What to Expect
We're here to support you at every step of your journey.
Becoming a surrogate with NW Surrogacy Center involves initial screening and pre-match steps, getting matched with your intended parents, signing the contract and going to the fertility clinic, and lastly, delivering the baby to the intended parents. Below is a brief explanation of each step of the process to help set expectations and explain surrogacy more thoroughly.
HEAR IT FROM THEM
Want to hear more information more from a surrogate’s perspective? Follow along to hear one of our former surrogates, Patty, as she explains her experience with NW Surrogacy Center.
Filmed at the NW Surrogacy Center Portland office
Fill out an intake form and have a phone interview
When you are ready to begin, just fill out our intake form. Your surrogate coordinator will call you to ask you some questions and tell you more about our program. Then we’ll ask you to fill out a longer questionnaire so that we can get to know you better and make sure you’re eligible to be a surrogate.
Meet with your NW Surrogacy Center Coordinator
Once we review your questionnaire and run a background check, we will invite you to a Zoom interview. We will learn more about you, explain the surrogacy process, and take as much time as you need to answer all of your questions. Click here for answers to common surrogacy questions. If you are married or in a relationship, we would like to meet your spouse or partner over Zoom as well.
Gather documents and complete additional screening
After your interview, we will ask you to send us pictures of yourself and your family, and a copy of your health insurance policy, if you have one. We will help you request your medical records from any previous pregnancy and delivery. We may also ask you to schedule your psychological evaluation and Zoom home visit and if needed, apply for additional health insurance. Then we will create your profile, with your identifying information removed, to share with potential intended parents.
Meet the intended parents
When we have a potential match for you, we will email you a profile of the intended family to see if you’re interested in them. We will also share your profile with them. When both sides are interested, you will meet the intended parents over Zoom with the help of a case manager. We believe a great match is the key to an extraordinary surrogacy experience. We make matches based on a variety of factors, especially shared goals and expectations for the surrogacy. If they don’t feel like the right match, we will look for a different family for you. If you and the intended parents feel excited about each other after the match meeting (which is most of the time), we will move on to the next step!
Undergo additional screening and sign a contract
We will connect you with the fertility clinic team to complete your medical screening including lab work for you and your partner and an ultrasound at the fertility clinic for you. Your case manager will make all the travel arrangements. Around this time we will provide you with a draft surrogacy contract. You and the intended parents will review the document with separate attorneys, reach an agreement, and sign the contract. At this time you will begin receiving a $200 monthly allowance, and you will be invited to join our private NWSC Surrogate Facebook group. We also host meetups for our surrogates! It’s a great place to swap stories, share experiences, ask questions and meet other surrogates. Details here.
Begin the medication cycle
Once the contract is signed and the intended parents have safely placed money for your compensation and expenses in an account with us, we will send a letter to the fertility clinic giving them clearance to begin the IVF cycle. You will start your full IVF cycle, which involves taking medications starting about six weeks before the embryo transfer and continuing about eight weeks into the pregnancy. The clinic will give you lots of instructions and tips!
Undergo embryo transfer
The embryo transfer is an outpatient procedure that takes place at the fertility clinic. Sometimes, intended parents choose to attend this procedure, in person or by video. After the transfer, you may be asked to go on bed rest for a few days. Your case manager will make all the arrangements!
Pregnancy is confirmed
About ten days after the embryo transfer, you will take a blood test at a local lab as an initial pregnancy test. If the test results are positive, you will take another blood test a few days later. About three to four weeks after the transfer you will have an ultrasound to confirm pregnancy. Once pregnancy is confirmed by ultrasound, you will begin receiving installments of your base compensation. If the transfer was not successful, you will stop medication and talk to the intended parents and clinic about starting another IVF cycle. Generally, surrogates have to wait one or two cycles before they start medication for a new transfer
Enjoy the pregnancy!
Relax and enjoy being pregnant! During your pregnancy, NWSC will send you your monthly payments and take care of your pregnancy expenses. We will be available to you at all times in case you have questions, want us to help mediate issues with the intended parents, or just want someone to talk to. We’ll also check in with you regularly to make sure you have everything you need. The fertility clinic will continue to provide your medical care for the first eight to ten weeks of your pregnancy, but then you can return to your own doctor for prenatal care. Depending on the type of relationship you and the intended parents want, they may attend appointments in person or over the phone and spend time with you during your pregnancy, or communicate with you by phone, Zoom, and email.
Present the intended parents with their new baby!
The wait is over, and it’s time for you to give the intended parents a child who will change their lives forever. If there are rooms available, most hospitals allow intended parents to stay in the hospital to have time alone with their baby. You may also wish to spend some time with the baby or have your children meet him or her, although many surrogates and intended parents prefer that the baby remains with the intended parents most of the time. As soon as the baby is medically ready to be discharged from the hospital, the intended parents can take their new baby home, and you can return to your own family! NWSC will continue to be there for you after the birth. You are welcome to contact us any time.
Ready to see if you qualify?
If you are a healthy, nonsmoking woman between the ages of 21 and 41 years old and have had
previous healthy, full-term pregnancies, we would love to hear from you!