Surrogacy in Chicago

Key Points

• Surrogacy agencies offer comprehensive services, including screening, matching, counseling and case management.
• Your surrogacy professional will help you secure a surrogacy attorney to handle surrogacy contracts.
• Partnering with the right surrogacy professional will ensure you have a successful and positive surrogacy experience.

The Chicago surrogacy process requires many people and steps to complete it. Intended parents and surrogates alike will need experienced surrogacy professionals to guide them throughout the process and to help them to achieve their dream of creating families through surrogacy in Chicago, IL.

Contact a Chicago surrogacy professional to learn more about the Illinois surrogacy process, or to begin becoming an intended parent or surrogate in Chicago today.

Speak with a specialist today!

How to Become a Surrogate in Chicago

1.      Determine If Surrogacy Is Right for You

Before you apply to be a surrogate, you need to know if it’s something that’s right for you and your situation. It’s a commitment of time, energy and effort to create families and change lives.

Becoming a surrogate means:

• Giving the gift of parenthood
• Receiving competitive compensation
• Being in complete control and receiving personalized support

2.      See If You Qualify

Part of the process of becoming a surrogate in Chicago means you need to meet certain qualifications. These qualifications exist to ensure your safety as well as a successful surrogacy.

Your surrogacy professional can give you the guidance you need on the qualifications you need to meet.

Even if you don’t meet all of these requirements to apply to be a surrogate, you can talk to your surrogacy professional who can connect you with resources to help meet the standards or work with you on certain requirements.

3.      Find Intended Parents

When you make the choice to become a surrogate, one of the most important decisions you have to make is finding the intended parents you want to carry for. Your specialist will help you create a surrogate profile to help you find intended parents that align with your surrogacy goals.

Finding a match is a two-way street, you can choose the intended parents you are interested in carrying for, and they have the opportunity to choose you too.

4.      Become Pregnant

One of the final steps in becoming a surrogate is becoming pregnant. Once the legal contract is signed, the medical process can begin.

This legal contract details your surrogacy journey, from responsibilities for the parties involved to how much surrogate pay you will earn for your life-changing decision.

The legal contract must be signed before the medical processes of becoming a surrogate can start.

5.      Pregnancy And Delivery

Pregnancy and delivery is the final stage of how to become a surrogate in Chicago. Your monthly surrogate pay only begins once a pregnancy is confirmed

You can return to life with your family and put that surrogate pay to use while knowing you will always be part of the story of that child’s life.

Apply to be a surrogate today by filling out our form online.

Surrogate Requirements in Chicago

Surrogacy is a life-changing journey. It creates families and changes the lives of everyone involved so it’s no surprise that there are requirements to be a surrogate.

These surrogate qualifications exist to ensure that you can meet the physical and emotional aspects of being a surrogate.

What Are the Requirements to Be A Surrogate?

• Age 21-40
• BMI 19-32
• At least one successful prior pregnancy
• Currently raising a child
• No other complications with previous pregnancies
• No felony convictions
• Must have been off anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications for the last 12 months
• No smoking or illicit drug use

If you don’t meet every surrogate requirement, your surrogacy professional might be able to work with you on smaller requirements you don’t meet. Being open and honest from the start about those requirements may allow your professional to work with you to help you meet them.

Get in touch with us to learn more about the requirements to be a surrogate.

How to Find a Surrogate in Chicago

You can find a surrogate in Chicago by:

• Working with a matching professional, like a surrogacy agency
• Asking your fertility clinic or surrogacy attorney
• Looking online or with surrogacy classifieds
• Networking with family and friends

But when it comes to finding a surrogate near you, you need the services of the best surrogacy professionals. Reputable surrogacy agencies can help you find a surrogate in an average of 1 - 6 months.

These agencies have all the tools you need for your surrogacy journey, and when it comes to finding a surrogate, screening, marketing and balanced lists all factor in to short wait times and starting life with your new family as soon as possible.

To get more free information about how to find a surrogate mother, contact us online

How Much Do Surrogates Make in Chicago?

You deserve to be compensated properly for your choice to become a surrogate. Surrogate pay in Chicago is $50,000-$110,000 and your surrogate compensation package covers all of your surrogate- and pregnancy-related costs.

As a surrogate, you will never have to pay for anything related to your journey to create families and change lives. Once a pregnancy is confirmed, you’ll start receiving your surrogate compensation.

This compensation consists of your base pay, your salary for being a surrogate, and any other additional expenses that are incurred. Surrogate pay covers additional expenses like:

• Embryo transfers
• Insurance co-pays
• Prenatal vitamins
• Lost wages
• Travel and accommodation
• Legal fees
• Maternity clothing
• Third-trimester care

When it comes to how much surrogates make in, its dependent on your situation with factors like where you live, your current income and your experience all contributing.

For example, if you’re an experienced surrogate, you can earn higher surrogate compensation because of your track record of success and familiarity with the process.

How Much Does Surrogacy Cost in Chicago?

The cost of surrogacy is anywhere from $80,000-$300,000+. A wide range exists because many factors can play into your overall surrogacy costs, such as the agency you work with.

Reputable surrogacy agencies offer an upfront, clear look at what you’ll be spending for your surrogacy and what those dollars go toward.

Look for agencies with transparent costs to get a comprehensive understanding at how what you spend impacts you becoming a parent sooner rather than later.

Here’s an example of what your surrogacy cost breakdown in Chicago can look like with reputable agencies:

Typical Expenses

• Agency and case management
• Gestational Carrier
• Medical
• Legal
• IVF fees
• Newborn expenses
• Intended parent travel

Reputable professionals can not only give you a clear look at what your costs go toward, they can protect your investment too. Use this form to learn more about the cost of surrogacy.

Surrogacy Agencies in Chicago

For intended parents and surrogates who wanted to complete the process from start to finish with one professional, a Chicago surrogacy agency is often the preferred choice. National surrogate agencies and local surrogacy agencies offer screening, matching, counseling and case management, in addition to referrals to anything else you might need.  Unlike with independent surrogacy, Chicago agencies handle everything for you, and usually provide all of the services you’ll need in one place.

Some of the best surrogate agencies in Chicago include:

• American Surrogacy
• Golden Surrogacy
• ConceiveAbilities
• Family Source Consultants
• Alternative Reproductive Resources
• Illinois Surrogate Agency

Surrogacy Clinics in Chicago, Illinois

A fertility clinic, often referred to as a surrogacy clinic, is needed for intended parents and surrogates for the medical stages of surrogacy, like IVF and embryo transfers.

Surrogates tend to work with the intended parents’ fertility clinic for procedures like the embryo transfer, as the intended parents may have already had a relationship with a particular clinic from past fertility treatments. Any travel expenses or lost wages that a surrogate incurs during these appointments will be compensated for her by the intended parents. Once a healthy pregnancy has been confirmed, the surrogate can go to her regular OBGYN for routine prenatal care.

If intended parents don’t have a prior relationship with a Chicago surrogacy clinic, a surrogacy agency can usually refer you to a reputable professional, or you could contact any of these local Chicago surrogacy clinics for the medical process:

• Fertility Centers of Illinois
• Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago
• University of Illinois at Chicago IVF Program
• Vios Fertility
• Midwest Fertility Center
• Reproductive Medicine Institute
• Institute for Human Reproduction
• Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Chicago Surrogacy Lawyers

For the legal steps of the process of surrogacy in Chicago, intended parents and surrogates will need separate representation from Chicago surrogacy attorneys. Your attorney is there to draft and negotiate your surrogacy contracts in accordance with the Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act, ensure that legal parental rights are correctly established and that your surrogacy process is completed legally and ethically.

Most Chicago surrogacy agencies can connect you with the surrogacy lawyer you’ll need, but you may wish to contact a local attorney for surrogacy in Chicago like one of the following professionals:

• Genie Miller Gillespie, Attorney at Law
• Berger Schatz Family Building
• The Law Office of Ryan C. Ferrante
• Jill M. Metz & Associates, Attorneys at Law
• Di Monte & Lizak, LLC
• Ross & Zuckerman, LLP
• Desai & Miller
• Law Office of Denise J. Patton
• Spence & Elster, P.C.
• Schlesinger & Strauss, LLC
• The Law Offices of David Sternfield, LLC
• Andrew Cores Family Law Group

Maternity Hospitals in Chicago

Surrogates in Chicago will work with their intended parents to create a birth plan early in the surrogacy process, including deciding where they’d like to deliver. Intended parents usually travel to the surrogate when she goes into labor so that they can support her and welcome their baby together. Having an established birth plan can also help surrogates feel more prepared and confident as their due date approaches.

Some Chicagoland options for your surrogate birth plan include:

• Swedish Covenant Hospital
• Rush Family Birth Center
• University of Chicago Birth Center
• UI Health Family Birth Place
• Mercy Hospital Family Birth Center
• Norwegian American Hospital
• Bernard Hospital
• Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women’s Hospital
• Northwestern Memorial Hospital
• Mount Sinai Hospital and Holy Cross Hospital
• The Family Birthplace at Presence Saint Joseph Hospital
• Birthways
• Advocate Medical Group Midwifery

Starting Your Chicago Surrogacy Process

Partnering with the right professional is almost as important as partnering with the right person for your journey with surrogacy. Chicago has many options for surrogacy professionals, so how will you know which one is the right one for you?

Finding a professional who meets your unique set of needs and goals starts with asking them the right questions. Always be sure to ask:

• What are your requirements for potential intended parents and surrogates?
• How do you screen surrogates and intended parents?
• Do you match surrogates and intended parents yourselves? If so, how do you match them?
• What other services do you offer?
• How much does it cost to work with you, on average?

Want to learn more? Or, are you ready to get started?

If you’re ready to start the process of surrogacy in Chicago, contact a professional now to receive information about how to become parents or a surrogate mother in Chicago, IL.