What Does Surrogacy Cost?

A common question intended parents ask while exploring gestational surrogacy is, “What does it typically cost?”  Intended parents need to consider a number of variables as well as their unique circumstances to better understand the estimated cost for the surrogacy process. Considerations include insurance coverage, the location of your surrogate mother, travel requirements and the legal complexity of your circumstances.  At The Surrogacy Experience, we walk you through these considerations to help you make an informed decision about the cost of surrogacy and budget accordingly.  

Surrogacy costs encompass our agency fee, medical expenses, legal fees and surrogate mother expenses and reimbursements. The surrogate mother expenses and compensation are typically outlined in detail as part of the legal contract drafted with your surrogate mother post-match. At The Surrogacy Experience, we facilitate the legal and financial discussions with you, your surrogate mother and qualified legal counsel to ensure everything is outlined in advance.

This convenient chart offers a guideline for what intended parents can expect in terms of expense and what surrogate mothers can expect in terms of compensation.

Benefits Surrogacy Agencies Can Provide

It is important to choose a qualified surrogacy agency to help guide you through your journey, whether you are interested in becoming a surrogate mother or an intended parent considering surrogacy to build your family. Agencies should be able to provide you all the information you need to make the best decision for you and your family based on their experience with this complex process. 

One benefit that surrogacy agencies can provide their clients is education and support. A qualified agency should provide you with the resources and information about the process, but also get to know you and your individual circumstances. At The Surrogacy Experience, we get to know our intended parents and work with you to develop a personal portrait, which shares your personal stories, medical history, reasons for considering gestational surrogacy, and what you are looking for in a surrogate mother. We also get to know our surrogate mother candidates and their expectations from the process.  This allows us to match intended parents with the best surrogate mother for them. 

Agencies vary based on the services they provide, but qualified agencies should guide you through the entire process, not just the matching phase.  The Surrogacy Experience provides comprehensive guidance and support through the entire process, from decision through post-delivery.  We handle all administrative details, including insurance-related items, financial management, coordination of legal matters and all travel arrangements. 

Learning about different surrogacy agencies and deciding which one you would like to work with is an important part of you getting the guidance you need throughout the surrogacy journey. A do-it-yourself approach only adds legal risk and anxiety to an already complex process. Every agency’s approach is different. We recommend choosing a qualified agency that fits your personal requirements and expectations.

The Gestational Surrogacy Journey

There are two types of surrogacy: gestational and traditional. In gestational surrogacy a woman carries a child conceived from an egg that is not her own. In traditional surrogacy a woman carries a child conceived from her own egg with the intention of granting parental rights over the child to another party following birth.

Why choose gestational surrogacy? Gestational surrogacy offers intended parents a number of advantages versus traditional surrogacy. Typically, gestational surrogacy allows for at least one genetic link to the child and in many states, the laws to establish parental rights are more favorable for gestational surrogacy vs. traditional surrogacy.

At The Surrogacy Experience, we only handle gestational surrogacy arrangements. We strive to provide the guidance and support necessary to help make the journey of gestational surrogacy a positive experience for all involved.  Our agency coordinates the entire process from matching intended parents with the best surrogate mothers to post-delivery support.  We also facilitate all legal and medical matters to insure everything is handled properly.

Before choosing to move forward with gestational surrogacy, it helps to understand in what to expect from the process. This includes the medical procedures that may be required, the pregnancy timeline, travel considerations, the delivery plan and post-delivery details. We provide the resources and information needed to understand if gestational surrogacy is the right decision for you and your loved ones.  We offer complimentary consultations and will walk you through the process from decision to post-delivery, while being as transparent as possible.

Being a Surrogate Mother

Being a surrogate mother and providing a family with the incredible gift of a newborn child is an amazing and deeply rewarding experience for all involved. Although this is a wonderful selfless act, there are a number of things a woman should know before applying to become a surrogate mother. Everything from physical health to the partnership with the intended parents needs to be considered before entering into this process. Here are some of the major things a woman should think about before becoming a surrogate mother.

First, a woman should evaluate her own health. Obviously, she should be in good physical and mental health, but there are other factors to take into consideration. Normally, a surrogate mother should be between the ages of 22 and 43 as well as be a non-smoker. Eligible women should also have given birth once before without any complications. These restrictions are important to ensure the health and safety of both the surrogate mother and the child. 

Believe it or not, where a woman resides can also greatly affect whether she can become a surrogate mother. She must first be a permanent resident living in the United States. Then, due to the surrogacy laws of certain states, women living in the states of Arizona, Delaware, District of Columbia, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma or Washington cannot become surrogate mothers.

Being a surrogate mother is not always an easy journey. Before becoming a surrogate mother it is also important for women to contemplate their feelings on a number of issues that they may come across during the surrogacy process. For instance, what type of relation do they want with the intended parents and child during and after the process? How many cycles are they willing to undergo before becoming successfully pregnant? How do they feel about carrying twin, triplets, etc.? A woman must think hard about her feelings towards these and other questions to see if she is truly ready to become a surrogate mother. If she is fully prepared for these possible situations as well as able to meet the other requirements she can start the joyous process of becoming a surrogate mother. Just visit The Surrogacy Experience's website for more information and apply today to help grant a family's biggest wish.

Egg Donation: Giving the Gift of Life

When a woman chooses to take part in egg donation she will have the power to completely change another person's life. Although the number of eggs can vary from woman to woman, the average woman produces about 10 to 20 eggs during every monthly cycle. Unfortunately, for many women the dream of conceiving their own children is not a reality. A number of women suffer from fertility problems that prevent them from producing their own eggs. Egg donors will be able to grant the wishes of these women by allowing them to finally experience giving birth and raising a child. 

 The egg donation process, as with any medical procedure, has certain risks although with years of surrogacy experience these have become quite minimal. As the process begins donors will have to take hormone injections in order to stimulate their ovulation. Then, the retrieval process takes place. This medical procedure is normally painless and free of any complications for the donors. Afterwards, the donors will begin their normal menstrual cycles again in a couple of days. They will also end the donation process knowing that they were able to help change a person's life forever. With their donations they helped bring a new life into the world and bring unimaginable happiness to a loving family. What greater satisfaction can one person have? 

 Here at The Surrogacy Experience we want to provide women who are considering the egg donation process with the necessary information they need to decide if it is the right choice for them. We want to make sure that both the donors and the intended parents are also completely aware of all the commitments and possible impacts the process may have. We will provide all involved parties with the emotional support they need as well as mange all of the administrative, legal and medical matters. We want to make this a stress free process so that everyone can focus on the joyous journey they are about to experience.