Surrogate Mother Application
For a growing number of people, heterosexual couples, same-sex couples and single men and women, surrogacy is the last resort or only way to build a family. As a surrogate, you can provide great help to these people by offering to carry their baby for them. You can help them achieve their dream. It is only through the generous sacrifice that YOU make that they can realise their dreams.
It is not just celebrities who are turning to surrogacy but also average working men and women who often have to borrow the money to pay for the surrogacy journey. Surrogacy programs are increasingly successful so they are prepared to take that risk at considerable expense.
A surrogate mother is a woman who carries a child that is NOT conceived from her eggs. In other words the surrogate has no biological link to the child. The child is genetically related to the intended mother or an egg donor. Such a surrogacy is called a gestational surrogacy.
Making the decision to become a surrogate is a very personal decision and should be taken after careful consideration and discussion with your friends and family. It is very important that you as the surrogate have the emotional and psychological support of friends and family throughout the journey. You should only make this momentous decision after you are fully informed of the medical and legal process that will be undertaken. We will be sure to explain those processes to you fully and we will check that you do truly understand.
What is Surrogacy?
Surrogacy is a form of infertility treatment where a woman carries a baby for another person or couple so that they can have a family. The person or couple are referred to as intended father, intended mother or intended parents. They will generally undertake IVF where embryos are created, from either their own eggs and sperm or from the eggs and/or sperm of donors, in a laboratory. Those embryos are grown to Day 5 and often frozen at that stage while they undergo some testing to ensure that they are healthy embryos with a good chance of success. After the test results are returned then each of those embryos will be transferred, one at a time, to the uterus of a surrogate until the surrogate becomes pregnant. We pay our surrogates for their time and all of their expenses related to the surrogacy journey. We will also ensure that the surrogate has legal advice, frequent medical check-ups, good nutrition, physiotherapy or myotherapy as required and psychological and emotional support throughout the journey.
There are tens of thousands of births to surrogates across the world each year and they represent just under 7% of all IVF embryo transfers that occur each year.
A surrogate, also known as a gestational carrier, is a woman who carries a baby for intended parent(s) where she has no intention of having any parental relationship with the child and has no biological link to the child. Depending on the law of the country in which the surrogate delivers the child, its birth certificate will normally record the intended parent(s) as the parent(s) of the child.
Ready to submit an application?
Why does someone need a surrogate?
There are many reasons people choose surrogacy to make their dream of a family come true including infertility, medical reasons, and men who don’t have a uterus. Some women have medical reasons such as cardiac conditions or having survived cancer.
Up to 20% of known pregnancies end in a miscarriage. If we include pregnancies ending before a woman has missed a menstrual cycle then the rate could be as high as 50%. Many of our intended parents have had multiple miscarriages and they have decided on surrogacy to prevent taking a further toll on their bodies.
Not all surrogacy journeys arise from infertility issues. It is a common solution for single or same-sex couples who want to become parents.
Why does someone need a surrogate?
There are many reasons people choose surrogacy to make their dream of a family come true including infertility, medical reasons, and men who don’t have a uterus. Some women have medical reasons such as cardiac conditions or having survived cancer.
Up to 20% of known pregnancies end in a miscarriage. If we include pregnancies ending before a woman has missed a menstrual cycle then the rate could be as high as 50%. Many of our intended parents have had multiple miscarriages and they have decided on surrogacy to prevent taking a further toll on their bodies.
Not all surrogacy journeys arise from infertility issues. It is a common solution for single or same-sex couples who want to become parents.
What is infertility?
Infertility is a disease of the male or female reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a pregnancy after trying to conceive for 12 months or more. Infertility affects millions of women around the world. It’s estimated that 1 in 7 couples has trouble getting pregnant or keeping a pregnancy.
Fertility declines as people age. For a heterosexual couple between 29 and 33 with a normal functioning reproductive system they have only a 20-25% chance of conceiving in any month. They may have to try for more than 6 months to increase their chances of success.
Approximately one-third of infertility is attributed to the female partner, one-third to the male partner, and one-third is caused by a combination of problems in both partners or is unexplained.
What causes infertility? There is a wide range of potential sources. For example, one cause of female infertility is something called hostile cervical mucus (hostile uterus). For such women using a surrogate can eliminate that factor completely.
Another cause of female infertility is related to a hormone called prolactin. When levels of prolactin are high, it can be an indicator of deeper hormonal issues and, potentially, lead to infertility.
What are infertility treatments?
Some women seek infertility treatment using medicines to induce ovulation and improve endometrial thickness. But these medications only address ovulation, and have no impact on other potential root causes of infertility.
40% of female infertility is related to tubal factor infertility.. When a woman can confirm the medical reasons leading to infertility she can have a clearer understanding of her options to build her family.
Couples that are pursuing infertility treatments may suffer an emotional roller coaster, as each pregnancy attempt is anticipated with much anxiety. The repeated setbacks may lead the couple to consider a different path to build their family – surrogacy.
How do intended parents find a surrogate?
A surrogacy journey requires a large team of professionals to reach the end goal of having a child.
Finding the right surrogate to partner with can make all the difference in a successful surrogacy journey. Some intended parents choose to source their own surrogates and find themselves in a partnership that isn’t what they expected. A team of professionals is essential to find a surrogate who has shared values and expectations. A surrogacy journey is a deeply personal journey for both the intended parent and surrogate.
Global Surrogacy thoroughly vets potential surrogates to ensure they are physically and emotionally prepared to embark on a safe and healthy surrogacy journey. Even in times and places where it is difficult to find the number of surrogates we need for our intended parents we maintain our high selection standards.
Often, when people source their own surrogate, they are not prepared for the legal expertise and time it takes to manage a journey. We help both intended parents and surrogates every step of the way through creating a legal contract outlining the surrogacy journey, clearing the surrogate with the IVF clinic, accompanying the surrogate to every appointment, sourcing competent and professional private medical doctors to manage the pregnancy and coordinating and drafting all documentation after the birth to ensure the intended parents are the legal parents and can return home with their child. Additionally, surrogacy laws are complicated and vary from one jurisdiction to another. Often the surrogacy laws in the intended parents’ countries are markedly different from those where the surrogacy journey will occur.
A surrogacy journey takes longer than a 9 month natural pregnancy. Global Surrogacy ensures that intended parents and surrogates are each informed and emotionally prepared for a longer journey. Global Surrogacy provides its expertise and support in every aspect of the journey to support your successful process, such as in-house psychologists, to trusted and successful maternity hospitals and medical practitioners.
Why does someone become a surrogate?
The motivation of a woman to become a surrogate varies between countries. One of our key selection criteria is that the surrogate cannot be “struggling to live” when she applies to join our program. Prospective applicants must be living, although it could be tough. We do not want to have a situation where the woman feels she must do surrogacy in order to survive or feed and clothe her children.
It is important to understand the process of gestational surrogacy and the motivation behind why women want to become a surrogate. A woman thinking about becoming a surrogate may want to know what are the criteria for successfully applying to be a surrogate. Our team is always on hand to answer any questions and provide support throughout the process of learning about surrogacy.
For women considering becoming a surrogate, the best resource we can provide is personal experience. Many of our surrogates have volunteered to speak directly to other women considering the role of a surrogate.
In our experience women choose to do surrogacy in order to obtain a lump sum of cash to change some part of their life eg: start a small business, change their domestic living arrangements or provide a better education to their own children.
What are the criteria for successfully applying to be a surrogate? The most important requirements are quite basic: she must have given birth before (without complications), be between 23 and 37 years of age, be a legal resident of the country in which she lives and have completed the process of building her own family.
We will send applicants to one of our fertility clinics and to various health professionals for a range of medical checks, blood tests,and psychological interviews. We will also ensure the surrogate obtains independent legal advice on the regulations and laws that relate to surrogacy in the location in which she applies. Once approved we will enrol the surrogate in a private medical insurance program and assist her to create a profile for providing to prospective intended parents.
What is egg donation?
Egg donation is a separate from surrogacy but often one aspect of the journey. The surrogate will NEVER provide her eggs as a donation. Global Surrogacy works with intended parents to help them select a suitable egg donor so that embryos can be created. By the time the surrogate is introduced to the intended parents they will already have embryos ready to be transferred to the uterus of the surrogate mother. Sometimes those embryos will have been created using the eggs and sperm of the intended parents and sometimes using donors for one or both of the gametes.
As the most experienced surrogacy agency, our job is to support you every step of the way. We are able to move with purpose, efficiently and professionally, to help you achieve a healthy and successful surrogacy journey.
