​FAQs about Gestational Surrogacy for Surrogates in Reno

The gestational surrogacy scene can be a tough one to navigate, especially for the surrogates! After all, you have so many factors to consider that can catch you off guard. State requirements, health and medical screenings — the list goes on.

Not to worry! Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Renohas taken some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about gestational surrogacy by surrogates and answered them for you. If you’re a newbie to the gestational surrogacy scene, this will help open your eyes to this unique and wonderful world, and hopefully help you understand it better. If, on the other hand, you’re more experienced and have more insight into how the surrogacy journey works, these questions can be used to help brush you up on the basics. After all, it can’t hurt!

Let’s get started:

1. Who Chooses Surrogacy?

You may think you have an idea what sort of people look at gestational surrogacy when they are ready to build their family. When it comes to intended parents, however, you may be surprised at how unlikely it is to find only one type of person who fits the mold. Many times, you’ll come across heterosexual couples or individuals who cannot conceive on their own. It happens more than you might think! Sometimes, these couples or individuals are simply incapable of getting pregnant. There’s something that just isn’t meshing the way it should. In other cases, the intended parents are able to conceive, but due to health issues, the intended mother cannot go through pregnancy safely.

Intended parents can also be same sex couples who would otherwise not be able to raise their biological children, or single individuals who long for the same but have not been able to have a family of their own yet. In any case, it’s important to keep your mind open when you look at who your potential partner or spouse may be in your surrogacy journey. Ultimately, that’s who your intended parent match is: your teammate.

2. What’s Required to Become a Surrogate?

Once you’ve gotten in touch with our experienced staff and have discussed with them your interest in becoming a gestational surrogate, we can get you started on what you’ll need to have completed before you meet with any potential intended parents.

You can read the complete list of requirements on our website; but, for your convenience, here’s a quick taste of our agency’s qualifications that must be met:

• Must be between 21-39 years of age

• Will need to have carried at least one previous successful pregnancy with no major complications.

• Must be a non-smoker.

• Need to have a healthy BMI for your height and weight.

• Must have no history of depression or postpartum depression or be using any antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications.

• Cannot be on Medicaid or on government subsidy of any kind.

Once you’ve been cleared and have met all these requirements as a surrogate, you’ll then be directed to the next step: undergoing physical and psychological screenings. These aren’t as invasive as they sound, we promise! They do, however, ensure that any hopeful candidates are healthy enough to continue on the path to surrogacy.

3. Do Intended Parents have Requirements?

They do! In fact, you may be surprised to know that intended parents have to go through very similar — and sometimes the same — hoops that you do. Hopeful intended parents will have psychological and physical screening done, much like the ones that you’ll go through. Intended parents will also have a background and home check to ensure that their lifestyle is safe for any child that comes to live with them.

4. How Long does the Process Take?

Well, this depends on a whole manner of things. Sometimes, life just interrupts itself with small unexpected surprises. Other times, larger hurdles are thrown our way. For instance, as we are writing this in the year 2020, we are in the midst of a global pandemic. That said, an average timeline for the entire gestational surrogacy process could, and likely does, look a bit different now than it did a year ago. Just keep that in mind.

Once you’ve found the surrogacy clinic that you would most like to work with, the screening process could take a couple of months. The matching process, also, may take a few months. Your clinic has to take everything they’ve learned about you and piece various puzzles together in order to ensure that you and your potential matches are, indeed, a good coupling.

The IVF treatment could take a few tries, as well. Every woman’s body is different, as we know. There is no set amount of time that you can expect to become pregnant via IVF, so don’t stress if it doesn’t take right away!

FAQs about Gestational Surrogacy

We hope these FAQs about gestational surrogacy were helpful to you, no matter what your experience in this crazy adventure you find yourself. Was there anything you weren’t expecting to see here? Any questions you wish we had answered? Let us know in the comments!

If you’re ready to get started on the gestational surrogacy journey yourself, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us. We’re always happy to answer any questions, or address any comments or concerns you may have. We’re available to you via phone, email, social media, and the instant messaging service on our website.

Be safe and be well, friends!

Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Nevada has been providing adoption and surrogacy services across Nevada since 2012. For information specific to Las Vegas, please visit our sister site Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Las Vegas. For information specific to Reno, please visit our sister site Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Reno. 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: Mallorey English is an aspiring proofreader and editor. She’s completed a couple of online courses through Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) and has used her education to help edit her mother’s inspirational book, Monday Motivation: 52 Weeks of Inspiration to Keep Moving in 2018 and running blog Life Up and Running. She hopes to one day become a full time freelance editor. 

When she isn’t working, Mallorey can be found on a yoga mat, crafting a new project, or watching her favorite movies. She currently resides in northern Nevada with her husband and hopes to add on to their family in the near future. 

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