1. Choosing an Agency That Fits Your Needs

Surrogacy is a life-changing experience. This choice should be made with consideration and care to ensure that you choose the right surrogacy agency to meet your needs. When you are comparing agencies, we believe that there are three main factors you should assess:

• The support the agency offers to you as a surrogate
• Compensation packages and the benefits that are attached to them
• How well the agency’s values align with your own individual values?

It is important to work with an agency that respects your rights, values, and beliefs; an agency that is professional, courteous, and caring all at the same time.

2. Request a Consultation

After comparing agencies, you will choose either an agency you want to work with or one that you want more information on (either way, we hope it’s us). At this point, you can call or write us a message, and a member of our team will contact you, go over the details, assess if you want to proceed with Gestacy, and book a consultation. Your consultation is not an obligation; this is where you can address all your questions and concerns.

3. Join Gestacy

After your consultation, we hope you decide to join us. (Thanks a lot if that’s the case!) we will then get you to complete a form to help us get to know you; We will gather information about why you have decided to become a surrogate, what kind of medical care you wish to receive, what you are looking for in your potential Intended Parents in order to ensure that we are able to help you find the best match possible.

4. Meet Your Mentor and Case Manager

There are a lot of people who will help you during your surrogacy journey, but two of them are of special importance: your mentor (optional) and your case manager. Your mentor is an experienced surrogate who is there to share her personal experience with you, help assure and guide you through this process. Your case manager does the paperwork, sets your appointments and coordinates everything so that the only thing that you have to worry about is enjoying the journey. You will have the opportunity to meet with both your mentor and your case manager before formally joining Gestacy.

5. Choose Your Intended Parents (IPS)

Once you have formally joined Gestacy, we will work on finding the perfect match for you. The matching process can take anywhere from a few days to a few months. We encourage you to state what the ideal kind of person/couple with whom you would want to help become a family; They are waiting for you! We will show you profiles of any potential Intended Parents that fit the needs and expectations you have expressed. Once you have chosen a profile we will arrange a Skype call so you can meet them or where possible arrange for you to meet them in person. A member of our team will be on the Skype call with you, to ensure fluid conversation and to translate if needed. After the meeting, we will communicate with you and answer any further questions you may have in order to help you come to a decision. You are under no obligation to choose the first couple that you talk with, we want you to be certain of your choice and we are here to help you in whatever way we can.

6. Celebrate the Matching and Communicate with Your IP’S

After you are matched we encourage you to communicate freely with your IPs. Some surrogates already have in mind how much contact they would like to have with their IPs, while others simply prefer to let the relationship take its own course. We will assist you in these first steps with the Intended Parents, we want to make sure that everyone feels comfortable.

7. Medical and Psychological Screening

Both your Intended Parents and yourself will have to complete medical and psychological screening to ensure that the surrogacy journey is safe for you and the future baby. Your partner is invited to attend this screening with you for support, as travel may be required depending on the location of the clinic. This cost is covered by your Intended Parents; including both travel costs and lost wages for you and your partner.

8. Insurance Review

A safe surrogacy journey implies that all the medical care costs are taken care of by your IPs and that no cost is assumed by you. We will make sure that you have appropriate insurance in place, so no risk is taken by you or your family. Already have insurance? Great! We may just need to add a special surrogacy policy to your existing insurance if that’s the case. Don’t worry, the costs are completely covered by your IPs.

9. Contracts

You will have your own legal advisor who will ensure you have a fair contract that meets your needs and expectations; Your contract will address every situation or dispute that could arise during the journey, and protect both you and your family. You can choose any lawyer of your preference, or we can suggest one to you. Your IPs will have their own as well, so both parties are independently assessed and protected. Your IPs are responsible for all legal costs that are incurred during your surrogacy journey.

10. Fertility Medication

Once contracts are in place and you have been medically and psychologically cleared for surrogacy, the reproductive endocrinologist (RE) will prescribe the medication needed to prepare your body for the embryo transfer. This usually includes birth control (to regulate your cycle) and fertility medications. We are here for you during the process to answer any questions you may have about the medications, how to administer them or any side affects you may be experiencing.

11. Embryo Transfer and Pregnancy Test

At this point the clinic and your IPs will work on preparing the embryos for transfer, if they are not ready beforehand. When the RE believes that your body is at optimum level for a successful transfer to result in pregnancy the embryos will be ready and implanted in your uterus. Around 10 days post transfer you will take a pregnancy test and hopefully see a positive result. We will keep our fingers crossed with you! Don’t be discouraged if the first transfer doesn’t result in pregnancy, this can happen. We will support you in this, as will your IPs.

12. Medical Follow-Up

Once pregnancy is confirmed, you will be monitored at a local IVF clinic during the first trimester, and then, after that, you will be seen by your preferred OB. Your case manager will help you arrange all medical appointments and our team will assist you by making medical choices together with you IPs. If you wish, we can provide you a doula, who will give you various tips and assistance to make the journey safer and more physically pleasant. She will also talk with you about any pregnancy related doubts and guide you when talking to your OB or midwife.

13. Parental Court Order

Part of the process when you are considering surrogacy is being informed of the legal aspects of surrogacy and your part in this, as well as what you can expect from both us as your agency and your IPS. We do this to make sure you are both comfortable and are prepared when these issues come up later in pregnancy. One aspect of this is to discuss the legal process of establishing your IPs parental rights; Most of the jurisdictions we operate in provide pre-birth orders, these orders are created and filed around 24 weeks of pregnancy. This court order waives your responsibility for the child when it is born, transferring custody over to the Intended Parents to ensure that as birth approaches you are not left with the responsibility of the child.

14. Delivery Arrangements

As your due date approaches, we will begin working with you to iron out all of the details of your delivery to make sure that you are 100% protected and the delivery takes place in a manner and location that you feel comfortable with. We will discuss all the options available to you including a standard delivery in the hospital of your preference, or more alternative options such as home delivery, water delivery, as well as medications and interventions you are and are not comfortable with. We will also discuss emergency plans for potential preterm or high-risk deliveries.

15. Delivery

The day arrives, and everything will be in place for you. The decision is yours as to whether you will have your IPs in the room or not, who will be there to support you. We understand that when the moment comes you may have different desires than originally planned so we understand if you wish to change this when you’re going through it, this is your right and your choice to make. Deliveries can be long and tough, but we will try to make this a day to be proud of!! *If a loved one is with you on this day, his or her lost wages will be reimbursed, so you don’t need to worry about the financial side of things, we have you covered.

16. Bed Rest

Following birth, you can be comforted by the knowledge that you can rest and heal as you need to. All of our benefit packages include bed rest, housekeeping and lost wages so you can recover from this amazing journey with the time and assistance required. We want you to have peace of mind as you recover and adjust back to your “normal life”.

17. Postpartum Support

The first days after delivery can be very emotional and a huge adjustment, your body doesn’t know what an amazing thing you just did, it only knows that you just had a baby. Hormonal and physical changes can blindside you, but we don’t want you to go through this alone our team will be there supporting you and your family. We are also there to assist you in navigating this new relationship (if desired) with your IPs and surrobaby.

18. Bills and Compensation Review

The end of your journey has arrived, your bed rest is completed, all financial reimbursements and compensations have been received. You don’t have to worry about any of the financial auditing or any outstanding bills that may arise (some medical bills can take months even up to a year to arrive), we do this part for you ensuring that your financial requirements are met and our surrogates assume no financial risk at all.

19. Follow-Up

Whether it is a month or years later, we are here for you! We hope that you will continue to take advantage of our community support and touch base with us from time to time to let us know how you are doing.