When you finally make those final decisions about whether or not you want to be a surrogate mother and you pass thesurrogate requirements and you get the thumbs up from your OB/GYN, you have a lot to prepare for. Becoming pregnant with another couple’s child is a huge responsibility. You will be carrying and delivering the intended parent’s baby, and you want to make sure that you are as prepared as possible so that you have a smooth pregnancy and the baby develops efficiently. 

There are so many steps to get ready to become a surrogate mother. There is no specific order to follow when doing the preparations to becoming a surrogate mother.

Here at Adoption Choices of Nevada, we are here for you even before you become a surrogate mother in Nevada. We don’t want you to feel alone because you are not alone not with asurrogate agency! We want you to have the best surrogacy journey you possibly can. You are a vital part of the surrogacy process for everyone involved.

1. Make a Healthy Lifestyle for Yourself and the Intended Parents’ Baby

A healthy pregnancy starts with a healthy lifestyle. Make sure that you are drinking enough water daily. It is recommended that pregnant women drink about ten 8-ounce cups of water. You should make a plan of foods that you should eat and foods you should avoid. You are not only eating for yourself, but you are eating for the intended parents’ baby as well. You are eating for two. You need to meet nutritional goals to have the baby grow and develop as he or she should.

Having a healthy and set sleeping schedule every night is important as well. We know that sleeping when you are pregnant is hard, especially in the third trimester. The baby is constantly moving and kicking, putting you in pain. Your back takes a toll carrying a baby because of how much weight is on your torso. Taking natural medicines that are safe for you and the baby to be able to fall asleep may be a great option for you in order to get the sleep you need for both you and the baby.

2. Be Ready for an Emotional Year of Being a Surrogate Mother

Pregnancy is a hard process. It takes up almost an entire year of your life, and then you get to welcome a brand new baby into this world. In this case, you will spend almost an entire year of your life carrying a baby and giving them to the intended parents. You don’t get to keep the baby you will be carrying and giving birth to. This can be really emotional for you. You may gain an emotional connection to this baby, and it could be hard the closer you get to the birth.

The increase in hormones will also make this journey an emotional one. Surrogacy is a hard experience because it is rare for you to know someone personally who has been a surrogate mother before. You may have a few friends who have gone through pregnancy, but none of them have been surrogate mothers and had to give the baby they carried and birthed away. This is where you may feel alone and emotional, but remember that you are not alone, and here at Adoption Choices of Nevada, we have surrogacy professionals who are here to help you through this hard journey.

3. Make Sure You Meet All SurrogateRequirements and Qualify

Before you start to connect with a surrogacy professional from your chosen surrogacy agency, make sure that you are qualified. Every state has its own surrogacy requirements, so looking in your specific state for the requirements is important. These requirements are very important to both the intended parents and your OB/GYN, whom you will see during your entire surrogacy pregnancy. The surrogacy requirements help your pregnancy and the baby’s growth and development run smoothly.

In Nevada, surrogacy requirements are as followed:

• You have to be between the ages of 19-39
• You have to have a healthy BMI or one no greater than 32
• You have to have carried at least one pregnancy successfully to term with no major complications
• You must undergo a psychological evaluation
• You must be a United States citizen or permanent resident
• You can not use drugs, smoke, or drink alcohol

4. Research Surrogacy in Nevada

Before you start your surrogacy journey in Nevada, you should research all aspects of surrogacy and being a surrogacy mother. It is important that you know all parts of the surrogacy journey before you jump right into it yourself. You don’t want to be surprised when something comes up, and you had no idea that that was going to happen.

You may also want to research surrogacy in Nevada because it will help you prepare for the best and the worst of the journey. You will be able to see how other surrogacy journeys have gone, and you will be able to see every step of the process. On our Adoption Choices of Nevada website, we have many resources and a lot of information for you to research a surrogacy mother’s journey. These will help you become familiar with the process before you start.

5. Join a Surrogacy Mother Support Group

Joining a surrogacy mother support group on Facebook or any other social media you prefer will allow you to talk and connect with other surrogacy mothers before you start your journey. You can ask questions and receive answers from different types of women who went through a surrogacy pregnancy. They can tell you personal experiences that you may not see through online articles you found through Google searches.

They can also give you advice on things that they know about. This advice will help you get ready to become a surrogacy mother. You can take their advice to help your first surrogacy journey go smoothly.

6. Create a Support System with Your Family and Friends

Tell your friends and family your interest in becoming a surrogacy mother in Nevada. Having a support system from people who have never been through this experience before maybe the best for you. They will have outside advice and help you through things that you may not feel comfortable telling a random past surrogate mother you found through a Facebook support group. It is okay to ask your friends and family for help and not confide in a stranger.

7. Ask Your OB/GYN and Surrogacy Professional Every Question

No question is off the table. Ask your OB/GYN and surrogacy professional you are matched with every single question you have. You want the best information from your personal doctor that will sign you off to become a surrogate. They will be able to give you a lot of information about how gestational surrogacy is different from a normal pregnancy.

Also, asking us, asurrogacy agency in Nevada that specializes in helping surrogacy mothers, as many questions as possible is very important. You will match with a surrogacy professional who can answer any question you have. Big or small. It doesn’t matter when you have this question. We have professionals who are available 24/7 to help you before and after you start your surrogacy process in Nevada.

8. Know Your Limits As a Surrogacy Mother

Even though you will be carrying and giving birth to another couple’s baby, you may want to stay private for some of it. You are able to tell your doctor and the surrogacy professional who you work with and even the intended parents what you are comfortable sharing and what you’re not. That is okay if you want to keep some things hidden, excluding medical information, obviously.

If you don’t want to tell them every single symptom that you are facing during each trimester, you don’t have to. If you don’t want to always have contact with them every single day, that is okay. You are able to set these boundaries with them, but it is also important to keep them close in your life because you are carrying their baby, and you are helping them have a baby to raise.

9. Get Ready to Enjoy the Surrogacy Experience

Don’t be scared or worried. If you feel in your heart that you want this, do it! You are a strong woman who can help a wonderful couple who may not be able to conceive on their own. This is a huge responsibility you are going to take on, and you are so selfless for doing so.

Document the entire experience because it will go by fast. Even if you are carrying the intended parents’ baby and you won’t be keeping him or her after giving birth to them, you may want to look back on this year of your life someday. It is such a unique experience that many don’t go through during their lifetime. Documenting by journaling every day with how you’re feeling and how big the baby is in your uterus, writing that he or she is as big as an apple is a great thing to document! Taking pictures of how fast your belly is growing and videos of the baby kicking and moving around through your tummy are great ways to document. These pictures and videos can also be sent to the intended parents during the pregnancy to keep them in the know.

10. Be Ready to Travel to the Intended Parent’s IVF Clinic

When you become a surrogate mother, you will still have your own OB/GYN who will check in with you and see how your pregnancy is going. You will still get your pregnancy monitoring done locally, but the medical screening and embryo transfer will be done at an IVF clinic close to the intended parents. They will be the ones to choose this clinic. You will have to be okay with going a few hours away in either car or on a plane to start this surrogacy process and throughout it. These will be overnight trips, and they can vary in length.

You might be a little anxious when it comes to thinking about going to a different doctor than your own to have the embryo transfer and other medical screenings. It’s okay to be nervous. Those feelings are valid, especially when you are considering something that is such a huge responsibility. Fortunately, you will still have your own personal doctor to be with you through you’re entire pregnancy and will keep you with peace of mind.

Are You Ready to Start Your Surrogacy Journey in Nevada?

There are a lot of things to get you ready for your surrogacy journey in Nevada. You can contact a professional here at Adoption Choices of Nevada 24/7 and ask any questions you have. We are here for you.

You are not alone. We know that thinking about starting this journey is stressful and scary. You may have a lot of anxiety, but remember that there are so many other women who went through and are going through a similar situation as you. You are not alone!

Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Nevada has been providing adoption and surrogacy services across Nevada since 2012. You can also call us to speak to someone now. Contact Us 24/7: 855-940-4673 (Toll-Free) | 702-474-4673 (Las Vegas) | 775-825-4673 (Reno) | 775-738-4673 (Elko) | 775-884-4673 (Carson City).

Meet the Author: Molly Allington is an aspiring author born and raised in Syracuse, New York. When she’s not watching her latest Netflix obsession, you can find her nose deep in a book or in her writing. She has been writing books since she was twelve and is in the process of trying to get her finished books published. Molly has a BA in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. With her writing, she is hoping to share supportive information and help as many people as possible. Once she starts her own family, she is wanting to adopt.