How To Become A Surrogate in Colorado
Surrogacy is a life-changing and selfless decision to make. You are giving upwards of a year of your life to another family to go through the multiple steps of fertilization, implantation, and pregnancy. That’s amazing! You are bringing a new life into the world and completing a family who cannot carry or create a child themselves. Learning how to become a surrogate in Colorado, also known as a gestational carrier, is a multi-step process that requires filing paperwork and interviews. Each state has different procedures and qualifications, but the application process is mostly standard throughout the United States.
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.
Steps Towards Surrogacy in Colorado
Surrogacy, just like traditional pregnancy, can cause emotional stress and physical stress due to the changes your body will go through. Due to this, there are physical requirements to becoming a surrogate mother in Colorado. You must have had one child of your own to be able to apply, as well as fall under the age range of twenty-one to forty-five. If you meet both of those requirements, you can begin the application process.
The next step is to choose what surrogate agency you want to go through for your surrogacy journey. Contact us at Surrogacy Choices, we are here to answer all your questions and address any concerns you have about surrogacy and the process going forward.
Beginning the application process can be a bit overwhelming, which is why we suggest going over it with a surrogacy professional. The general application will require information about you, such as your name, age, address, successful pregnancies, and medical history. Once the agency accepts your application, you will be subjected to a background check and a psychological evaluation to ensure you are in the right headspace to be a surrogate mother.
Meeting Parents As A Surrogate Mother
Once you pass all of the preliminary requirements, the background check, and psychological evaluation, your surrogate agent will begin showing your profile to parents they believe will be a potential match. Parents are the ones who decide if you are a proper match for them and decide if they want to continue on to the interview process. Depending on where the parents live and their comfort level, they may do interviews over the phone, through Zoom, or in person.
After the parents make their decision, you will be informed, given legal documents to sign, and the process will begin. It’s not uncommon for surrogate mothers to travel to the parent’s specific fertility clinic for implantation, which can mean traveling multiple times for surrogate mothers. The cost of travel, food, and hotel for the duration of your stay will be covered. Your surrogacy agent will be confirming travel plans for you, answering any questions, and acting as a support system to ensure you don’t get too stressed out about traveling.
The Medical Side Of Surrogacy
One of the last portions of your journey prior to the pregnancy, of course, is the medical procedure of implantation. The parents’ eggs and sperm, their own or a sperm/egg donor, are kept in their chosen fertility clinic until implantation is scheduled. The process of implantation is called in vitro fertilization (IVF). An embryo is created through the parents’ egg, and sperm is then implanted in your uterus. Some women have multiple embryos implanted in one sitting while other families do it one at a time. All of this is discussed prior to signing your surrogacy contract.
Preceding implantation, you will be given an STD test, and your medical history will be confirmed. We want to make sure there are no health risks created by pregnancy for you or the baby. Once the IVF is performed, the waiting begins. You will be asked to take a pregnancy test or take one if you feel symptoms early. If the process is unsuccessful, you will return to the fertility clinic, and IVF will be repeated if the parents’ have the embryos and financial means to do so.
Pregnancy As A Surrogate Mother
Part of becoming a surrogate is agreeing to the terms the parents set out. For example, some couples are perfectly fine letting the surrogate mother handle the pregnancy in regards to diet and lifestyle. Other parents may want you to follow a specific diet, avoid certain activities, and so on. If you’re willing to follow a stricter set of rules, let your surrogacy professional know. This will help early on with the matching process.
Pregnancy, unless there are complications, will go forward as normal as possible. Parents often want to be there during ultrasounds and doctor’s visits, though, so expect some company during those routine checkups! Don’t be surprised if they want to be in the room for the birth as well! Surrogate mothers and the parents can develop a close relationship during the pregnancy. At first, it might feel a bit crowded, but as time goes on, a friendship can develop, and their presence at doctor’s visits will feel routine.
After the birth, you can decide if you want to be kept up to date on the baby’s life or remain in contact with the parents. This doesn’t mean you’ll become best friends and catch up constantly, though sometimes that can happen! You can receive pictures every year on their birthday, get emails with updates periodically, or can wish them a happy life and move forward without contact.
How To Become A Surrogate In Colorado
The process of becoming a surrogate takes time and months of waiting, but it’s worth it in the end. If you’re considering being a surrogate mother in Colorado, contact us for more information. We’re here to guide you through this amazing, life-changing 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.
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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!