How to Become a Surrogate Mother
ConceiveAbilities is an experienced (and leading) full-service surrogacy agency, whose job it is to support you every step of the way. We are able to move with purpose, more quickly than any other agency, to serve your interests in achieving a healthy and successful surrogacy journey. Our proven process makes your dream of helping another family a reality. We are all-in as your surrogacy agency.
What is a Surrogate?
A surrogate mother is a woman who carries a child that she is not genetically related to for someone else. There are different types of surrogacy, with the most common being gestational surrogacy and traditional surrogacy. Traditional surrogates use their own eggs; however, ConceiveAbilities surrogates are gestational carriers, meaning they do not use their own eggs and carry a baby for Intended Parents who are unable to on their own.
Why Do Women Become Surrogates?
Women feel called to be surrogates for many unique reasons. Through our work with thousands of women, however, we do see some common insights about many surrogates:
- Almost 90% find joy in giving to others, and demonstrate that through their actions. For instance, more than 50% regularly volunteer and nearly half are registered blood and organ donors.
- The time must be right; over 80% examine the timing based on the needs of their family and turn to their inner circle for support about the decision.
- Two-thirds have first-hand experience with a friend or family member’s struggle with infertility.
- The financial incentive is meaningful and more than 60% report it will help to create a safety net by, for instance, paying down debt or saving for their family’s future.
With several steps throughout the assisted reproduction process, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), surrogacy can be a challenging experience. As such, embarking on this journey can give women a sense of accomplishment. Other women simply enjoy being pregnant and have had positive experiences with the births of their own children. Surrogates may also love becoming part of sisterhood, a group that can answer questions, uplift them, and provide meaningful and lasting friendships.
Who Do Surrogates Help?
The surrogacy process promotes the gift of family, and surrogacy provides a way for women to experience this deeply meaningful journey. Whether they personally know somebody who has struggled with infertility or is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, they see themselves as fulfilling a special calling.
At ConceiveAbilities, our surrogates assist intended parents of all different backgrounds, from across the country and even around the world. Our intended parents are:
- Single parents
- Married couples
- Unmarried couples
- Folks with health conditions
Our proprietary matching process pairs you with the family you were meant to help who have shared values and expectations. Matching Matters® has a 97% success rate at first introduction, expediting your journey.
Matching Surrogates With Intended Parents
When you go through the Matching Matters ™ process, we take into consideration your preferences, such as matching with a local family. Because of ConceiveAbilities size, experience, and success, we have intended parents throughout the United States. Our surrogates have also found that they can have close relationships with their intended family in long-distance matches as well. We do find through the process that you may start with one set of priorities and, as you learn more, prioritize other expectations and values. Plus, ConceiveAbilities is able to match surrogates and parents in as soon as 16 weeks.
Since no two surrogacy journeys are the same, rest assured that we will guide you, step-by-step and with full transparency, putting in place a roadmap for a successful and healthy outcome - one that helps another family build their family.
Do You Meet Our Surrogate Requirements?
In order to ensure that the surrogacy process can be a healthy and successful experience for you, the basic gestational surrogate requirements include your age, your experience with prior deliveries, and your medical history.
What Are the Qualifications To Become a Surrogate?
The basic requirements to be a surrogate mother include:
Physical Requirements
- Have you given birth before?
- A history of at least one full-term, healthy and uncomplicated pregnancy is essential to ensuring your surrogacy journey is healthy and successful.
- How old are you?
- At the time you are matched with intended parents, you should be within our required age range, which is between 21 and 43 years of age.
Legal Requirements
- Where do you live?
- Compensated surrogacy is legal in most, but not all states. And, certain locations are highly valued by intended parents and you can earn higher surrogate compensation.
- Are you a long-term US resident?
- The surrogacy journey is lengthy and is accomplished only by working with a US-based IVF clinic.
Lifestyle Requirements
- Are you physically healthy?
- You must have an uncomplicated medical history, not be over- or under-weight, not currently smoke, and be free of certain chronic conditions.
- Are you emotionally healthy?
- Your surrogacy journey is demanding and requires a stable foundation in your life without undue stress.
Surrogate Application and Screening
Our surrogacy qualifications are a first step. Once we get to know each other a bit, our relationship will build. Together, our next steps involve a screening process, which includes:
Virtual interviews
A thorough review of your medical records
Ensuring you have up-to-date assessments of both your physical and mental health
An in-depth background review of you and those with whom you share your home
At each step, we'll explain "the why," making sure the journey is a healthy and safe one for you. And, with each step, we're bringing you closer to your goal of helping someone else build their family. Because, after all, family is everything.
Understanding Surrogate Pay
Typically, total compensation for first-time surrogates can range between $45,000 and $55,000. This pay includes a surrogate’s base pay as well as additional compensation. Surrogacy base pay is determined by location and whether the surrogate has previously embarked on surrogacy journeys.
No matter your past surrogacy experiences or where you live, ConceiveAbilities ensures you receive top pay through our All-In Care and Compensation program, offering a comprehensive package with the best protection and personalized care for each and every surrogate.
Our program prioritizes six main benefits:
- Our Matching Matters™ process, which allows us to match you with the right intended parents
- A straight-forward financial package with personalized compensation and no hassles
- Our Life Simplicity Promise™, which offers legal guidance to ensure you and your intended parents have a fair and valid surrogacy contract
- Insurance coverage to help you avoid out-of-pocket expenses and fast resolution of any potential disputes, providing you and your family with total peace of mind
- Being an equal partner with your intended parents through our Shared Decision framework, meaning you can share in important decisions and the overall surrogacy experience with them
- An organized step-by-step road map and calendar to help you prepare for the embryo transfer process
Learn more about surrogate compensation and everything that is included in our All-In Surrogate Care and Compensation package.
What Is the Process to Become a Surrogate?
The process to become a surrogate mother involves six basic steps.
- Research Surrogacy
- Find Out If You Qualify
- Match With Intended Parents
- Begin Pregnancy
- Carry and Deliver a Baby
- Conclude Your Surrogacy Journey
ConceiveAbilities will be your partner throughout each of these steps, allowing you to experience the joy of surrogacy while we manage the details to ensure your journey is successful and healthy. Our process is rooted in precision, support, and compassion. We know how to look around the corner and anticipate the key decisions that are key to a great outcome, because we have years of experience with surrogates, families, physicians, and experts across the country.
1. Research Surrogacy
1. Research Surrogacy: Is It Right For You?
- Of course, the first step of the process is identifying if surrogacy is right for you!
- Fertility expert Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron shared her experience with the amazing surrogates she has met during her medical practice in our video, Who Becomes A Surrogate.
- You can also visit our Surrogacy Learning Center, a one-of-a-kind community where you can collaborate about surrogacy with both newcomers and experts.
2. Find Out If You Qualify
2. Find Out If You Qualify, in Three Parts
- Take 5 to 10 minutes and complete your personalized surrogacy application, where we explain each basic requirement, like your age, your prior deliveries, and where you live, and apply them to you. We love getting to know women who are considering becoming a surrogate, and please know that all of your information is maintained with utmost privacy.
- Once your application is approved, you will schedule and complete an introductory call so we can get to know you better, including a more detailed discussion of your medical history. ConceiveAbilities is known for our detailed and thorough review process to make sure that a surrogacy journey can be healthy and successful for you. And, if the review goes well, you can feel very confident that, later on in your journey, an IVF clinic will agree with us.
- We will prepare you to become a surrogate by providing written details of how much money you will earn as a surrogate and more detailed information about what to expect. We will gain a deeper understanding of your values and expectations for the family you would like to help as a surrogate, and how we can support your entire family during your pregnancy. Get an estimate of your surrogate pay with our personalized calculator.
3. Match With Intended Parents
3. Match With Intended Parents, a New Relationship
- Once you are qualified as a surrogate, ConceiveAbilities uses our proprietary matching process, Matching Matters®, to connect you with the family you were meant to help. We match potential surrogates with families that share their values and expectations for the type of relationship they want.
- The intended parents will deposit all the money needed for your surrogacy journey in escrow so you have the peace-of-mind of knowing that the full financial resources for your journey are safe and secure.
- You will meet your dedicated ConceiveAbilities’ Match Manager, who will work with you and your intended parents to guide your journey as a surrogate.
- Your monthly care packages, custom-built based on your preferences, begin!
4. Begin Pregnancy
4. Begin Pregnancy, a New Life with Modern Help
- This is getting real, yes? First, we introduce you to the Surrogate Sisterhood, a private community of women that are actively engaged with us on a surrogacy journey. You will have routine opportunities to connect with this incredible network of supporters that totally “get it” and are available to answer any question you may have.
- The IVF clinic that the Intended Parents have selected will conduct their own review of your qualifications as a surrogate. ConceiveAbilities’ experience and careful screening process helps to ensure that this is a satisfactory review.
- You and your intended parents will create a legal contract, with our assistance, that confirms your services and pay. We’ll tackle all the details like health insurance and the who’s who of all the professionals that will support your journey, such as the IVF clinic, reproductive endocrinologist, and more.
- Your intended parents will have already created one or more embryos by this point, either with or without the support of donor(s), and the IVF transfer process will begin. For the embryo transfer, your body will need to be medically prepared. You will learn more about the medical protocol, restrictions and expectations during this time and begin certain medications.
- ConceiveAbilities arranges not only a generous pay package for your surrogacy, but one that is well-planned and considers your time and energy. Pre-pregnancy payments start the day after your medical work-up and continue until the embryo is transferred to you.
- Once you are ready and all the paperwork is in place, the embryo will be transferred to you. And, when your medical team is able to confirm a fetal heartbeat for a second time, we consider the pregnancy “established.”
5. Carry and Deliver a Baby
5. Carry and Deliver a Baby, the Gift of Family
- As your surrogate pregnancy continues, your IVF clinic will determine when is the right time for your obstetrician to take responsibility for your care and you will begin routine appointments with your obstetrician. You will receive support from your match manager and your Surrogate Sisterhood and check-in regularly with your intended parents.
- During your pregnancy, you will receive monthly pay, starting after the second confirmation of the fetal heartbeat.
- You will have the opportunity for a customized care consult with resources built for you, to set the stage for a great pregnancy and Fourth Trimester recovery, including in-depth information and resources about doula care and birth preparation, physical therapy, nutrition, and fitness and movement
- During the middle of your pregnancy, we will work with you and your intended parents to create a Birth Plan, which is an exciting milestone to ensure everyone is ready with common expectations for the delivery of the baby. The legal work continues to ensure the parents have established court ordered parental rights.
- The Birth!
- After the baby's birth, the baby goes home with its parents and your Fourth Trimester begins.
6. Conclude Your Surrogacy Journey
6. Conclude Your Surrogacy Journey, Your Calling Fulfilled
- The surrogacy journey is both demanding and rewarding. We work to ensure you have the support you need throughout your Fourth Trimester, physically and emotionally, both with your Surrogate Sisterhood and one-on-one support you may want.
- Your post birth one-time payment is adjusted to fully replenish your wage and salary, at all income levels.
Why ConceiveAbilities?
Not only do we have eight former surrogates on staff and nearly three decades of experience, we invest in the science behind it. We commissioned an independent research study to learn more about what moves a woman to become a surrogate. From your motivation, needs, and desires to your decision process in becoming a surrogate, we have done the work to make sure our All-In Program reflects what you, the surrogate, needs. Why? Because we want to serve you better, exceed your expectations and create the safest and most rewarding experience. We build families with you.
78% (5 on a scale of 1 to 5) of our surrogates want to recommend another woman to be a ConceiveAbilities surrogate because of their outstanding experience with our agency and 56% (5 on a scale of 1 to 5) want to do another surrogacy journey.
Surrogate FAQs
How long does the surrogacy process take?
You can anticipate that the surrogate mother process may take between 15 to 18 months on average, however, any individual situation could take more time, or less time.
If I am currently breastfeeding, can I apply to be a surrogate?
Yes, should you meet the basic requirements, we will work with you in completing our qualification process. However, to match you with intended parents, you must have completely weaned and have had at least one menstrual cycle.
Can I apply to be a surrogate if I have an IUD in place for my birth control?
Yes, you can apply and, assuming you meet the basic requirements, we will work through the entire qualification process with you. That said, we will not be able to match you with intended parents until you have had your IUD removed (at your own cost) and have had at least one menstrual cycle.
Can I earn money referring surrogates to ConceiveAbilities?
Yes. For every woman you recommend to become a surrogate earns, you can earn up to $650. And, your referred surrogate also earns rewards. The further she progresses in her journey, the more you both earn. And you can earn unlimited referral bonuses with your personalized referral link! Learn more about our surrogate referral program.
Does receiving government assistance disqualify me?
No. A surrogate must demonstrate financial stability in order to qualify for the surrogacy program, however, receiving government assistance is not on its own a disqualifying factor.
Curious About Becoming a Surrogate?
More questions about surrogate mother requirements and how to become a surrogate mother? Our compassionate professionals are ready to help and listen as you begin your journey to become a surrogate.
Surrogate Testimonials
Thank you to ConceiveAbilities for being such an amazing support for myself and my family, for making a wonderful match and for caring about all of the gestational surrogates as if they were your own family. This experience has been one that has changed me as a person, mother, friend and wife.
Tisha
Gestational Surrogate
ConceiveAbilities was definitely the best choice I could have made.
Bess
Gestational Surrogate
I cannot reiterate enough how wonderful you all are at ConceiveAbilities. You make theses incredible things come together so beautifully and for that I am so grateful.
Natalie
Gestational Surrogate
I feel so blessed to be a part of the surrogate group and ConceiveAbilities. The support we are able to give and receive is such a beautiful thing.
Andrea
Gestational Surrogate
ConceiveAbilities was incredible. I felt supported and confident through everything and I am happy to have the opportunity to work with them again.
Cathy
Gestational Surrogate
I have been working with ConceiveAbilities for five years as a surrogate. Take it from me that all of the staff are amazing. Everyone from the owner down to the intake coordinators are approachable, respectful and caring. At every step of the process, they are there for you. Not just there, but really connected and involved in every aspect. You can tell everyone loves what they are doing. I am honored and proud to work with this agency.
Francis
Gestational Surrogate
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