12 Steps to Finding A Surrogate
An in-depth look at the Process of Surrogacy for Parents
Hello hopeful parents. If you’ve been looking for a surrogate in California, or looking for a surrogate for a long while, we are your resource for the entire process of surrogacy.
By the time of you are reading this article, we know that you have been looking for a surrogate or need to find a surrogate in California for probably quite some time.
Perhaps you’re new to the search of trying to find a surrogate- we will help you understand today the 12 steps to the process of surrogacy.
We will explain all steps from beginning to end so you know what to expect with the process of surrogacy and before you find a surrogate- how long the process can take.
Here are the steps!
#1 – Contact Us and Parent Consultation
It seems rudimentary that we have this process as the first step- but in all of your search to find a surrogate, you have to remember to contact us! Maybe you’ve been searching for a surrogate for a long while, or not long at all.
Perhaps you’ve browsed our website for resources, or you have contacted other surrogate agencies in California. Regardless, it’s a great idea to fill out our form and let us know you want to find a surrogate.
This form helps us make sure we know your situation. It has information we need to know about you, such as how long you’ve been looking for a surrogate and if you’re currently working with a fertility clinic. You can tell us about your situation, why you’re looking for a surrogate and perhaps a few details that have led to your infertility.
As soon as you contact us and fill out our form- we will contact you and set up a consultation to speak about your situation.
During this consultation we will answer any questions you have about the process of surrogacy, about our agency, and questions you have about finding a surrogate. We will answer questions about the qualifications for our surrogates and the 12 steps to becoming a surrogate mother if you are curious. I
t relates to this article, but the process is different because the relationship to our surrogate agency is different.
During your phone call, we will explain our rates, set expectations of finding a surrogate, and speak about what your wants and needs are relating to wanting a surrogate. We will speak about your IVF timeline and any other questions we can answer about your process of IVF or the process of making embryos.
#2 – Decision Time and Signature of Retainer Agreement
After our consultation, as a parent looking for a surrogate, you will now have to decide if you believe our surrogate agency in California is going to be the right fit for you.
Chances are you may have more questions- we are free to answer any questions through email or further phone calls. Usually after your consultation however, you will be more than ready to make a decision on whether you want to hire our agency to find you a surrogate.
You will be equipped with answers to your questions and met with caring people who truly want you to have that wonderful child in your life as soon as possible! Most parents that contact us to find a surrogate have been looking for a surrogate or have been trying to have a child on their own for a long time (usually 2+ years!).
We want you to know that there’s no time like the present to start your process of looking for a surrogate. Please read this article that explains further reasons for why you should start with a surrogate agency as soon as you are ready. You never know whether your right surrogate is right around the corner!
As soon as you are ready to find your surrogate- we ask you to sign our retainer agreement that explains what we do as an agency and further explains our relationship to you as the parent.
#3 – Agency Fee
After you have signed our Made in the USA Surrogacy agency retainer agreement, we will ask you to hire us by sending in half of our agency fee. This is part of the cost to hire a surrogate, and it ensures that we know you are serious about finding a surrogate.
When we receive your funds, we know that you are committed to the process of finding surrogate and we will do the same for you- we commit no matter what- that we will find you a surrogate. We start looking for a surrogate immediately after the next step and stay with you until the baby is in your and your significant others’ arms!
#4 – Start Parent Profile
After you have decided to hire our surrogate agency, we can now go to work for you! The first part of the process of surrogacy for a parent after hiring our surrogate agency is to fill out a detailed parent profile questionnaire.
You will answer questions that we share with our prospective surrogates and we use your answers to these questions to deeper understand your need to find a surrogate, and what medical issues or otherwise may have led to your infertility or inability to have children.
The more detailed you answer these questions, the more detailed we can be in finding you a surrogate that will fulfill your wants for a surrogate in this process.
#5 – Surrogacy Agency Parent Background Check
At Made in the USA Surrogacy, we take seriously that the children we are helping to have life are born into a loving family.
We run a background check on all parents to make sure that all of the parents involved in the process do not have any issues that may cause a dangerous situation for the child later on in life.
We do this as a safety check so as to make sure that everyone involved in the process of surrogacy has come to our agency for the right reasons. Believe it or not, we have seen some horror stories ending in grave circumstances for children being born into an unhealthy situation.
#6 – Agency Starts Looking for a Surrogate
Our main job as a surrogate agency after you hire us is to find you a surrogate that will match your individual criteria. You hired us to find a surrogate and that is what our main focus is from the time you hire our agency.
Depending on many factors, you may be matched quickly with a surrogate or it could take a very long time (12+months).
Read this article for a breakdown on how long it could take to find a surrogate.
There’s no guarantee that you will be matched immediately (very few California surrogate agencies will do this) since there are a variety of factors that can affect the matching process.
If we have surrogate prospects at the time of you hiring our surrogate agency that have completed their surrogate process and are ready to match with parents- we will look over their surrogate profile and see if it matches with your wants and needs.
#7 – Meeting of Potential Surrogate Prospect
After we have looked through our surrogate database and sent you a surrogate profile, we decide between everyone as a time to meet.
At Made in the USA Surrogacy, we present surrogate profiles one-by-one to make sure that all parents’ wishes are met with a specific surrogate profile- or as much of the “must haves” are met on the parent profile.
If both the parents (you and your significant other) and the surrogate mother prospect have decided they would like to meet after seeing each other’s profiles and summaries- we all agree to meet by phone, video chat, or in person depending on where everyone is located.
Please see our article here to see our suggestions of what parents should ask surrogate prospects during the meeting time.
#8 – Matching
Since meeting your surrogate prospect, or perhaps even immediately, you feel she’s the one- you feel she’s the one you’ve been waiting, hoping and looking for. We encourage all parents to feel strongly about their connection to their surrogate mothers because they will be ultimately carrying their child for them and will have to like them through this year long process (from matching, medical exams, transfer and baby).
It’s a significant moment to decide that you as an intended parent have decided on your surrogate prospect- it gets the process of surrogacy started officially, and everyone involved from attorneys to doctors are put on notice that there is a match!
If you decide that this certain surrogate mother prospect is not a good fit for you and your family, Made in the USA Surrogacy will go back to the drawing board to find you another surrogate prospect that will meet your needs. No matter what, we are with you until the end to find the right surrogate for you.
#9 – Parent Psychological Screening
After the parents and the surrogate have decided to match together- we start psychological screenings for both parties. We make sure that all surrogates are psychologically stable individuals in their home life and their personal life, and we also want to make sure that all parents looking to find a surrogate are psychologically prepared for the new change in their life of welcoming a child into their family!
#10 – Surrogate Medical Exam
After the psychological screening process is complete, your newly matched surrogate mother will go through a medical exam that is usually administered by your fertility clinic. This medical exam makes sure that her blood vitals and her body is ready to accept and produce a healthy baby embryo.
#11 – Legal Contracts- Funding of the Escrow Account
After your surrogate completes her medical exam and is medically cleared to start the medication to prepare her body for pregnancy, we move forward with a legal contract between the two parties (surrogate mother and parents). The intended parent or couple will consult with their attorney and the surrogate will consult with her attorney to review all stipulations of the contract between them. The contract will include the following information:
- Definitions of the parties involved (intended parents and surrogate)
- Definitions about the agreement between the two parties
- What is expected from each of parties in the agreement
- Information on the surrogate compensation plan will be to the surrogate (please see our page about surrogate compensation) including when/where/how it will be paid. Also reference this article for further information on the cost of a surrogate.
- Expectations of parentage (who will be established as rightful parents after birth)
- Miscellaneous other agreements between the two parties
Legal contracts are set, agreed upon and signed between the two parties so that everyone is clear on expectations and as many grey areas that can be defined during the process of a birth by surrogacy.
#12 – Transfer
After legal contracts have been signed, the flights booked, and the surrogate medications taken- your surrogate will be scheduled for the embryo transfer!
On this date your lovely little embryo(s) will be transferred into the surrogate mother’s uterus to hopefully attach to the uterine wall and start growing.
Any failures or successes from this point on are closely monitored by your fertility clinic, until the surrogate is released from their care and into the care of their health provider around 12 weeks of pregnancy. Rejoice! You’re well on your way to becoming parents!
If you have any further questions regarding the process of becoming a parent with our surrogate agency in California, we encourage you to call us at 916-226-4342, or fill out our parent inquiry today!
