How Fertility Clinics Help Intended Parents Navigate the Surrogacy Process
Surrogacy is a beautiful journey that helps bring thousands of babies into the world every year. If you're considering surrogacy to grow your family, your fertility clinic can help you navigate the process — from assisting in finding your ideal gestational carrier to facilitating embryo transfers. They’ll also work alongside your surrogacy agency to ensure everything runs smoothly.
What to Expect From the Surrogacy Journey
There are two types of surrogacy: traditional and gestational. Most fertility clinics only facilitate gestational surrogacy arrangements, which means that the surrogate isn’t related to the child they carry and deliver. The eggs and/or sperm come from either the intended parents or separate donors. If you need an egg or sperm donor, your clinic can direct you to the appropriate resources.
Your fertility team can also recommend a surrogacy agency. From there, you’ll view eligible surrogates and find your ideal match. Pregnancy is achieved via in vitro fertilization {IVF}. During the IVF process, a reproductive specialist combines the eggs and sperm in a lab. Once fertilized, the resulting embryos can be transferred to the surrogate's uterus. Your fertility clinic facilitates this process, communicating with your surrogacy agency and ensuring your gestational carrier is ready for transfer.
Who Is Involved in Surrogacy?
Surrogacy involves multiple parties with the same goal — to help you have a baby. Your surrogacy team will likely include:
- Fertility doctors and clinic staff
- Surrogacy agency staff
- Designated mental health professionals
- Fertility lawyers
Everyone works together to ensure both the surrogate and intended parents are comfortable and confident throughout each step of the process from start to finish.
Start Your Surrogacy Journey Today
Surrogacy can seem overwhelming at first, but you won’t have to navigate the process alone. Your fertility clinic can provide you and your surrogate with fertility care, as well as work with other parties and agencies involved to ensure a smooth surrogacy journey.
At Washington Fertility Center, we provide advanced fertility care and help our patients find dedicated surrogates who have been carefully recruited and screened. Contact us today for more information or to schedule an appointment in Annandale or Fredericksburg.