Many people look to the new year as a refreshing start with the “new year, new me” mentality. In addition to setting achievable goals, we also welcome change in our lives.
The 2023 year is a great opportunity for you, as intended parents, to pursue the surrogacy process and become a loving mom or dad for your future child. Your dream of parenthood can become a reality. And, you don’t need to wait any longer to see that come true.
American Surrogacy provides expert care from the best professionals and has many helpful services waiting for you, like:
- Unlimited re-matching until a successful pregnancy
- The shortest wait times in the industry
- Extensive surrogate screening
- Your own surrogacy specialist for every step of the process
- And more
You can reach out to a surrogacy specialist at any time for free advice and guidance on how to navigate your 2023 year of family-building through surrogacy. Continue reading for our helpful tips below.
5 Steps to Welcome a New Family Member in the New Year
There is inspiration and hope that come with a new year. So, whether previous family-building methods have not gone in your favor or surrogacy was your first choice, you deserve to be parents. Our team is prepared to make that happen.
Every intended parent’s journey to surrogacy will be different, but there are a few general steps that our surrogacy specialists recommend every hopeful parent take before making life-changing decisions.
In our experience, those who are best prepared for the surrogacy process have usually completed these steps:
Step 1: Decide American Surrogacy is Right for You
Surrogacy is a complicated process and is not one that an intended parent jumps to right away. Those struggling with infertility have many other assisted reproduction methods before gestational surrogacy, such as an IUI or IVF.
Additionally, the adoption process is another method intended parents choose. Very different processes are taken for surrogacy vs. adoption, but they are viable options for those looking to add to their family.
In order to know what is best for your family, you must fully understand all of the options available to you. Fortunately, the specialists at American Surrogacy are well-experienced in both the gestational surrogacy and adoption processes.
Your surrogacy specialist will be your point of contact and will oversee the entire gestational surrogacy process from your initial phone call to well after the surrogacy process is completed. They will be available to:
- Answer any questions you have along the way
- Offer support and advice
- Make sure that your surrogacy journey is proceeding as smoothly as possible
Step 2. Complete the Screening Process with American Surrogacy
To get to know you and your goals for surrogacy better, your specialist will first send you our Surrogacy Planning Questionnaire.
The SPQ will have a variety of questions designed to tailor the surrogacy process to your preferences, including:
- Do you have any past experiences with surrogacy or adoption?
- What is your budget for surrogacy?
- Do you require an egg or a sperm donor?
- What type of contact do you want with the surrogate during and after the surrogacy?
- And many more
The screening process is an essential step in our surrogacy method. Your answers will help us find the right surrogate for your family and prepare for the upcoming steps of your surrogacy process.
For intended parents, our screening process includes two steps: the home assessment and background clearances.
The home assessment consists of an in-home inspection and interviews. Your social worker will conduct these steps. Additionally, screening both intended parents and surrogates ensures that the other party is physically, psychologically and legally ready for the surrogacy process before matching. This prevents any delays in your surrogacy process once you begin.
Step 3. Match with a Surrogate
Based on your preferences and goals, your surrogacy specialist will help identify possible surrogate candidates and show them your Intended Parent Profile.
Your profile will include:
- Information about your family and your home
- Pictures of your family
- A letter to any prospective surrogate reading your profile
Your surrogacy specialist and our media team will work with you to create your profile to help you find the right surrogate for your family.
Once you and a surrogate reciprocate interest in one another, your surrogacy specialist will set up a meeting for you to get to know each other and discuss your surrogacy goals.
From there, if both parties are ready to move forward with our surrogacy procedure, you are officially matched, and the legal process will begin.
Step 4. Understand the Legal Process
Both you and your surrogate will have your own attorney who will meet with you individually to review the agreements and ensure you understand your rights and any possible risks.
The legal process is a crucial part of how surrogacy works. Once the contracts are signed, your attorney will begin working on the pre-birth order after the first trimester, which will:
- Establish you as the legal parents of your child
- Allow you to make medical decisions for your child
- Resolve any insurance conflicts
- Direct the hospital and the state’s vital records department to include your names on the birth certificate
Step 5. Complete the Embryo Transfer
American Surrogacy partners with fertility clinics across the country. We’ll help you find a fertility clinic that’s current with the best surrogacy technology to make this medical process of surrogacy go as smoothly as possible.
In gestational surrogacy, a surrogate is not related to the child that she carries. Instead, a previously created embryo will be transferred into her uterus.
If an egg or sperm donor is required, the fertility clinic will handle much of this surrogacy process while we oversee it.
Once all conditions have been satisfied, the embryo will be transferred to your surrogate. A few months later, once a healthy pregnancy is confirmed, base compensation of monthly payments will begin.
Supporting the surrogate is a vital part of the overall surrogacy process, especially at this stage. Her surrogacy specialist will be available for her during every step of the pregnancy, and we educate and encourage intended parents to be there for her as well in any way they can.
Bringing Your Baby Home This New Year
The hospital stay is obviously a very exciting time for everyone, as everyone’s hard work and dedication will soon result in a beautiful newborn.
You and the surrogate, along with your surrogacy specialist, will determine the events of the hospital stay and the surrogacy birth, such as:
- The hospital choice for the surrogacy
- Whether you will be involved with the birth in the delivery room
- How much the surrogate wants to be a part of post-birth
Once the surrogate can be dismissed from the hospital, you will all leave together, forever connected in this new year.
Our staffs’ help isn’t finished yet. As we said at the beginning, any support and guidance you need over the next few days, weeks or years, we will be there for you.
If you’re ready to have a baby through surrogacy, please contact us today at 1-800-875-BABY.