Surrogacy By State

Becoming a Surrogate in Oregon


For those who have felt the call to be a surrogate mother, Oregon has many people who have been waiting and hoping to become parents with your help, and this guide can help you learn how to meet that need. Being a surrogate mother in Oregon is a unique way to help someone who has been waiting for a child to complete their family. Think that may be the right path for you? These seven steps will help you learn how to be a surrogate mother in OR:

Step 1: Decide if You’re Ready to Commit to Surrogacy

Surrogacy is, of course, a major commitment. If you’re going to become a surrogate mother in Oregon, you’ll be committing your time, energy, heart and body to the process for a year or more.

Becoming a surrogate would also involve your whole family. If you’re married, your spouse must confirm that they’re committed to supporting you in your surrogacy decision for a couple important reasons.  The first of which is that they’ll have to legally acknowledge that they hold no parental rights to any child you would carry for intended parents. The second is that they will be an important source of emotional support for you throughout your surrogacy journey, as well as being there to help you physically as your pregnancy progresses.

Consider your motivation to become a surrogate mother. Oregon does permit compensation for surrogates, but if money is your primary goal, then you should reconsider surrogacy. If, however, your main goal is to help families, then you’re likely an ideal candidate to be a surrogate in OR.

Step 2: Choose the Type of Surrogacy and Professional

If you’ve decided that you’re ready to become a surrogate, Oregon has two types of surrogacy and surrogacy professionals that you’ll need to consider next:

Traditional surrogacy:

This type of surrogacy, while not addressed in Oregon surrogacy law, is generally permitted. Traditional surrogacy is not commonly practiced, and most surrogacy agencies and programs will not complete this process because of the increased legal and emotional risks associated with it. You would be the biological mother of the child you would carry, combining your egg with sperm from either a donor or an intended father using either IVF or IUI in a fertility clinic.

Gestational surrogacy:

Gestational surrogacy is also not addressed in Oregon law, but is also permitted. This is the more common type of surrogacy, as you would not be the biological mother of the child you’d carry for the intended parents. An egg and sperm from either donors or intended parents would be combined to form an embryo using in vitro fertilization, and then would be transferred to your uterus to gestate.

For your protection, you should always work with a professional to find intended parents. There are two types of surrogacy professionals that can walk you through the Oregon surrogacy process:

Surrogacy agencies:

This type of professional matches you with intended parents who have been screened, and they provide you with most, if not all, the services you’ll need throughout the entirety of the Oregon surrogacy process. People often choose an agency when they want an experienced professional to handle everything for them.

Surrogacy attorneys:

This professional completes the legal steps of the OR surrogacy process. Although some attorneys provide searching or matching services, most will refer you to a matching professional, such as an agency, or offer some tips to find intended parents on your own if you’re willing to do this yourself.

Step 3: Meet the Screening Requirements to Become a Surrogate Mom in OR

When you’ve decided how you want to move forward, you’ll next need to meet your professional’s surrogate mother requirements. Those criteria can vary slightly between professionals, but most will require:

Health

Prospective surrogates in Oregon must complete a medical screening process after meeting their professional’s health requirements. This usually involves having a BMI between about 19–33, being smoke- and drug-free, having given birth at least once without any complications with your pregnancy and more. Read more about the health requirements necessary in the process to be a surrogate mother in OR here.

Legal

The legal requirements included in learning how to become a gestational surrogate in OR are being a permanent United States resident, not currently receive government financial support and more. Read more about the legal steps of how to be a surrogate mom in Oregon here.

Emotional

The psychological screening process involved in being a gestational carrier in Oregon is meant to ensure that you’re prepared for the mental and emotional journey that surrogates experience. It’s important that a surrogate have a strong support system that encourages her in her surrogacy decision. Read more about how to become a gestational surrogate in OR and create an emotional support system here.

Step 4: Find the Intended Parents You Want to Carry For

An important part of learning how to become a surrogate mother in Oregon is matching with the right intended parents. There are a few different ways that you can find intended parents in Oregon or anywhere in the United States:

Partner with someone you already know:

Many women become surrogates in OR because someone they know needs help having a baby. In this situation, you’ll simply need to get in touch with a surrogacy professional to help complete the necessary screening, legal and medical processes.

Match through an agency:

A surrogate agency shows you profiles of pre-screened waiting couples that you can choose to carry for.

Search on your own:

You’ll still need to work with an attorney to complete the legal processes, but if you’re becoming a surrogate without an agency in OR, you can search for intended parents using online ads, personal networking, word-of-mouth, etc.

Step 5: Finalize the Legal Surrogacy Contract

When you’ve matched with intended parents, you’ll need to complete your surrogacy contract before you can begin any medical steps together. You’ll each need to maintain separate legal counsel to make sure everyone’s rights are fairly represented throughout the process. Your surrogacy contract will cover everything from surrogate compensation to establishing the legal parental rights of the intended parents. Important topics like how everyone would feel about selective termination or what would happen in the event of pregnancy complications will also be established within the contract.

Once everyone is confident about the finalized version of the contract, you can proceed to the next steps to becoming a surrogate in OR.

Step 6: Complete the Embryo Transfer Processes

Surrogates need to meet certain health requirements and complete medical screenings to ensure that they’re healthy enough for the fertility treatments, medications and hormones that lead up to embryo transfers and other medical procedures required for surrogacy.

The embryo transfer will take place at the agreed-upon fertility clinic that’s established in your surrogacy contract. Sometimes, surrogates will need to travel to this clinic, with any travel expenses covered for you by the intended parents. Once the transfer procedure is complete, you’ll need to rest for a few hours and then spend a few days with an easier daily routine to help encourage successful embryo implantation.

Multiple embryo transfer cycles may be needed for a healthy pregnancy, but when the doctor has confirmed that you’re pregnant, you can see your own OBGYN for routine prenatal care throughout the duration of the pregnancy. As the pregnancy progresses, surrogates and intended parents typically keep in touch about the growth of the baby and share in the experience together.

Step 7: Celebrate the Baby’s Arrival with the Intended Parents

The most anticipated part of becoming a surrogate in OR for most women is that moment when you unite the intended parents with their baby. The intended parents usually travel to you once you go into labor. This, along with your preferred birth plan, will be established when you create your surrogacy contract with the intended parents.

Giving someone else the gift of a family is one of the most amazing things that you can do. When you become a surrogate mother, Oregon parents can have the children they’ve been longing for. Contact an OR surrogacy professional now to learn more about how to become a surrogate mother in Oregon.

Male and Female couple smiling with surrogate mother
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