10 steps of the Surrogacy Process: A Guide for Potential Surrogates
Surrogacy is a selfless act that provides a gift to the world. It involves giving yourself, your conveniences, and your time to increase the happiness of others, and that is noble. Kudos to you for wanting to embark on such a caring journey of light and love. You want to get started but have some questions that deserve thorough and thoughtful answers to guide you along your way. US surrogacy laws vary from state to state, so you may think that becoming a surrogate is only possible in big cities. Rest in knowing that is no longer the case. Surrogacy is possible in Colorado. Here at Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado, we are committed to walking with you through the entire surrogacy process and fostering healing afterward.
If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a surrogate, please call or text us at 303-670-4673 (HOPE) or visit us at Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado.
Can I Become a Surrogate Mother?
If you wonder, “How does surrogacy work?” or ponder on how to become a surrogate mother in Colorado, you have come to the right place. At Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado, we will break down the surrogacy process step by step and match you with intended parents that align with your mission. Colorado surrogacy is possible and fulfilling. There is no longer a need for you to travel to big cities or exhaust your schedule to make long trips. You have the option now to perform surrogacy while maintaining the lifestyle and living situation you currently love.
Surrogate Meaning
There are misconceptions about modern and legal surrogacy to dispel. Traditional surrogacy, though outlawed internationally, was thus: a surrogate mother supplied the egg and was a biological relative of the child. However, in modern surrogacy, the surrogate is a gestational carrier. What is gestational surrogacy? In gestational surrogacy, you do not supply the egg. Instead, the donor or intended parent provides the egg and sperm, placed in a lab to develop an embryo. The embryo gets transferred to you through a process called IVF (in vitro fertilization) in hopes that it will implant. IVF feels similar to a regular pap smear. Once planted, the pregnancy process begins.
At the start of becoming a surrogate, as a gestational carrier, you undergo hormone treatment, including fertility treatments, ultrasounds, injections, several medications, and birth control pills to regulate your cycle for both a successful IVF and support a healthy pregnancy. You will also be required to participate in regular visits to a specific fertility clinic to perform ultrasounds and blood tests until a healthy heartbeat is detected, after which you can transfer to your regular obstetrician.
10 Steps to Becoming a Surrogate in Colorado
Gestational carriers complete a 10 step process to ensure a healthy and safe Colorado surrogacy. Before signing any paperwork and performing IVF:
- A social worker performs an in-home assessment to discover whether you are psychologically ready to become a gestational carrier and all that it brings.
- Surrogacy hopefuls undergo a criminal background check.
- Surrogate mothers receive medical screening (and partner or spouse) for drug use, STDs, viruses, communicable diseases, and infections.
- Ultrasounds are performed to check your fertility level.
- Before undergoing any treatments in pregnancy, you must sign paperwork to outline compensation, insurance, desires, and housekeeping allowance.
- As a gestational carrier, you receive fertility treatment, blood work, injections, and various medications to prepare the body for IVF.
- At the fertility clinic, like a regular pap smear, you receive an IVF transfer which requires that you rest for a few hours up to a few days.
- Once a heartbeat is detected, you may resume the rest of medical care with your regular obstetrician and attend routine checkups.
- Gestational surrogates will regularly contact the intended parents who may desire to attend each doctor’s appointment to experience the entire joyous pregnancy process with you.
- You help a hopeful individual or couple grow their family who otherwise would be unable. This process connects you to a community of people with knowledge and similar experiences that help you throughout the process.
Best Surrogacy Agencies in Colorado
You are a phenomenal soul. Becoming a surrogate is a selfless act, and you want to work with a licensed surrogate agency you can trust. We are excited for you to embark on such an incredible journey of connectedness, life, and love. Let us help you fulfill your mission of giving back to those who face barriers to growing their family. At Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado, we know that bringing forth life isn’t easy, but it is so worth it, and we will support you each step of the way, foster your compensation, and take care of all of the legal work so you can focus on a healthy birth. Contact us 24/7 as we are eager and excited to get you started on your journey today.
If you are interested in learning more about your gestational surrogacy options, contact Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado by email, phone, or text: Email Us, Text us: 720-371-1099, Call us: 303-670-4673 (HOPE). If you are hoping to adopt, please contact us here.
Meet the Author: JaQueen loves learning because it helps her educate and give people choices. She is the youngest girl in a family of 8 adopted siblings who found a loving forever home. Like most marketers, she wears many hats: Certified Project Management Professional, Jr. Web Developer, SEO certified, Grant Proposal Writer, Consultant, Wellness Influencer, Content Creator, and Motivational Speaker with a Bachelor’s in Communication Arts. She created a wellness blog to motivate, write, and inspire in her spare time to teach about mental health, plant-based vegan nutrition, and fitness to help others find peace on their healing journey. Her hobbies include natural bodybuilding, mindfulness, trailblazing through nature, and creating content that resonates with people. She aspires to be a lifelong professional writer and speaker who saves lives through the power of knowledge. She states, “I think that when you find your way out of the darkness it becomes your responsibility to bring others to the light. So, I focus on healing. The rest will align.”
Stephanie joined the Adoption Choices family in 2014 as the Child Placement Supervisor. Her love for adoption began in first grade when she made friends with twins adopted from Vietnam. Her heart grew strong over the years for adopted children and ultimately led her to graduate school where she continued her focus to her dream of working in the adoption field. Stephanie earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver in 2001. Over the past 15 years, Stephanie has worked as a pregnancy counselor and as an adoptive parent counselor for foster care, international adoption and domestic adoption, writing hundreds of home studies for families, and helping build their forever families. Stephanie is married and has three boys ages 12, 9, and 5. Together with her family she enjoys riding bike, playing games, watching her three sons compete in their various sporting and musical activities and go on vacations.
Christy Ikeler, is our Executive Director and Birth Parent Director. Christy has been with Adoption Choices Team for 18 years, since opening the doors in 2002! Christy has a true passion for what she does and her true love is working with and helping each birth parent. Whether she is up all night on the phone talking with them, taking them to doctors appointments, out for their favorite treat, providing counseling or at the hospital during labor and delivery, Christy is very involved every step of the way. She has a contagious laugh and a spunky personality that our birth moms all can bond with and relate to. As an adoptive parent herself, adoption holds a very special place in her heart and she can relate on every level with both birth parents and adoptive parents. In her free time Christy loves spending time with her daughter, gardening, baking and taking vacations with her family. Christy is an excellent leader for our team at Adoption Choices and is truly one of a kind!! As Executive Director, Christy spends time with the staff, birth parents and adoptive families in order to ensure that the agency is running smoothly. She has placed a huge emphasis on community outreach and programs for birth parents. Christy loves the opportunity to lead the agency into a brighter future.
Ms. Mackenzie has built a successful counseling career over the past 20 years, supporting mothers and families, people of all ages and genders, students, community professionals and fellow clinicians. Liv values a diverse professional focus, including the entrepreneurial life of a sole proprietor, the evaluative process of certifying foster/adoptive homes, the insightful and mindful one-on-one one work with enthusiastic clients, and serving as an advocate for underserved populations. Liv is a Licensed Professional Counselor and holds a BA in Pre-Law and Economics from American University, an MA in Counseling from Adams University and a certificate in Human Resource Management from Villanova University. Away from work you will find Liv spending time in nature, biking to the farmer’s market and adventuring with her family.
Catherine A. Madsen, joined the Adoption Choices family as legal counsel in 2013. Catherine is responsible for providing legal guidance to the Agency, training and updating staff on developments in adoption law and legislation, and program development. Catherine
Virginia Frank is an adoption attorney accredited since 1991 with the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. Ms. Frank is a leader in the field of private adoption and has completed over 4,000 adoptions in her career. Ms. Frank has a law degree from Oklahoma City University and a BA in both Political Science and Communications from the University of Oklahoma.
Cassidie has been with Adoption Choices since 2015, she has her bachelors in Interdisciplinary Affairs with concentrations in both Sociology and Business Management. Cassidie has additional training in Victim Advocacy, foster care and has been working in women’s services for over 10 years. Cassidie has always had a heart for adoption and it was her career dream to work in adoption. She started off doing volunteer work for advocacy programs, adoption organizations and worked in High Risk Maternal Fetal Medicine through the University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Cassidie is also blessed to have personally experienced an adoption of her own in 2012, completing her family of five! Cassidie loves what she does as a case worker from initial phone calls, meetings, doctor appointments, interaction with the adoptive families to delivery and counseling. Cassidie has a passion for those in need and strives to help make a difference in the lives of the people she meets. She is a firm believer in being kind, compassionate and open minded in all situations. “Unless you’ve walked in their shoes, there’s no place for judgment. A kind word or compliment can go a long way!” The bittersweet moments in adoption reminds Cassidie each and every time, why she loves what she does!