How Long Does it Take to Become a Surrogate Mother in Colorado?
Surrogates in Colorado help many families achieve their dreams of raising a child of their own. Giving intended parents who have been struggling with fertility the chance to start a family is a selfless gift and sacrifice that creates a community of sisterhood. Becoming a surrogate in Colorado is a commitment to creating love, ending with the chance to see a family meet their child for the first time.
Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado matches intended parents with surrogates who are compatible to make the surrogacy process a positive experience for everyone involved. We get a lot of questions about what it takes to become a surrogate and how long it takes to become one. Below we have detailed the surrogate process and described how long it takes 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.
1 – Meet Surrogate Requirements in Colorado
Surrogates in Colorado have to meet certain requirements. These are set in place to make sure that gestational carriers are capable of having safe pregnancies. The surrogate requirements for Colorado include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Gestational carriers must have a status as United States citizens and be living in the U.S.
- Gestational carriers must be women between 21 to 41 years old.
- Gestational carriers must demonstrate physical fitness through a Body Mass Index (BMI) of about 33 or lower.
- Medical records must be presented that show at least one complication-free pregnancy and delivery to help ensure increased chances for a safe pregnancy.
- Gestational carriers must currently be in the parenting process for at least one child.
- Gestational carriers must not be recipients of certain kinds of government aid including welfare, cash assistance, and public housing. Other forms of government aid should be discussed with us at Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado.
- Gestational carriers should be women living a stable lifestyle with reliable transportation and a trustworthy support system.
- Emotional screening must be done for intended gestational carriers to ensure stability for pregnancies.
Based on these requirements, if you think you would be a good fit, you can contact our agency to fill out an application. Once you become an accepted surrogate with a surrogacy agency, the matching team will build a profile for you. This will detail some of your information and your expectations for surrogacy so that the team can match you with intended parents.
2 – Match With Intended Parents
It can take a few months to match with intended parents. Our matching team will look at several different factors of compatibility to pair you up with intended parents. This is designed to make the process smoother for both parties. If you already know someone you would like to serve as a surrogate for, our surrogacy specialists can guide you through the surrogacy process.
3 – Draw Up A Surrogacy Agreement
Your legal representative and that of the intended parents will work together to create a surrogacy agreement, stating the terms of your relationship and handling the legal matters of custody after birth. This will outline your rights as a surrogate and confirm how many embryo transfers you are willing to attempt to get pregnant.
4 – Complete the Embryo Transfers
Your fertility doctor will direct you to take fertility treatments in preparation for the embryo transfer. In gestational surrogacy, the embryo is prepared with the egg and sperm of the intended parents or donors. A few days after the embryo is formed and given time to mature, you will go into the fertility clinic, where the embryo will be transferred to your uterus. After a week or so, you will go back into the office, and the physician will check your hormone levels to see if you are pregnant. Once you are successfully pregnant, you can start seeing your OB/GYN.
5 – Go Through Pregnancy
You then have 38 to 40 weeks on average to wait through your pregnancy while the baby inside you is growing and developing. During this time, you will be following your OB/GYN’s instructions for prenatal care and attending medical appointments as directed. According to your agreement, you will need to maintain contact with the intended parents and communicate medical milestones throughout this time.
6 – Welcoming the Baby
Once your pregnancy is over, you will get the privilege of seeing the look on the intended parents’ faces when they get to hold their child for the first time. You will have gone through a year-long journey together, and this is the fulfillment you will have been waiting for.
Ready to Become a Surrogate in Colorado?
Colorado surrogates are a pivotal group of women who bring new life and new hope for families. Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado provides exceptional service to surrogates throughout the surrogacy process, with the legal guidance and counseling you need to make the process go smoothly. Contact one of our surrogacy specialists with your questions about how long it takes to become a surrogate or start your application.
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!