Activities To Avoid When Becoming a Surrogate or Being a Surrogate
Becoming a surrogate is an incredible decision to make.
For healthy women who have had a healthy pregnancy, it’s possible that you could also give that miracle to another couple. Not everyone is as lucky with their fertility. Many couples in the world need the service of surrogacy in order to have a child of their own. If you want to become a surrogate, then there are a few things you should know.
One of those aspects is activities that you should avoid both when you want to become a surrogate and when you are a surrogate.
Here’s what you need to know to become a surrogate and how to make sure you’re the best candidate to join surrogacy in California.
Understanding Surrogacy Qualifications
The first part of becoming a surrogate is joining a surrogate agency.
A surrogacy agency in California such as Made in the USA Surrogacy, removes a lot of the stress from becoming a surrogate. We help find your intended parents, get you signed up for health insurance that’s geared towards surrogacy, and direct you to sign up with a surrogate attorney to ensure that you’re protected legally.
Before you can join a surrogate agency, however, you have to pass our surrogacy qualifications. One of those qualifications is to have a successful and healthy pregnancy and birth. You only need to have one, but being able to do so proves that you can carry a baby successfully.
That’s basically the whole goal of the job in the first place. It also helps you understand certain activities that you should avoid when becoming a surrogate and as a surrogate. Certain activities can negatively impact the health of the baby. That’s the last thing you want when carrying someone else’s baby. Even more so because those people may only have a few shots of forming an embryo.
To join a surrogacy agency in California, we’re going to need your medical records. Your records basically help show that the pregnancy that you had was healthy and successful. It also means that you need to be mindful of your health, so your medical records reflect that.
Activities to Avoid When Becoming a Surrogate
In order to get started with the process of surrogacy and join a surrogacy agency in California, you’ll want to begin early. Here are a few activities to avoid in order to make yourself the best candidate for surrogacy in California.
#1 – Smoking
Many agencies do not accept smokers in their pool of surrogates. Smoking can turn a healthy pregnancy into the opposite. It’s commonly known that smoking can lead to cancer and other problems. It damages your genetics. While the baby isn’t sharing your genetics, the presence of cancerous smoke can enter its system and damage its genetics all the same.
Smoking can also cause you to become underweight. Your weight is extremely important during pregnancy. The baby may not receive enough nutrients if you’re not eating enough for the both of you. Since smoking works as an appetite suppressant, you likely won’t eat as much as you need to.
If you’re a smoker, then you’ll want to quit by at least a year or two, before you apply with an agency. It needs to work through your system. Your body also needs to heal.
#2 – Drugs
Another activity to stop when you decide to be a surrogate is any and all drug usage. Whether you do it in order to deal with pain by using marijuana or just now and then at parties, you’ll need to stop before you can join an agency. Drugs can also negatively impact your health and pregnancy.
If you’re a drug user, then you’re injuring your body in the process. Intended parents aren’t going to want a woman who has poor health to carry their baby. When they search for “surrogacy near me,” they want a surrogate who is at peak health and doesn’t perform any activities that could jeopardize the health of their baby. It’s important to note that at Made in the USA Surrogacy, we will be conducting a drug test as part of your qualifications.
#3 – Alcohol
It’s also common knowledge that alcohol can damage pregnancy. If you drink too much, then the baby could become seriously sick and injured. Before you search for a surrogacy agency near you or contact us, you’ll want to sit down with yourself and have a heart-to-heart.
Do you drink too much? Would you be able to abstain from drinking for the next year or two years? The process of surrogacy can sometimes take up to two years to complete. While you won’t be pregnant the whole time, you will need to undergo fertility treatments that could be hindered with alcohol use.
You also need to examine your lifestyle. Is drinking with your friends something that you love to do? Are you able to go without it for a long time? If you struggle with alcohol consumption, then becoming a surrogate may not be the best option for you. However, if you can abstain from drinking, then you’ll want to do so before you join an agency and get started with the process.
Activities to Avoid as a Surrogate
After your search of “surrogacy near me” is completed and you have joined our surrogacy agency in Sacramento, there are some additional activities that need to be avoided. As a surrogate and carrying a baby, the baby’s health is vital. You need to do everything in your power to keep them safe and protected.
Because of this, you’ll want to make sure that you avoid the above activities, to begin with, that we mentioned above. Do not smoke, drink, or use drugs when you’re pregnant.
The embryo is made through a process called IVF. It involves the collection of egg and sperm cells from the intended parents. The embryo is formed in a petri dish. It is then transferred into your body through an embryo transfer. As you might imagine, the embryo is extremely delicate in its beginning stages.
Because of this, you need to avoid some of the following activities aside from those listed above.
#1 – Strenuous Activity
Because the embryo is so delicate, it’s a good idea to avoid any strenuous activity for the first few weeks. Working too hard physically might cause the body to breakdown the embryo. If you’re working out, certain positions could end up rupturing the embryo or causing complications during your pregnancy.
While you’ll be able to perform harder activities, later on, it’s a good idea to avoid them for the first month, at least.
#2 – Sexual Intercourse
It’s also a good idea to avoid sexual intercourse for the first month after the embryo transfer. Part of this is because of the strenuous activity that’s involved. Another is the heavyweight of your partner. Also, the presence of sperm cells might confuse your body.
In order to accept the embryo, you have to undergo fertility treatments. These are taken to help trick your body into thinking that the embryo is yours. If your body is attempting to fertilize eggs again, it may mess up the fertility treatments or the presence of the embryo, because it realizes that it isn’t actually part of your body.
#3 – Bad Food
Comfort food is easy to turn to when you’re pregnant.
However, you’ll want to avoid undercooked food, raw eggs, unpasteurized cheeses, and other questionable food items. Instead, focus on having a balanced diet of fresh fruit and vegetables.
If you’re interested in becoming a surrogate and believe you are a good candidate to become a surrogate, give Made in the USA Surrogacy a call.
Get started on the journey to helping intended parents looking to bring new life to this world.