Welcoming your baby into the world is one of the most exciting milestones of your surrogacy journey.
As an intended parent, you have an important role in shaping your hospital experience, and having a surrogacy birth plan ensures that everything goes as smoothly as possible.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through exactly what to include in your surrogacy birth plan, what to expect from surrogacy post birth, and how to prepare for your hospital stay.
If you’re in the beginning stages of exploring surrogacy or are curious about starting the process, fill out our short and simple form.
What is a Surrogacy Birth Plan?
A surrogacy birth plan is a written document that outlines how you want your baby’s delivery to go.
This plan ensures that everyone—doctors, nurses, and the surrogate—is on the same page, creating a smooth, stress-free surrogacy post birth experience.
While it helps guide the process, flexibility is key in case unexpected situations arise.
What Should I Include in The Surrogacy Birth Plan as an Intended Parent?
Your surrogacy post birth plan should include details and requests before birth, during labor and post-birth. Below are a few things to keep in mind:
- Who will be present during birth? If a C-section is needed, who will be in the room?
- What birthing methods and positions will be used during delivery?
- Are photos, videos or social media posts allowed for delivery?
- Is there a certain environment you want to create? Some parents want music playing when their baby is born.
- Who will hold the baby first and does immediate skin-to-skin contact matter to you?
- Are you comfortable with birth interventions like forceps or extraction by vacuum?
- What type of birth will this be?
- Do you want delayed cord clamping?
- What medications would you like administered to your baby after birth? Examples include Erythromycin eye ointment, vitamin K shots, Hepatitis B vaccine etc.
Learn more about what to expect at the hospital as an intended parent.
What Happens After a Surrogate Gives Birth?
Once the surrogate has given birth, depending on what was discussed in your surrogacy post birth plan, you’ll have a chance to have skin-to-skin contact with your baby.
This is the time where you’ll begin to form a bond with your baby as your surrogacy journey comes full circle.
Paperwork is often one of the next steps of surrogacy post birth and often includes a pre-birth or post-birth order depending on your state.
A pre-birth order allows you to establish parentage before your child is born while a post-birth order requires you to wait until 3-5 days after your baby is born. These laws help protect your legal parentage in surrogacy and will be discussed in detail with your surrogacy attorney well before delivery.
These orders must be filled out and help the hospital process move smoothly by:
- Requiring you to be listed on the child’s birth certificate
- Allowing you to make medical decisions for your baby
- Helping resolve insurance coverage issues
- Allowing your baby to be discharged from the hospital
Newborn Medical Care & Hospital Discharge
Once your baby is born, the medical staff will take care of the necessary procedures, such as checking your baby’s vitals and administering any recommended vaccinations.
In some cases, your baby may need to stay in the hospital for monitoring, especially if there are complications or if your baby was born prematurely. Your hospital stay could be within one of these average time frames:
- Vaginal Birth: Typically 24-48 hours in the hospital.
- C-Section Birth: Typically 48-72 hours for recovery.
- NICU Stay: If your baby needs extra medical support, hospital stays may extend for days or weeks.
When everything goes smoothly, and after the necessary medical checks, your baby will be ready for discharge. Your newborn’s hospital discharge is an important step in your surrogacy post birth process, as it marks the beginning of your life together.
Working with your surrogacy specialist ahead of time ensures a smooth hospital discharge, allowing you to take your baby home as soon as possible.
What Should be Included in an Intended Parents Hospital Bag?
Whether you’re gearing up for delivery or are at the beginning stages of your surrogacy journey, here are some of the basics of what you should include in your hospital bag as an intended parent:
Paperwork for Surrogacy Post Birth Procedures
Your surrogate should be bringing some of the same information but it doesn’t hurt to pack your own documentation just in case. Make sure you have:
- Your insurance cards for the baby
- Your surrogacy contract
- Your pre-birth order (if applicable)
- Check to pay for birth certificate (if applicable)
Your surrogacy specialist will work with you to coordinate with your surrogate’s preferred hospital and will make sure the hospital is prepared for a surrogacy birth ahead of time.
Something to Keep You Busy
Although you’re most likely going to be actively involved in supporting your surrogate during labor depending on what was outlined in your contract and birth plan, there also may be a lot of waiting during your hospital stay.
Having something to keep you busy can help relieve some anxiety as you wait for the arrival of your child.
Below are some things you can pack to keep yourself occupied:
- A book/kindle/IPad
- Headphones
- Snacks (depending on the snack you may have to indulge outside the delivery room in case your surrogate may be sensitive to smells while in labor)
- Charger
Clothes and Toiletries
Labor and delivery can last about 8 hours but can vary widely. You’ll also need to plan to stay at the hospital so your baby can be monitored.
The surrogate may be discharged before you if everything goes smoothly so you may need to plan for a few days stay.
Here are some essentials to consider:
- A few sets of clothes that you can sleep in, lighter layers since some hospitals can run warm or chilly.
- Overnight clothes and supplies, as a 24 hour post-birth observation is often required by most hospitals.
- A shirt or sweater that buttons in the front for skin-to-skin contact.
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Hairbrush
- Prescriptions
- Contacts and glasses
For Baby
Although the hospital will have plenty of newborn basics, some things you should pack for your baby include:
- A weather appropriate going home outfit in a couple of sizes
- Blankets
- Burp cloths
- Velcro fleece baby booties
- Two or three comfy onesies for sleeping, short and long sleeve
- A soft toy
- Pacifiers
- A Boppy for feedings
- Approved baby car seat
- A hat
- Diapers and wipes
- Bottles, formula and whatever supplies you need to transport breastmilk (if applicable)
Communication With Your Surrogate Post Birth
Once your baby is born and you’ve settled into your new routine, your surrogate is likely recovering from the physical demand that comes with labor.
Depending on your relationship with her, you could check in on her to see how she’s doing. She won’t be feeling 100% as she recovers but this is a good opportunity to bring some closure to your journey together by expressing gratitude, offer a small gift that represents your journey or just a simple text to check in.
Your relationship with your surrogate might change as both of you transition into your new roles as parents and people.
Your surrogacy post birth relationship will depend on the bond you’ve built during the pregnancy, and it’s important to maintain clear, kind communication as you both move forward in your journeys.
Get Started
By addressing your surrogacy birth plan well in advance, you can ensure that your baby’s birth is as smooth and stress-free as possible.
It’s time to turn your surrogacy plans into action. Fill out our form today to learn more about the decisions you get to make about your baby’s birth and surrogacy post birth details.
Understanding the surrogacy post birth process, from paperwork to hospital discharge and beyond, can help you confidently navigate this final step of your surrogacy journey.