Becoming A Parent

There are two types of surrogacy—gestational surrogacy and traditional surrogacy. In a typical gestational surrogacy arrangement, intended parents create embryos through in vitro fertilization. One or more of these embryos is implanted in a surrogate (sometimes known as a gestational carrier), who carries the child or children to term, but has no genetic relationship to them. Gestational surrogacies makeup the vast majority of modern surrogacy arrangements.

By contrast, traditional surrogates typically become pregnant through artificial insemination, and have a genetic connection to the child or children they carry for their intended parents. We only provide gestational surrogacy services.

The length of the process depends on several factors. We typically tell intended parents that they should plan on a year and a half from the time they sign on with our agency until they have a child, although it can be quicker or longer depending on the legal requirements involved and the course of the IVF treatment.

Most of our surrogates already have relationships with an obstetrician/gynecologist (OB/GYN) and many will deliver at the same hospital where they gave birth to their own children. All surrogates will deliver at a hospital near their home. The decision about where to deliver is typically made in conjunction with the OBGYN and the insurance company, which may have a network of approved providers and hospitals. Occasionally, our legal team will recommend that a delivery occur at a specific hospital.

Intended parents often wish to be a part of the labor and delivery process. Hospital policy and your surrogate’s comfort play a large role in determining who will be able to be present in the delivery room. Following the birth, the baby will either remain in the nursery or a room assigned to you. According to most hospital policies, the child cannot be released from the hospital until the surrogate has been released.

A woman applies to become a surrogate with Eggceptional by filling out a detailed application. We review her answers and if we think she would be a good fit for our program, a consulting IVF physician examines her medical records, including a history of recent pregnancies. We also review any medical insurance plans. Next, she in an in-person interview or video conference call depending upon her location. We evaluate the applicant’s support network and run a criminal background check.

We’ve established strict requirements for our surrogate applicants to ensure the continued success of our program. Here are some of our requirements for surrogate applicants:

• Has delivered a child of her own, and is currently parenting at least one child
• 21-41 years of age
• Is a citizen, legal resident or legal immigrant of the United States
• No participation in certain government aid programs
• Body Mass Index (BMI) of no higher than 33,
• Residence in a surrogacy-friendly state in the United States
• Support of family and friends
• No use of illegal drugs, cigarettes, or alcohol abuse
• No currently use of anti-depressants
• Leads a stable, responsible lifestyle

The frequency and type of contact you have with your surrogate before, during and after the pregnancy will be addressed as part of your surrogacy plan. You can have as much or as little contact as both parties are comfortable with. However, we recommend that weekly contact via phone and meeting in person for milestone appointments be a minimum, if possible. This is the person helping to bring your child into the world and the happiest journeys always have good communication.

Frozen embryos are stored at your IVF clinic. If your family is complete, you will be advised on your options for the future of your embryos. If you choose to move your embryos, your IVF center will assist you in that process. Of course, you may use the cryopreserved embryos in a future surrogacy if you choose.

The Eggceptional team coordinates with local attorneys to ensure that you are properly matched with a surrogate in a state where you can accomplish the necessary legal work to finalize your parental rights. You will need to have wills finalized prior to the embryo transfer that ensure that a guardian is in place to care for your children in the event of your death. Once you are matched, we negotiate contracts on your behalf with independent attorneys who represent the egg donor and/or surrogate. Eggceptional works with local attorneys in the states where the surrogates reside in order to accomplish the legal work necessary to secure your parental rights. Depending on a variety of factors, your surrogacy legal work may include a pre-birth order, a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity, a judgment of paternity, a custody orders, or an adoption.

Once we have accepted a surrogate applicant into our program, our team determines possible matching options based on a variety of factors, including: the state she lives in, whether she has insurance, and the matching preferences from both intended parents and surrogates.
Once the surrogate and the prospective parents express a mutual interest, we will put them in touch by video conference call so they can meet. Someone from Eggceptional will be on the call to introduce them and get the conversation going. Then they can interview each other to see if it will be a good match for both parties.

After communicating with each other, the surrogate and the prospective parents meet in person at their mutual convenience. If the surrogate has children and/or a partner or spouse, the intended parents meet them as well.

An IVF physician medically screens them after a match is made. If for any reason the surrogate doesn’t pass the medical screening (which is rare), Eggceptional will present a new match free of charge.

Absolutely! We work with intended parents of all backgrounds—single individuals, same-sex couples and heterosexual couples.