Why are There Requirements for Becoming a Surrogate Mother?

Key Points:

• Understand how surrogate requirements can protect surrogates and intended parents.
• Learn how surrogacy professionals work with surrogate requirements to ensure all parties are protected.
• Connect with a surrogacy professional today to learn if you meet the surrogate requirements needed to move forward with the process.

As you research becoming a gestational carrier, you probably have a lot of questions. But, as you find out more about the different gestational surrogate requirements you’ll have to meet to help an intended parent, you may have questions about the steps ahead of you.

To get more information about these requirements and why they exist, speak to a surrogacy professional today.

Speak with a specialist today!

So, you may ask: “Why are there surrogate mother requirements? Why can’t any woman who wants to be a surrogate help someone else become a parent?”

We admire your desire to help create a family; it’s a characteristic that all the best gestational surrogates share. However, before you can become a surrogate and help an intended parent, you need to understand all the nuances of the surrogacy process.

In short, setting requirements for becoming a surrogate mother is a kind of insurance policy. It allows all parties to move forward with the surrogacy process with a sense of security.

In the meantime, know this: Gestational surrogate mother requirements serve a few very important purposes, as outlined below.

1. To Protect a Gestational Carrier

First and foremost, surrogate mother requirements exist to protect you as a gestational carrier. A gestational pregnancy comes with all the same risks and challenges as a pregnancy of your own, as well as the risks of the embryo transfer process. If you are thinking of being a surrogate, you must meet certain requirements for surrogate mothers to ensure that you can safely pursue this path.

The most important role of gestational surrogate requirements is to protect your physical well-being during the process. That’s why all prospective surrogates must be of good health, be within a certain age range, and have already had a successful pregnancy. Surrogacy professionals have determined that these are the best indicators of future surrogacy success, so they’re non-negotiables if you wish to take this path.

The requirements to be a surrogate mother also include a psychological screening. You and your spouse will meet with a mental health professional to go over how you may feel during surrogacy, the extra stresses and responsibilities that may come with this journey, and more. This step will help your entire family prepare for the ups and downs of surrogacy and help you have as positive an experience as possible.

Yes — what is required to be a surrogate mother can be extensive, but it ultimately is responsible for ensuring your physical and emotional safety during the year or so moving forward.

2. To Protect Intended Parents

Many intended parents come to gestational surrogacy after months or years spent pursuing other infertility treatments. Surrogacy is often their last chance to have a genetically related child, so they want the best chances of succeeding in this journey.

Gestational surrogacy requirements for surrogate mothers make sure that intended parents have the best shot possible at a child. These requirements confirm that a prospective surrogate can safely and successfully carry a child to term. And that’s exactly what intended parents are looking for. Knowing that a prospective surrogate is medically screened prior to an embryo transfer makes it more likely that the transfer will lead to a successful pregnancy — and the child the intended parents have been waiting for.

Sometimes, prospective surrogates who don’t meet all the surrogacy candidate requirements try to match with independent intended parents to bypass these guidelines. But remember that intended parents want the best possible odds — so even independent intended parents will require you to meet these qualifications before moving forward.

3. To Protect Surrogacy Professionals

Surrogacy agencies, attorneys and clinics want to create the best surrogacy journey possible for all parties involved. But, they can only do that if they are confident in the abilities of a gestational surrogate. For this reason, all surrogacy professionals will need you to meet the requirements to be a gestational surrogate before they will move forward with any other steps.

Surrogate mother requirements allow professionals to:

• Avoid legal and emotional complications with both parties along the way
• Adhere to state surrogacy laws
• Tailor your surrogacy journey to your personal situation and needs
• Provide the support that your situation deserves
• And more

Any good surrogacy professional will always be willing to discuss its surrogate requirements and help you understand exactly what purpose those standards serve. In fact, if you’re interested in becoming a surrogate, contact a surrogacy professional today to get more information about surrogacy requirements.