The Top 7 Questions About Becoming a Surrogate {Sponsored Post}

There are so many questions potential surrogates have when they are thinking about helping someone grow their family. To take some of the guess work out of it for you, our friends and experts at Positive Surrogacy are here to answer those questions for you:

1. What kind of women become surrogates? It takes a special woman to become a surrogate. Our surrogates are compassionate and selfless. They go into surrogacy with an open heart knowing they are helping someone’s dream come true. The ideal surrogate is living a healthy life emotionally, mentally, and physically. All surrogates in our program have had a child and/or child of their own with an uncomplicated pregnancy and birth. Surrogacy is a commitment and takes an entire army so we ensure our surrogates have a great support system. This support system involves our agency, her family, and friends.  
2. Who are they helping? Surrogates are helping many types of intended parents. Some intended parents are suffering with infertility issues, some are same sex couples, some are single parents. Our Intended Parents range from Americans to International. Each surrogate has different requirements that we abide by while matching them with an Intended Parent. The same goes for Intended Parents when seeking their ideal surrogate. Some surrogates have religious beliefs so when matching them we seek the same beliefs in their ideal match. We have worked with numerous Intended Parents in our years and have seen many infertility diagnoses, which brings them to surrogacy.
3. How many times can someone be a surrogate? This depends on the surrogate’s health history, pregnancy history, and delivery history. We always leave this decision up to the medical professionals, the IVF clinics, and an OBGYN. If a surrogate has always delivered vaginally and without issues, she will most likely be able to complete more than a surrogate who has had a history of c-sections. The uterus is amazing and heals wonderfully, but we will never put a surrogate or baby’s life at risk. We have to consider how many pregnancies she has had on her own as well. For example, a woman who has had only one child of her own may be medically safe to be a surrogate 2-3 times, while a surrogate who has had 2 c-sections, an IVF doctor or OBGYN may advise the woman to only be a surrogate 1 time. It all depends on the health of the surrogate and her uterus.
4. What do you feel are the benefits of being a surrogate? There are so many wonderful benefits of becoming a surrogate. The biggest is knowing you are playing a role in helping a very deserving Intended Parent make their dream of having a child a reality. You are completing a piece of their puzzle. It is such a beautiful experience that is hard to put into words. Other benefits are you build lifelong friendships with other surrogates, the Intended Parents, and your agency. There is a financial benefit to it as well, as much as we try not to make it about the money. Society has drawn this picture that surrogates only do this for the money and while it may be true in some cases we do our best to steer away from that. Surrogates are compensated for carrying a pregnancy for Intended Parents, and that’s ok. They are injecting themselves with hormones, they are going to multiple appointments with different doctors, they are carrying a child for nine months, some carry twins, some experience pregnancy related complications that can be hard on their bodies and their families so yes, they are compensated for these things. Often surrogates use this money to pay off school loans, a down payment on a new home, put it away into savings for their children, etc.
5. What are some of the problems that women can face if they choose to become a surrogate? Of course, there is always the “what if’s” that can come with becoming a surrogate. All surrogates come in with a clean bill of health and we follow all the IVF clinics requirements to avoid putting any surrogate at risk. And most of the time, the surrogates complete their surrogacy without any bumps in the road, but unfortunately, we do see some bumps from time to time. You are carrying a pregnancy that is made with different genetics, so surrogates may experience different symptoms that they may not have had with their own. If a surrogate carries twins for her Intended Parents, there is risk of higher weight gain, preterm labor, c-section, etc. But with the proper care and attention from the IVF clinics and doctors, we do our best to avoid these risks. Every pregnancy is different and we explain in great detail to potential surrogates the risks involved. 
6. Describe one of your most memorable surrogacy experiences. I think most surrogates would answer this question with a similar response, the most memorable experience during their surrogacy journey is the moment the Intended Parent gets to hold their baby or babies for the first time. In that moment, there are so many emotions involved, love, compassion, happiness, joy, a sense of calmness comes over you as a surrogate. In that moment, you know exactly why you did this, you know your job is done and their life and journey is about to begin. Surrogacy is such a beautiful experience, surrogacy is amazing!
7. Tell me about your business – why did you start it? What sets Positive Surrogacy apart? Positive Surrogacy was founded in 2016 by two women who had been surrogates themselves and had also worked in the industry for many years. These women have a strong passion for surrogacy and everything it involves. They wanted to find a way to provide a one on one experience to their Intended Parents and Surrogates while also making it more affordable to Intended Parents. We promised ourselves we would never leave our clients feeling alone or overwhelmed. The entire process is a lot to go through on your own, and with us, our clients and surrogates will never feel they are just a number. We provide an intimate experience and provide around the clock support. We love what we do and hope our clients and surrogates can feel that through our work. Our goal is to leave our clients feeling relieved and knowing they are in the right hands during their journey to parenthood. We are there from the very beginning all the way through birth. We work with some of the most educated and knowledgeable professionals in the industry. We know that by the time Intended Parents have come to us they are emotionally exhausted and mentally drained so it is our mission to reassure them that there is a happy ending to their story and we will do all that we can to ensure a smooth journey. We offer 24-hour support to our surrogates, we want each surrogate to feel at ease with their decision to allow our agency to guide them along their surrogacy journey as well as the Intended Parents. Because the owners of Positive Surrogacy have been surrogates themselves, they can relate to each surrogate and the things she will or may experience during her journey as a surrogate. The good and the bad, surrogacy is a smooth ride most of the time but there can be bumps and we understand that from firsthand experience. We have both personally experienced this on our personal surrogacy journeys. We provide a positive environment to our clients and their surrogates.