The Surrogate Medical Process

Key Points:

• There are 3 key steps in the medical process, including screening, mock cycle and embryo transfer and prenatal care.
• Getting fully screened before connecting with a family means you can start the surrogacy medical process as quickly as you’d like.
• You are in control of your surrogacy experience. We can help you get connected with our partner agency, American Surrogacy, who can help you through every step.

The surrogacy process requires collaboration, and you deserve to work with a professional who can provide personal assistance throughout your experience.

After reviewing numerous surrogacy agencies, we found that American Surrogacy is the most capable of providing comprehensive services and support to help you prepare to move forward with the surrogacy medical process.

In the meantime, here are 3 key steps in the surrogacy medical process.

You can also take this link to find a more detailed breakdown of the embryo transfer process. You can also speak to one of our specialists today to learn more.

Get Connected

1. Medical Screening

Your health and the health of the child are extremely important.

Before beginning medical procedures, it is important to ensure your body is truly ready to carry a surrogate pregnancy. When you work with an agency like American Surrogacy that values the health of surrogates above all else, you undergo medical screening before you are connected with your intended parents.

Other agencies may not fully prescreen, which adds to the time it takes for you to move forward and increases the chances that a clinic doesn’t accept you. Prescreening is an important service and benefit to you.

The medical screening process involves a variety of exams and procedures, including:

• Pap smear and physical.
• Bloodwork to check you and your partner for infectious diseases, such as HIV or hepatitis.
• Hysteroscopy, which involves a thin scope inserted through the cervix to determine the shape and the size of the uterus and ensure the fallopian tubes are unobstructed.
• A saline sonogram, which flushes the uterus with saline solution to check for fibroids or anything else that would interfere with the pregnancy.

Before moving forward with the medical process, you will also need to complete any social or psychological evaluations your agency requires if you have not done so already.

2. Mock Cycle and Embryo Transfer

Most surrogates undergo a mock cycle before the transfer cycle. This includes:

• Taking the same medications you would for embryo transfer.
• Checking your uterine lining for a positive response.
• Ultrasounds and blood work to monitor hormone levels and uterine lining.

Assuming the mock cycle goes well, you can prepare for the embryo transfer. The timing of the transfer will vary depending on whether you are using a fresh cycle or a frozen cycle. If the embryos are frozen, the transfer is done according to your cycle. Usually, embryos are frozen at day five of development, so they should be transferred five days after your mid-cycle.

Once the embryos have been incubated for five days and you are five days past mid-cycle, the embryo transfer will take place. Depending on your agreement with the intended parents, one or two embryos will be transferred using a syringe with a thin, flexible catheter at the end. The syringe is inserted through the cervix into the uterus, using an abdominal ultrasound to ensure exact placement of the embryo.

The transfer is usually a relatively quick and painless procedure that does not require anesthesia. You may be required to rest for a few days after the transfer.

You can take this link to find a more detailed breakdown of the embryo transfer process. You can also talk to one of our professionals to learn more.

3. Pregnancy and Prenatal Care

Around nine days after the embryo transfer, you will return to the fertility clinic to do an HCG, which measures your pregnancy hormone levels. The count should be at least 50 or higher to indicate a positive, stable pregnancy. A count over 200 may indicate a multiple pregnancy.

Two days later, another HCG test will be administered to verify that your HCG levels are going up; they should double about every two days.

If your HCG levels were positive following the embryo transfer, an ultrasound is done around the sixth week of pregnancy to check for a heartbeat. If the heartbeat is heard, you may be released to your OBGYN, who you will work with for the remainder of your pregnancy.

Once you are released to your OBGYN, you will continue to receive prenatal care as you would with any other pregnancy — though you may have more frequent appointments to ensure everything is going well. If you are carrying multiples, you may be sent to a perinatologist, an obstetrician who practices mainly high-risk maternal-fetal medicine.

Contact Us Today

Working with the right agency gives you the best chance of becoming qualified and prepared. That’s why we’ve partnered with American Surrogacy. They have more than 30 years of experience creating families and offer the comprehensive services you need throughout the process.

You will have a dedicated team of fertility specialists working with you to ensure that you and the baby are healthy and that you have the highest possible chance of success on your surrogacy journey.

Remember, you can read a more detailed breakdown of the medical process by taking this link and contact us online today to speak to a professional about how to take the next step in helping someone else become parents.