decided it’s a journey you would love to have for someone else!
