7 Ways to Know if You’re Ready to Become a Surrogate in CO
Surrogacy is a life-changing service you can provide for hopeful families. It is also a commitment. How do you know when you are ready to become a surrogate? Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado matches surrogates with intended parents and provides support throughout the surrogacy journey. Below we describe ways to know if you are ready to become a surrogate in Colorado.
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.
- You understand the surrogacy process
As a prospective surrogate mother, you should get to know the steps of the surrogacy process and familiarize yourself with the finer details to prepare for the journey. Gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate carries an unrelated embryo, is the accepted form of surrogacy in Colorado. As a surrogate, you will be matched with intended parents, interview them to get to know each other, and agree to a successful match with a surrogacy contract. You will then begin a fertility treatment protocol, and your intended parents will produce eggs and sperm to form embryos with in vitro fertilization. The embryo(s) will be transplanted in to your uterus, where a successful pregnancy should take place. You will need to attend medical appointments, follow prenatal protocols as directed by your OB/GYN, and maintain regular contact with the intended parents. On a fateful day, you will get to experience the first meeting of intended parents and child. Your surrogacy agency will provide counseling and support as needed throughout the journey. We have a number of resources to guide you along the journey. Contact one of our surrogacy specialists with any questions you may have about the surrogacy process. - You are comfortable sharing personal details
For the surrogacy specialists to match you with an intended parent or intended parents, they will ask you to fill out a lengthy application full of questions about your personal and medical history. Preparing yourself to be open and honest will help you feel more comfortable getting to know the intended parents and create a meaningful relationship with them as you maintain contact throughout the pregnancy. - You are physically healthy
To become a Colorado surrogate, you need to be physically healthy enough to carry a safe and successful pregnancy. To test this, surrogates need to go through a medical screening process. A physician will decide whether or not you are healthy enough to have a healthy pregnancy. You also need to have a history of uncomplicated pregnancies. This will give the physician and fertility clinic confidence that you are a good candidate to have another healthy pregnancy. - You meet the surrogacy agency requirements
To ensure the safety of the surrogate and the baby, surrogacy agencies have surrogate requirements. These are created based on the guidelines of reproductive medicine authorities.To be a surrogate in Colorado, you must meet requirements that may be similar to the following:- You must be between 21 and 39
- You must have had at least one healthy, uncomplicated pregnancy
- You must be actively parenting at least one child
- You cannot be parenting any children on Medicaid, food stamps or TANF
- You cannot have had postpartum depression after your previous pregnancies
- You cannot have any mental health issues
- You cannot have been on any medication for depression, bipolar, or any other mental health issues
- You are healthy and free of sexually transmitted diseases
- You do not smoke or take illegal drugs
- You are not alcohol dependent
- You are not currently on public assistance
- You can pass a background check
- You must be a U.S. citizen living in the U.S.
- You must be able to travel as needed for appointments
- You must have a stable lifestyle and support system
- You have a strong support system
You know that your partner, friends, or loved ones are prepared to support you with your emotional needs through the hormonal changes that come with pregnancy. You have a support person who will be by your side during important medical appointments. - You are comfortable traveling
While you can see your personal OB/GYN once the pregnancy is confirmed (or once the fertility clinic releases you to your OB/GYN), you will need to travel to the fertility clinic chosen by your intended parents. This may mean air travel and stay away from home for days at a time. You will also need transportation to attend the milestone medical appointments close to home. - You are ready to give your time and energies
Surrogacy requires a lot of energy and brings changes to your body as well as your emotional state, thanks to the hormonal changes that come with pregnancy. Support from your family and friends will help you thrive as you bring the gift of life to a hopeful family.
Are you ready to become a Colorado surrogate?
To start on the path to becoming a surrogate in Colorado, you can fill out one of our applications. Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado has the surrogacy specialists to answer all of your questions and direct you to the next steps of your surrogacy journey.
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: Madilyn Moeller is a writer and editor keen on translating the technical. Madilyn’s years of science writing shine through as she explains everything from health insurance to moving for her readers. Madilyn has a Bachelor of Arts from Miami University in Professional Writing, Psychology, and Neuroscience. She is a lifelong writer bringing her curiosity to the marketing stage, building websites and blogs for businesses moving online. She knows more about Medicare than any young adult should.
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!