What Can I Expect as a Surrogate Mother in Nevada?

Becoming a surrogate is a big decision involving a lot of screenings and at least an entire year of your life. Gestational surrogacy, in many ways, is just like any other pregnancy. But because you are carrying someone else’s baby, there are unique challenges, different steps, and additional considerations. That’s why it’s important to work with a professional surrogate agency like Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Nevada. Our team of surrogacy experts provides support and information throughout your surrogacy journey. We can help you understand exactly what to expect as a surrogate in Nevada. 

The Requirements and Qualifications for Becoming a Surrogate Mother in Nevada

Chances are, if you’re thinking of becoming a surrogate, you’ve already had one or more successful pregnancies and enjoyed being pregnant. In fact, having previous successful pregnancies is one requirement to become a surrogate in Nevada. Having been pregnant before, you’d know what to expect of a pregnancy. But surrogacy has additional considerations. 

Potential surrogates have to undergo multiple screenings before they’re accepted onto the surrogacy team at Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Nevada. Those screenings fall into three basic categories. 

Legal surrogacy requirements may include: 

• You must be able to speak English fluently. 
• Permanent U.S. residency is required.
• You must pass a thorough background check.
• We will do a credit check to determine that you are not currently receiving any government financial assistance.
• Verify that you have the support of your spouse, if you’re married, to pursue surrogacy.
• Verify that you have the means to travel to all necessary medical appointments throughout the pregnancy.

Health requirements for surrogacy may include:

• You have a healthy body mass index (usually between 19-31).
• Verifying your age is within the range of lowest-risk childbearing years (approximately 21-40).
• Verifying that you’ve had at least one uncomplicated pregnancy and birth.
• You have had no more than five vaginal births or three cesarean sections. 
• You are non-smoking and drug-free. 
• General medical screening to ensure you’re healthy enough to undergo procedures such as fertility treatments and embryo transfer in addition to pregnancy. 

Psychological surrogacy requirements may include:

• Mental health evaluation to determine if you’re psychologically healthy. 
• Coaching on how to handle situations that may arise unique to the experience of gestational surrogacy. 
• Discussions of potential emotions and challenges you may encounter as a surrogate. 
• Discussing what makes you want to become a surrogate to ensure you’re a good candidate motivated by healthy reasons, like wanting to help create a family. 

Pairing the right Intended Parents with You, as the Surrogate Mother. 

Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Nevada screens both our surrogates and intended parents very carefully. We create profiles for each and exchange them with those who seem as if they’ll be a good fit. Successful surrogacy relationships mean managing the expectations of all parties involved. We want our surrogates to connect with the intended parents and form the kind of relationship both parties hope to achieve throughout their surrogacy journey as they build a family together. Many of our surrogates and intended parents share a close bond that continues for a lifetime.

Legal Contract and Compensation for Surrogacy 

Once you, as the surrogate, have matched with intended parents, Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Nevada’s legal team will help get your surrogacy contract finalized. The surrogacy contract will include information like the legal rights of the intended parents, itemization of potential risks (such as pregnancy complications), and how that would be handled. And, of course, this is the place for the details of your surrogacy compensation. 

Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Nevada makes sure our surrogates are compensated fairly. You’re putting an entire year, or more, of your life into this surrogacy journey. The testing, procedures, pregnancy, and delivery will take a toll on your body. All of that is considered in your compensation as well as how much travel might be involved for medical appointments and the delivery. However, a good candidate for gestational surrogacy is not motivated by the financial compensation for surrogacy but rather by the opportunity to play a key role in creating a family.

The Surrogacy Process Begins

Because all Nevada surrogates are gestational surrogates (meaning they have no genetic link to the baby), the surrogate becomes pregnant by the way of in vitro fertilization, or IVF. Sometimes several cycles are required before the surrogate achieves a healthy pregnancy. At that point, you can likely see your regular OB/GYN for routine prenatal care and visits for the rest of the pregnancy. 

During your pregnancy, you can expect to be in frequent contact with the intended parents. Many intended parents are actively involved in the pregnancy. Some even will want to attend your medical appointments with you. Those details are all worked out ahead of time in the surrogacy contract, so everyone knows what to expect and is comfortable. 

During this time, you may also experience a lot of curiosity from people and maybe even some seemingly rude questions. Many people have opinions about surrogacy, but not many truly understand it. Your team at Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Nevada can prepare you for some of the questions you may hear and help you craft some potential responses. You have the unique opportunity to educate those you encounter about the incredible gift of surrogacy to build families. 

Delivery Day!

Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Nevada will provide you with a case manager who not only walks you through every step of the process but will spend much of your third trimester facilitating the creation of the hospital plan for the delivery of the baby. Unique to a surrogacy delivery, the woman giving birth is not one of the baby’s parents. This creates unusual circumstances for the delivery room and post-birth decision-making. Many choices, from who cuts the cord to where the baby stays after he or she is born, are decided mostly by the intended parents. Your case manager works with you, the intended parents, and the hospital to create a hospital plan that makes everyone comfortable. 

What Happens Next in Your Nevada Surrogacy Process?

Unlike with a traditional pregnancy, when you’re medically cleared to go home from the hospital, the baby is not coming home with you. While many intended parents and surrogates do stay in touch and see one another regularly, you might still have complicated feelings during this time. While our surrogates most often feel incredible joy and accomplishment in helping create a family, some also experience a sense of grief or loss after nine months of bonding with a child that’s no longer physically with you. Your team at Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Nevada can help you deal with the emotions you may have and, of course, any physical issues that may arise after the birth of the baby. Our care and support do not stop with the birth of the baby. 

If you think surrogacy might be right for you, contact Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Nevada to talk with one of our experts about how to become a surrogate mother. 

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: After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in Education, majoring in English and Social Sciences, Brianne Davis has spent her adult life as an educator; first in the public schools, later through martial arts. Her ability to convey difficult concepts, navigate varied learning styles, and always keep it interesting defined her reputation as an impactful instructor. Many of her early published blogs centered on the goal of helping other instructors effectively teach children for whom learning is a struggle. Once an empty nester, she committed to sitting in traffic less and writing more. With those goals in mind, she, along with her husband and dogs, packed up, sold their family home and moved to the banks of the Columbia River in Central Washington’s wine country, where the pace of life is slower and the sun shines brighter. Realizing in our modern age, more of us turn to the internet for information than ever before, Brianne, now dedicates her time to educating others through blog writing.

As a life-long information junkie, Brianne enjoys taking deep dives into new topics, then condensing them in an interesting way to convey valuable information in a relatively short amount of space. Once her career, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and mixed martial arts remain hobbies, along with boating, reading, and traveling.