FAQ'S
I HAD MY TUBES TIED. CAN I STILL BE A SURROGATE?
WHAT IF I DO NOT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE?
I RECIEVE GOVERMENTAL ASSISTANCE, CAN I STILL APPLY?
HOW LONG FROM THE TIME MY PROFILE BECOMES ACTIVE WILL I GET MATCHED TO AN INTENDED PARENT?
WILL THERE BE TRAVEL INVOLVED?
HOW LONG AFTER MY LAST DELIVERY DO I HAVE TO WAIT TO APPLY FOR SURROGACY?
IN THE PAST I HAVE TAKEN ANTIDEPRESSANT OR ANTI-ANXIETY MEDICATION WILL THIS DISQUALIFY ME FOR SURROGACY?
WHO REVIEWS THE LEGAL CONTRACTS WITH ME?
CAN I SELECT MY OWN OBGYN? WHERE WILL I GIVE BIRTH?
ARE SURROGATES GENETICALLY RELATED TO THE BABY?
HOW MUCH CONTACT DOES A SURROGATE AND THE INTENDED PARENTS SHARE WITH ONE ANOTHER?
HOW DOES A SURROGATE GET COMPENSATED, AND HOW MUCH?
Yes, you can still apply to be a surrogate if you had a tubal ligation. This procedure will not affect your ability to be a surrogate.
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If you do not have health insurance, we will work with your intended parents to provide you with one.
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Yes! You can still apply so long as you agree to terminate your benefits prior to the start of your contracts.
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Once your application and medical records have been approved, your surrogate profile will be made active on the database. At that time, you will be presented with an intended parent profile to review for matching. This process can take up to three weeks.
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Yes, travel may be involved depending on the location of your Intended Parent’s IVF clinic, but monitoring appointments can be arranged through a local IVF clinic if permitted by the physician.
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You may begin the screening process 2 to 3 months after your delivery. Your profile would not become active on our database until you have stopped breastfeeding and the appropriate amount of time has passed to allow your body to heal after your delivery.
To qualify for surrogacy, you must have stopped using antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication, with the approval of a physician, six months prior to applying.
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We will provide you with a lawyer to assist you through our legal process. These expenses will be covered for you by your IP(intended parent).
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Yes, you will have the ability to select an OBGYN for your surrogacy journey that is in-network with your health insurance. Your IP will also have input on your decision, but often rely on your recommended doctor that you are comfortable with. Almost all our surrogates deliver at a local in-network hospital.
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In gestational surrogacy, the intended mother’s egg or a donor’s egg is used, fertilized and transferred to the surrogate. In this scenario, the surrogate has no genetic relation to the baby.
Joyful Family currently only completes gestational surrogacies.
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A surrogate and intended parents can have as much or as little contact with each other as they feel comfortable with. Before they are officially matched, the two parties will always connect either over the phone or in person to make sure it’s a good fit. They will also usually interact at the hospital. Any other contact in between is up to the surrogate and intended parents, and may include phone calls, email and visits.
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Because of the health risks and life changes involved in pregnancy, surrogates are generously compensated in two ways.
First, upon signing the contracts, a surrogate will begin receiving a monthly allowance to help cover some of her food expenses, maternity clothes and any travel expenses. Once a healthy pregnancy is confirmed by an obstetrician, the base compensation payments will begin. This base compensation starts at $40,000 and increases depending on the surrogate’s experience and her state of residence.
Joyful Family works with a third-party escrow account service to safely and securely deliver these monthly payments.