Here are a few frequently asked questions we get from parents or parents-to-be interested in pursuing a surrogacy journey.
There is a very important distinction between gestational and traditional surrogacy.
In a traditional surrogacy, the surrogate’s own egg is fertilized via artificial insemination, and the surrogate is both the carrier and the biological mother. Consequently, there is a much greater legal risk involved for Intended Parents in traditional surrogacy cases.
Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists exclusively handles gestational surrogacies.
In a gestational surrogacy, the surrogate bears no genetic connection to the child she is carrying. The surrogacy process involves combining sperm from the Intended Father (or a sperm donor) and the egg of the Intended Mother (or egg donor) to form an embryo through in vitro fertilization.
In vitro fertilization is the process of creating an embryo from an egg and sperm combined outside the body. Once fertilized, the embryo is then transferred into the uterus of either the Intended Mother or the surrogate.
During artificial insemination, semen is inserted into the uterus of the Intended Mother in order to fertilize an egg.
In an egg donation, eggs are removed from the donor and fertilized either by sperm from a donor or the Intended Father to create embryos. The fertilized embryos are then stored or transferred into the uterus of the Intended Mother or surrogate.
Sperm donation involves obtaining semen from a donor that is then used to fertilize eggs from an egg donor or the egg of the Intended Mother.
Your personal surrogacy journey will begin with a free consultation. During your consultation, we will discuss our program offerings and help you understand the surrogacy process.
We will also use this time to ask you about your experience and answer any questions you may have. We have found consultations to be especially helpful during the matching process in connecting you with your surrogate. All information you share is always kept private and confidential.
As a leading surrogacy matching agency, Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists facilitates every aspect of the matching process to help you find the right surrogate for you.
We pride ourselves on making successful matches. We do this by investing the time to understand your unique needs as an Intended Parent and completing a rigorous surrogate screening process.
Our surrogate screening process consists of:
We will match you with a prospective surrogate based on a number of criteria; however, it is ultimately your decision who you would like to be matched with.
There are various factors that can affect the length of the surrogacy process, but it generally depends on how long it takes to find a qualified surrogate. Provided your surrogate becomes pregnant after the first embryo transfer, the whole process will generally take about a year and a half.
Learn how long the surrogacy process take on our Intended Parents Process page, where we provide a full, detailed timeline for surrogacy journeys from the day you sign on to the birth of your child.
The Intended Parents’ names will appear on the birth certificate. Worldwide Surrogacy helps IPs obtain pre- or post-birth orders, also known as court judgments, to establish their parental rights before or after their surrogate gives birth by coordinating attorney support in the state where the gestational surrogate delivers.
Worldwide provides references to lenders such as Prosper Healthcare Lending, a reputable medical lending agency, to help intended parents cover surrogacy costs and fulfill their dreams of starting a family. Although surrogacy is a substantial financial expense, we do everything in our power to ensure that it is not an insurmountable obstacle.
We always highly suggest a scheduled tour of the hospital that your surrogate will deliver in. This is something that you can do if you plan to visit with your surrogate during the pregnancy, or you can schedule it prior to the birth when you are there waiting for the baby to be born. Hospital tours can normally be scheduled on the hospital’s website. Sometimes it requires the surrogate to actually sign up for the tour because she is the patient/birth mother.
Many of your questions about the hospital stay and birth will be answered during this tour. (For example: Private rooms, wrist bands, what you need to bring, protocol for the day of delivery, etc.). If you have questions about the hospital or the hospital tour, you must call the hospital for answers to these questions.
This is completely up to the Intended Parent(s), but most parents plan to be in the state where the baby is being born at least one week to ten days prior to the due date. Please understand due dates change, especially with twins, so please know that you may need to be prepared for this. If you have questions about the due date, you must call the treating physician or discuss with your surrogate.
The duration of stay depends on how long the baby has to remain in the hospital. Each state differs in the time you need to stay post-birth in order to receive the birth certificate. Please ask the attorney who is doing your birth order how long you will be required to stay in order to obtain the baby’s birth certificate.
Most airlines are fine with a baby flying at 3-5 days old, however, please check with your individual airline carrier when you book your flights. Please ask your surrogate if there are any hotels near the hospital. You can also use the following links to help you with your travel accommodations:
Arrangements for breast milk can be determined between the parents and the surrogate. The cost for breast milk may range $200 to $300 per week as payment to the surrogate for pumping, in addition to the cost of a pump, bottles, bags, supplies, etc. (Generally, the hospital will rent a pump to the surrogate for a week or two).
As per your retainer agreement, your escrow is held for 6 months post-birth to pay medical bills that may come in after they are processed through insurance. Escrow management fees will stop 2 months post-birth.
You will need to get passport pictures of the baby. You can do this at any CVS Pharmacy. You may be able to make an in-person appointment at an expedited Passport office.
You must bring with you:
Services to help with expedited passport processing:
Passport & Visa Advisors, LLC
704-246-6373
Please note that during the COVID pandemic many passport offices have closed or have sporadic service. For more information you can call the National Passport Information Line 1-877-487-2778.
At Worldwide, we celebrate the fact that every family looks different. Our team proudly supports all individuals and couples, regardless of sexual orientation and marital status, on their journey to parenthood. We have worked with Intended Parents across the globe and take pride in the wonderful matches we have made and the families we have supported along the way.
Our dedicated team values equality, acceptance, and the ethical formation of families through surrogacy, and is proud to support Intended Parents of every race, gender, and sexual orientation on their journey to parenthood.
Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists works with Intended Parents all over the globe. We’ve helped create families in over 30 countries around the world, working with couples and individuals as dedicated partners on their journey to parenthood.
“You have been wonderful and thank you for your hand-holding throughout, it's really what makes Worldwide Surrogacy special.”
Intended Parents
Interested in starting or building your family through surrogacy? Schedule a consultation today to meet our team and learn more.
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