Surrogacy By State

Surrogacy in Delaware

Key Points:

• There are several steps you need to take to complete the surrogacy process as an intended parent or surrogate.
• Surrogacy agencies are able to help you complete all aspects of the process from start to finish.
• Surrogates can receive competitive surrogate compensation starting at $45,000.

Whether you’re an intended parent or prospective surrogate mother, it can be difficult to know where to start the surrogacy process in Delaware.

Below, you’ll find answers to your most common questions about surrogacy in Delaware.

What is Surrogacy in Delaware?

When you are considering surrogacy in Delaware, know that every surrogacy journey is different. How yours proceeds will depend on your personal situation and your specific preferences.

There are some common steps that you will have to take in order for your surrogacy to happen:

Step 1: Determine that surrogacy is right for you. Surrogacy is often a process that takes a year or more to complete. It will also require a great deal of physical and emotional energy along the way, but the end result makes it all worth it.

Whether you’re ready to start your family or have a dream of helping intended parents have a child of their own, surrogacy could be right for you.

Talking with a surrogacy professional about what your journey could look like can help you decide if surrogacy is best for you.

Step 2: Choose a surrogacy professional and create your surrogacy plan. For most intended parents and surrogates, working with a surrogacy agency has more benefits than an independent surrogacy. Agencies offer services to help you through every step of the surrogacy process, including:

• Screening to ensure you are eligible for the Delaware surrogacy process
• Coordination with other professionals
• Matching you with a gestational surrogacy carrier or intended parent
• Managing financial matters, such as insurance or surrogate compensation
• Mediating contact with your surrogacy partner when necessary
• And more

Step 3: Complete your pre-surrogacy screening. Before you can start your surrogacy process in Delaware, you will need to make sure you are physically and mentally prepared for the surrogacy process.. Medical and psychological screenings ensure that you understand exactly what you are committing to so that you can have the best surrogacy experience possible

Step 4: Find an intended parent or gestational surrogacy carrier. When you create your surrogacy plan, you will get to decide what kind of intended parent or gestational surrogacy carrier you want to work with. You will view profiles of prospective surrogates or intended parents who match your preferences. Once you find someone you share interest with, your surrogacy professional can coordinate a mediated conference call where you will be able to ask questions.

Step 5: Create a surrogacy contract. In order for a Delaware surrogacy process to proceed, the details must first be laid out step by step. A legal surrogacy contract outlines these details and ensures both parties are fully aware of what to expect as they move forward.

You will need a separate surrogacy attorney than your surrogacy partner, to ensure that your rights and interests are properly represented in the drafting process.

Step 6: Complete the surrogacy medical process. The surrogate will receive prescription fertility medications to help prepare her body for the embryo transfer.

The gestational surrogacy carrier will travel to the intended parents’ fertility clinic for this process

Once the pregnancy is confirmed, the surrogate can receive her regular prenatal care from her local obstetrician and deliver at a facility of her choice. The surrogate’s medical costs will always be covered by her intended parents as part of her surrogacy compensation plan.

Step 7: Finalize your Delaware surrogacy process. Once a gestational surrogate gives birth to the intended parents’ baby, the remaining surrogacy steps involve establishing the intended parents’ rights. Your surrogacy attorney will take care of these steps to ensure that rights are legally and safely established.

After rights are established and the gestational surrogate is provided her last compensation payment, the Delaware surrogacy process is complete.

Surrogacy Agencies in Delaware [What Are They and What Do They Do?]

When intended parents and surrogates begin their surrogacy journeys in Delaware, the first professionals they tend to look for are surrogacy agencies. For many, the benefits of top-rated surrogacy agencies in Delaware are invaluable and can eliminate much of the stress that comes with starting this process on your own.

As you research top surrogacy agencies in Delaware, look for those that provide a wide range of surrogacy-related services. These can include:

• Personal, quality support and counseling through every step of the process
• Effective coordination with other surrogacy professionals involved in the process
• Full screening of intended parents and prospective surrogates
• And more

To learn more about the surrogacy process in Delaware, you can contact any of the following surrogacy agencies:

• American Surrogacy
• Meryl B. Rosenberg, Esq.
• Family Makers Surrogacy

How to Become a Surrogate in Delaware

While every woman’s path to becoming a gestational surrogacy carrier will be slightly different, here is what you can expect:

Step 1: Reach out to a surrogacy professional. Many women, especially if it’s their first time for being a surrogate, choose to work with a surrogacy agency. There are many reasons why an agency can be invaluable to you, from all of the surrogacy-related services the offer to helping you through every step of the surrogacy process from start to finish.

Step 2: Complete pre-screening and meet surrogacy requirements. Every surrogacy professional has specific requirements for surrogates that must be met, including:

• Be between the ages of 21 and 43
• Be raising at least one child in your home
• Have had at least one successful pregnancy
• Not be on anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication within the last 12 months
• And more

Step 3: Find intended parents. As a gestational surrogacy carrier, you have the right to determine what kind of intended parents you wish to partner with. If you and an intended parent express mutual interest in each other, you can work with your surrogacy professional to schedule a mediated introductory meeting or conference call. This offers you a chance to get to know one another before you commit to the match.

Step 4: Complete the surrogacy medical process. You will prepare for gestational surrogacy by taking prescribed fertility medications before the embryo transfer. This will take place at the intended parents’ fertility clinic. The intended parents will cover your medical and travel costs. Once a physician confirms the pregnancy, the surrogate will receive prenatal care from her local obstetrician and prepare for delivery at her choice of a local hospital.

Surrogate Compensation [How Much Do Surrogates Get Paid in Delaware?]

A surrogate’s right to receive compensation is protected in Delaware surrogacy laws. Typically, the average base pay for first-time surrogates is $45,000 paid in monthly installments throughout the surrogacy process, once the pregnancy has been confirmed by a physician.

Depending on your level of experience, you can receive up to $75,000 in compensation! The base pay a surrogate receives can be sent however she wants.

Separately, surrogate compensation is covered by the intended parents, and is for:

• Any medical risks
• Missed wages at work
• Time dedicated to the surrogacy process
• Surrogacy-related travel expenses
• And more

Start Your Delaware Surrogacy Journey Today

Everyone’s surrogacy journey is different. The best way to learn about becoming a surrogate or starting the surrogacy process as an intended parent is by speaking with a surrogacy professional. Reach out today to learn more!