5 Steps to a Smooth Surrogacy Journey

Surrogacy might be one of the most life-changing experiences you encounter but the steps to get there can seem overwhelming. You’ve chosen a trustworthy surrogacy agency to carefully guide you down the path, but there are still some actions you can take to ensure a better surrogacy experience.

Here are

5 Steps to a Smooth Surrogacy Journey

1. Do Your Research!

Before diving into the deep waters of surrogacy, educate yourself on the process. Research the steps involved to gain an understanding of a typical surrogacy timeline. Search out reputable providers and most importantly, discuss your plans with your support system. Having the right support team is paramount to a smooth surrogacy journey. 

2. Plan for Major Events

On average, a surrogacy journey can take 18 months or more from start to finish and is a huge time commitment for surrogates and intended parents. Both parties should look ahead at any major life events such as moving, marriage, travel, employment changes, etc. and consider how surrogacy will fit. Sometimes it makes sense to put these events on hold until your surrogacy journey is complete. 

3. Don’t Compromise on Matching Preferences

When you envision matching with your future intended parents or surrogate, you have certain attributes in mind. A good surrogacy agency will help you calculate what matching preferences are important to you. As you, transparently, step into this intimate process, take the opportunity to look inward and identify the characteristics or lifestyle choices that would make your match most successful. A quality match will make the path to surrogacy much smoother.

4. Understand Surrogate Compensation

As intended parents, you should focus on setting budget goals, learning about escrow set-up, and making plans to gather funding. Additionally, you ought to have an understanding of the fees and costs associated with your fertility clinic, agency, attorneys, and surrogate.

As a surrogate, you should focus on the details of your compensation package, the importance of utilizing an escrow company, as well as planning how you intend to track or manage bills and reimbursements.

5. Communicate Clearly

From the beginning, communicate with your support system. Remain transparent and open with your agency as you complete the screening and matching processes. Share your needs/wants with your attorney during legal meetings and always ask questions to get clarity before signing any contracts. Finally, keep communication with your match open and honest throughout the journey. Set clear boundaries and expectations for communication early on, identifying the best ways to communicate with the clinic, in order to make prompt connections when you have medication concerns, refills needed, or pregnancy issues. Effective communication is critical to a smooth surrogacy journey.

When you partner with Family Choice, we will guide you through each step of the process and when we partner together, it makes the process much easier and more rewarding. So, if you have questions about becoming a surrogate or parent, please contact us.

Take these 5 steps to a smooth surrogacy journey and be encouraged! All of your hard work will, most definitely, be worth it!