Surrogate Qualifications

Key Points:

• There are 3 qualifications to be a surrogate and help a couple become parents.
• The best surrogacy agencies help surrogates get fully qualified before connecting them to a hopeful family.
• You are in control of how quickly you move through the surrogacy process, and your agency will be your guide throughout.

Carrying a child for a couple and the sacrifice you’re making to help someone else become a parent is one of the greatest decisions you can ever make.

Before connecting with a family, it’s important that you undergo a screening process to meet the necessary surrogate qualifications.

Part of our role is to evaluate surrogacy agencies to determine which professionals are best suited to guide you through this wonderful process. After careful review, we’ve found that American Surrogacy is an agency that can provide comprehensive services to surrogates like you.

We can help you get connected to a specialist today!

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In the meantime, we’ve listed some of the most common qualifications for surrogate mothers below.

The Three Basic Surrogate Qualifications

While every professional has the right to set their own list of gestational carrier qualifications, many follow the same guidelines set by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Experts in the assisted reproduction field have come together to set standards for gestational carriers that best predict a woman’s success in this journey moving forward.

1. Physical Qualifications to Become a Surrogate

You know that being pregnant can be complicated and come with risks. A pregnancy that you carry for someone else is no different. Physical qualifications for being a surrogate ensure that you are capable of carrying a gestational pregnancy at minimal risk to yourself and the intended parents’ baby.

Professionals set physical qualifications to be a surrogate based on what can prove your ability to safely carry a child for someone else. Of course, every agency’s guidelines are different, but these are the basic required standards you must meet to become a gestational carrier:

• Be at least 21 years old and younger than 40
• Have a healthy BMI, as determined by your doctor
• Have carried at least one pregnancy successfully to term
• Be raising a child of your own in your own home
• No major complications in your previous pregnancies
• Be off anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication for 12 months
• Have no new tattoos or piercings within 12 months of starting the process

If you meet these basic surrogate qualifications, you may be an excellent candidate. It’s always a good idea to contact a professional, even if you don’t meet a certain qualification; many professionals approve surrogates on a case-by-case basis and may make an exception to the rules.

We can help you better understand the qualification process and determine if you are ready to move forward by contacting us online for more information.

2. Psychological Qualifications for Being a Surrogate

Qualifying as a surrogate also includes emotional and psychological evaluation to determine your readiness.

When you become a surrogate, you commit yourself (and your family) to a partnership of a year or more with the intended parents. You’ll be attending doctor’s appointments before and throughout your pregnancy, and you’ll need to set up meetings and calls with your intended parents as your pregnancy progresses.

Being a surrogate is like a full-time job, so it’s important that you and your spouse are prepared for the extra commitments added to your daily routine.

At the same time that you handle your everyday responsibilities, you will also be coping with the hormonal changes (and emotional stressors) of being pregnant. While it’s rare for a surrogate to get “attached” to the baby she is carrying, it’s normal to feel some conflicting emotions during your pregnancy. Being in a solid emotional place before starting can help prepare you for this.

We encourage you to speak with one of our surrogacy professionals, who will explain what you can expect moving forward and prepare you for the challenges you may experience.

3. Screening Qualifications to Become a Surrogate

If you think you meet the qualifications for being a surrogate, you can contact us online and learn how to take the next step in the process. Typically, that includes filling out some initial application paperwork to confirm your eligibility and a surrogacy specialist will likely talk to you about your application and answer any remaining questions you may have.

American Surrogacy can then help you undergo the necessary medical and psychological screening to become qualified. Both of these will confirm your readiness to be a gestational carrier. These qualifications are there to protect the safety of you and the baby.

If you have questions about these qualifications, speak to one of our professionals now to get the answers you need.