How Long Does it Take to Become a Surrogate in Colorado?
Are you from Colorado and want to learn more about becoming a surrogate mother? This is a big decision, and at Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado, we are here to help provide you with resources and answers to any questions you may need. We know there are various reasons why you might want to be a gestational carrier and help intended parents start a family. Still, we also know that it is a complex journey and you might be feeling overwhelmed.
What is the Gestational Surrogacy Process in Colorado?
It’s important to know the basics of the gestational surrogacy process if you are interested in becoming a surrogate mother. However, before you are matched with an intended parent or parents and become pregnant, you must fill certain requirements to be approved to become a surrogate mother.
The surrogacy process can be broken into several stages. Here is an overview of what you can expect:
- First, prerequisites to be filled before applying.
- Consultations with our team at Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado to get you started on your journey.
- Next, you are matched with your intended parents based on interviews and compatibility. Then, we move on to medical screenings and examinations.
- This part is followed by legal agreements to ensure a safe and healthy surrogacy process.
- We then move on to the IVF process.
- Last but certainly not least, your pregnancy and delivery of the baby!
What Are the Basics of Gestational Surrogacy?
Before we go into details of what these steps look like for you, it’s important that you have a working sense of what gestational surrogacy is before you get started on your journey.
In a nutshell, you are making the selfless and life-changing decision to help a couple or an individual become parents by carrying their baby for them through in vitro fertilization. You may have made this choice because you know of a friend or family member having trouble conceiving, you may enjoy being pregnant, you have an altruistic motive to help give to others, or for countless other reasons. We know how monumental and important this decision is that you are making, so Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado is dedicated to ensuring you are equipped with the information you need.
Read on below to find out the specific information regarding each stage of this surrogacy process!
What Are the Requirements Needed to Become a Surrogate Mother?
While Colorado is a surrogacy-friendly state, there are a variety of prerequisites you need to fill before considering becoming a surrogate mother. These are all to make sure you have a successful surrogacy which means it’s safe and healthy for you and the baby you carry.
We understand that this can be a huge time commitment on your part, so that’s why we are dedicated to making sure you have the support you need to have a successful surrogacy. Below are some of the Colorado surrogacy requirements you need to know before starting your journey:
- Be 21 to 39 years old
- Be a U.S citizen
- Be able to pass a background check, meaning you do not have a criminal record.
- Have had an uncomplicated pregnancy without being diagnosed with postpartum depression.
- This also means you are actively parenting a child at home that is not on Medicaid or food stamps.
- Be able to pass a psychological exam to show you do not have any mental health issues or any medications related to mental health.
- Are not alcohol or drug dependent
- Show a stable lifestyle and, if applicable, have the support of your spouse.
These gestational carrier requirements are available on our website, so make sure to check them out before starting your gestational surrogacy process. This process should not require much time and will make the transition to becoming a surrogate mother easier if you fulfill these prerequisites.
What Are the Consultations, Matching, and Legal Agreements For and How Long Do They Take?
At Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado, we are here to make the surrogacy process as easiest as possible for you. This includes a free consultation in the beginning to discuss your concerns, questions, and hope for your surrogacy journey. This will also help us to get to know you and, through interviews, help you be matched with an intended parent or parents.
With our surrogate matching services, you can be sure to take comfort in knowing that we take note of compatibility factors to make sure you are matched up correctly with intended parents. In addition, both you and your intended parents have the chance for an in-person or virtual interview to get to know each other better.
After you are matched, your and your intended parents’ legal representative teams will meet to ensure a smooth process. This is to make sure everyone is on the same page and that all parties involved know that the surrogate mother is not biologically related to the child she carries, which means she has no parental responsibility or claim.
During this time, Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado also offer emotional and legal counseling. This is to make sure everyone is happy and healthy and provide resources to make sure everyone is being taken care of and has their best interests at heart.
You and your intended parents are also required to go through medical screenings and physical and psychological examinations to make sure everyone is healthy both mentally and physically. This is meant to make sure both you and the baby will be safe during pregnancy and after they go home with their intended parents.
This can also vary in length to make sure you are matched up correctly. Both surrogate mother and intended parent(s) suit each other, sign documents, and ensure everyone is emotionally and physically equipped for the surrogacy process.
How Does IVF Work and How Long Does It Take?
Once matching, legalities, and exams and screenings are done, it’s onto the IVF part of the process! This is when the intended mother’s egg is fertilized in the lab with the intended father’s sperm. If the intended parent is an individual, they have the option of using a donor’s sperm or egg. It is then transferred to the surrogate mother’s embryo. When this transfer is successful, then congratulations, because it means you are successfully pregnant!
Understanding IVF is important because it means that you, as the surrogate mother, are not biologically related to the child you carry. This process also varies in length and can take several months because of how long it takes for the transfer to be successful.
How Long Does the Process Take in Total?
This process varies in length for everyone. Becoming a surrogate mother for a couple or an individual is a huge time commitment and a physically and emotionally demanding job for you.
Including time needed before IVF, the IVF process, and pregnancy, you can expect this process to take thirteen months to possibly years. This depends on various factors, such as the IVF process and how long it takes for the embryo transfer to result in pregnancy.
Everyone’s story regarding gestational surrogacy is different, so that’s why Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado prioritizes making sure every surrogacy story is a success.
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.
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: Katie Doherty is a junior Writing, Literature, and Publishing major at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. She loves to write, read, and edit, whether it’s technical or creative writing. Although she enjoys writing poetry, narrative nonfiction, and fiction writing, she also loves to write on current political events, cultural trends, and research. She spends her free time listening to music, watching the Great British Bake Off, and learning how to crochet.
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!