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A Guide to a Surrogate’s Responsibilities

As a potential Surrogate, you no doubt understand that you are taking on a huge responsibility. The prospect of carrying someone else’s child can be simultaneously daunting and exciting, and GSHC Surrogacy Agency will be there with you to guide you through the entire process and provide physical, mental, and emotional support.

We will take care of almost everything for you; however, there are still some things for which you, as a Surrogate, will be responsible. Here are some of the important responsibilities that fall on the Surrogate herself:

Passing Medical Screening

Of course, there are some things that can come up during medical screening that you can’t know about until it happens, such as uterine polyps or if you’re a carrier of CMV, for example. However, there are many things you can do to prepare for medical screening and give yourself the best chance of sailing through!

Certain vaccines are required for a surrogacy journey (varicella, rubella, hepatitis B) and if you know you’re missing any of these, it can be a good idea to visit your PCP to obtain them as soon as you decide you’re going to be a Surrogate. If you have a partner, remember they will be screened as well, so it’s important to help them understand that they need to stay away from tobacco and marijuana.

Another thing you can do is check your BMI (calculated using your height and current weight; check your BMI HERE) and make sure it’s under the clinic’s requirement.
The clinic will also check your vitamin D level so if you suspect it may be low, it’s a good idea to start supplementing! Likewise, if you struggle with low iron you can begin taking a prenatal to help bring your iron levels up.

Keeping Appointments

As a Surrogate, you’re going to have a lot of doctor’s appointments; that’s just part of the process. It’s very important that you don’t skip any appointments. While you’re on the hormonal medication to prepare your body for embryo transfer, you will have periodic checkups to make sure your lining is developing properly and your hormone levels are rising appropriately. These appointments have to be made at specific times leading up to the embryo transfer, so it’s EXTREMELY important to make sure you don’t miss these.

Equally important is all the prenatal testing such as NT, NIPT, anatomy scan, etc. These will be required to be completed, and GSHC Surrogacy Agency will remind you when it’s time to make these appointments to schedule the testing.

Doctors Office/Prescription Copays

As a Surrogate, you will never be required to pay out of pocket for anything. However, there may be certain times when you will have to temporarily cover a small expense such as an OB appointment copay or prescription copay. GSHC Surrogacy Agency will reimburse you as soon as possible for these minor expenses. Be sure to keep your receipts for any payments to be used for reimbursement.

Insurance Payments

You may be aware that there have been many recent changes to surrogacy-friendly insurance policies. Many providers now require the insurance premium to come directly from the Surrogate’s own bank account. Because of this, you may be receiving your insurance premium paid into your bank account from your Intended Parents' Escrow Account prior to the premium due date. It is your responsibility to not spend this money and make sure it is available to make the insurance payment on-time!

Keeping Intended Parents Informed

While GSHC Surrogacy Agency will be keeping Intended Parents clued in on what’s going on with your pregnancy, they will still expect to hear directly from you, too. Remember, the IPs have trusted you to safely carry their baby, and they will naturally be concerned about your own, and their baby’s welfare.

Intended Parents really appreciate regular updates, ultrasound pictures, bump photos, even pictures of you out and about with your own family to let them know what you’ve been up to. That way they can feel more involved in the pregnancy and can rest assured knowing that their Surrogate and their baby are doing well.

Maintaining Good Health

While every pregnancy is different and issues can arise even if you have previously had very easy pregnancies, it is the Surrogate’s responsibility to keep herself in good health. This means eating right to avoid developing gestational diabetes, staying active to keep blood flowing and muscles moving, avoiding dangerous activities/situations, etc. While weight gain is normal and necessary during pregnancy, it is important to try not to gain weight excessively as this can seriously affect the baby’s health and size, which can, in turn, make for a difficult labor.

Conclusion

While hiring a surrogacy agency has additional costs associated, those costs are well worth the peace-of-mind knowing that every aspect of your surrogacy journey is being handled by experienced professionals who know the ins and outs of the process first-hand.

If you are interested in becoming a Surrogate with GSHC Surrogacy Agency, please complete our Surrogate Intake Form, contact us at [email protected], or call us at (310) 953-0173.If you are interested in becoming an Intended Parent with GSHC Surrogacy Agency, please complete our Intended Parent Intake Form, contact us at [email protected], or call us at (310) 953-0173.