A surrogate mother is a woman who carries a pregnancy for individuals or couples who cannot conceive or carry a child themselves. Through her commitment, she plays a transformative role, helping families fulfill their dreams of parenthood. With the rising popularity of surrogacy, more families are choosing this path, whether due to medical or personal reasons.

Surrogacy can be complex, involving emotional, legal and medical aspects that require careful guidance and support. For those embarking on this journey, agencies like Joy of Life® provide expert guidance, ensuring the surrogacy process is smooth and supportive. From matching with intended parents to providing legal and emotional support, these agencies are invaluable in navigating this complex yet rewarding experience.

In this blog, we’ll explore what surrogacy is, including the process, why it’s important, how surrogates and intended parents are matched, the important role a trusted agency plays in a successful experience and more. First, we’ll cover the types of surrogacy.

What Is Surrogacy?

Surrogacy involves a surrogate mother carrying a child for another family. There are two main types:

Traditional Surrogacy: In this arrangement, the surrogate’s own egg is fertilized, making her the biological mother. Traditional surrogacy, while one of the oldest methods, is less common today due to legal and emotional complexities. This form typically involves intrauterine insemination (IUI) to fertilize the surrogate’s egg, though in vitro fertilization (IVF) is sometimes used if IUI is unsuccessful.
Gestational Surrogacy: Gestational surrogacy is the most common form and involves a surrogate carrying a child to whom she has no genetic relation. An embryo created from the intended parents’ or donors’ egg and sperm is transferred into the surrogate’s uterus using IVF. This method ensures the surrogate has no biological connection to the baby, which simplifies both legal and emotional aspects.

By partnering with a surrogacy agency, intended parents and surrogates gain access to an array of essential services. Agencies like Joy of Life® facilitate the entire process, from thorough screening and health assessments to providing legal representation and emotional support. This guidance provides each party with security and peace of mind throughout the surrogacy.

The Surrogacy Process

Consultation and Matching: The process begins with a consultation to understand your needs. Working with a surrogacy agency, intended parents are matched with a surrogate based on compatibility and shared goals.
Legal Agreements: Before any medical procedures, legal professionals help both parties establish clear agreements, outlining parental rights, roles and responsibilities to ensure all parties are protected.
Preparation for Embryo Transfer: The surrogate undergoes hormonal treatments to prepare her body for pregnancy. This ensures the best possible environment for the embryo.
Embryo Transfer: In a controlled medical setting, a fertilized embryo is transferred to the surrogate’s uterus.
Ongoing Medical Care: Throughout the pregnancy, regular medical check-ups monitor the health of both the surrogate and the baby, fostering a collaborative environment with the intended parents.
Birth and Parental Transition: At the time of birth, intended parents are encouraged to be present, supporting the surrogate and welcoming their child. Legal steps are taken shortly after to finalize parental rights.

A medical professional holding an embryo transfer catheter in a clinic.

How Do Surrogate Mothers Get Pregnant?

In gestational surrogacy, surrogate mothers become pregnant through IVF, a multi-step process that ensures a healthy and prepared environment for embryo transfer. The IVF process starts with the retrieval of eggs, which may come from either the intended mother or an egg donor. The eggs are then fertilized in a lab with sperm from the intended father or a donor, creating embryos that are carefully monitored for a few days.

There are two types of embryo transfers in IVF:

Fresh: In a fresh embryo transfer (FET), the embryo is placed into the surrogate’s uterus shortly after fertilization, requiring close coordination with the donor’s cycle.
Frozen: In a frozen embryo transfer (FET), the embryo is cryopreserved (frozen) and later thawed for transfer, offering greater flexibility in timing and frequently achieving high success rates.

To prepare her uterus for the embryo transfer, the surrogate undergoes a hormone regimen, including:

Estrogen: A hormone produced by the ovaries that regulates reproductive functions. In early pregnancy, estrogen thickens the uterine lining, creating an ideal environment for embryo implantation and supporting fetal growth.
Progesterone: A hormone released after ovulation by the corpus luteum and later by the placenta. It prepares and maintains the uterine lining for implantation, prevents uterine contractions and supports early pregnancy by maintaining a stable environment for the developing embryo.

A few days after fertilization, the selected embryo(s) is transferred into the surrogate’s uterus. The process is minimally invasive and typically involves placing a catheter through the cervix to deposit the embryo. Following transfer, doctors carefully monitor the surrogate through blood tests and ultrasounds to confirm pregnancy and ensure a healthy start to this exciting journey.

Why Choose Surrogacy?

Surrogacy provides a pathway to parenthood for many who face unique challenges, offering a supportive and structured approach to building families. Here are some of the main reasons people choose surrogacy:

Couples Facing Fertility Challenges: For the 15% of couples who experience infertility, surrogacy represents a hopeful alternative. Many have faced emotionally and physically taxing procedures without success, and surrogacy provides a promising path forward.
Single Parents: More individuals are choosing to embrace parenthood solo, and surrogacy can be an excellent option. For single intended parents, surrogacy agencies help ensure that surrogates are open to supporting various family structures, making the process smoother.
LGBTQ+ Couples: Surrogacy has become a popular family-building option for LGBTQ+ couples and individuals, even as they navigate unique social and medical challenges. Working with inclusive agencies allows LGBTQ+ parents to pursue surrogacy with confidence and support.
Parents with Medical Conditions: Some intended parents may have medical conditions that prevent them from carrying a pregnancy, such as PCOS, male infertility factors or endometriosis. Surrogacy provides a solution, allowing them to have biological children despite these health challenges.

Finding the Right Surrogate

Choosing the right surrogate lays the foundation for a strong partnership based on shared values, open communication and trust. The process involves thoughtful matching, which ensures that surrogates and intended parents align on important aspects from the outset, creating a smoother and more fulfilling experience.

Thorough Screening: Reputable surrogacy agencies, like Joy of Life, conduct comprehensive health and psychological evaluations to ensure surrogates are qualified and medically suitable. These screenings assess the surrogate’s physical health, emotional readiness and support system to create a safe and supportive environment.
Background Checks: Agencies also perform background checks for safety and accountability, giving intended parents peace of mind about their chosen surrogate’s character and background.
Compatibility-Based Matching: A successful surrogacy often depends on compatibility between the surrogate and intended parents. Matching coordinators at agencies evaluate preferences based on various factors, including communication style, location and expectations for involvement in medical appointments or post-birth contact.
Legal and Logistical Considerations: Once matched, both parties collaborate with legal professionals to establish clear agreements. These documents outline roles, responsibilities and legal parental rights, ensuring protection and clarity for everyone involved.

The Role of a Surrogate Mother

A surrogate’s commitment and daily choices directly affect the baby she carries and the hopeful parents awaiting their child. For a successful surrogacy, she must be able to commit to responsibilities, including:

Health and Wellness: To ensure a stable, healthy pregnancy, surrogates must prioritize their wellness. They must avoid substances like alcohol, drugs and tobacco, maintain a balanced diet, stay active and attend all medical appointments.
Medical Protocols: Surrogates adhere to precise medical protocols, from fertility treatments to scheduled health screenings. Open communication with healthcare providers helps manage any health concerns along the way.
Partnership With Intended Parents: A successful surrogacy is built on open, respectful communication with intended parents, who may be involved in pregnancy milestones and prenatal visits as agreed upon in the surrogacy plan.

Surrogates often find deep fulfillment in helping others but may experience a mix of emotions, including attachment to the pregnancy and complex postpartum feelings. Strong support from family, friends and professionals is key to managing these emotions and achieving a rewarding surrogacy experience.

Close-up of intended parents holding hands and reviewing surrogacy paperwork while a pregnant surrogate sits nearby.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

In surrogacy, a solid legal foundation is essential to protect both the intended parents and the surrogate. Surrogacy agreements, or contracts, clearly outline each party’s rights, obligations and expectations, creating a mutual understanding that supports a smooth surrogacy.

A surrogacy contract is tailored to each arrangement, addressing areas such as:

Parental Rights: Clearly defining the intended parents as the legal parents and detailing how custody will transfer at birth.
Medical Consent: Agreements on important medical decisions, such as embryo transfer procedures and emergency scenarios like selective reduction if needed.
Financial Responsibilities: Laying out compensation for the surrogate and specifying which pregnancy-related costs the intended parents will cover.
Parentage Process: Ensuring that all legal steps are taken to establish intended parents’ rights, often before birth, to prevent complications.
Contingency Plans: Covering rare outcomes or unforeseen complications, creating clarity in challenging scenarios.

Surrogacy laws differ greatly depending on location, affecting everything from contract enforceability to parental rights. Understanding these legal variations is essential for a smooth surrogacy:

State Laws: States like California have clear, supportive laws for gestational surrogacy, while others may have restrictions or outright prohibitions. Working with a knowledgeable agency can be invaluable in navigating these differences.
International Laws: Countries have diverse stances on surrogacy, with many prohibiting it altogether. The U.S. is often favored by international intended parents for its regulated, surrogate-friendly laws in many states.

Surrogacy raises ethical questions, from compensation to parental rights. Contracts and guidance from ethical agencies help ensure that all parties are respected and protected, upholding the surrogacy process’s integrity and fairness.

How Surrogacy Supports Parenthood

Surrogacy provides a transformative path to parenthood for individuals and couples facing infertility, medical conditions or other challenges that prevent them from conceiving. For many, it offers hope and a chance to bring a long-awaited child into their lives. Through surrogacy, dedicated surrogate mothers help make these dreams a reality, providing a profoundly meaningful gift that allows intended parents to experience the joys and fulfillment of parenthood.

Agencies like Joy of Life® offer invaluable support, creating a strong foundation for surrogates and intended parents alike. From emotional guidance and legal resources to ongoing encouragement, our experienced team helps establish a nurturing, informed community. This support system ensures that everyone involved feels connected, valued and supported every step of the way.

Surrogacy: A Life-Changing Experience

Surrogacy is filled with profound emotional rewards for both intended parents and surrogates. For many intended parents, the opportunity to raise a child fulfills a lifelong dream, while for surrogates, the chance to help others realize this dream brings its own deep sense of purpose and fulfillment.

Here are just a few stories from the Joy of Life® community, highlighting the powerful impact surrogacy can have:

“To be honest, the program is designed in such a hassle-free mode where every team member steps in at the right time for the right solution. I had searched many agencies before I started the process, but by God’s grace, I finally met with this amazing team, and today, I have my baby boy!” – Jason, Intended Parent

“I decided to become a surrogate after having a daughter of my own. I felt like this is something that I can do to help others who are not able to conceive or who want to have kids. It’s definitely a rewarding experience and something that you will hold on to for a lifetime. From the beginning, Joy of Life® genuinely shows that they care. I’m glad I went with them.” – Alondra, Surrogate Mother

“My sister explained to me that she couldn’t have kids, and I had offered to have her baby for her. Going through that process with my sister gave me the confidence to go ahead and start the process. When I came in contact with Joy of Life®, they were very welcoming, kind and made the process feel really smooth. I definitely wouldn’t have made it through without my case manager or coordinator who helped me feel like family.” – Monica, Surrogate Mother

Two intended fathers embracing a surrogate mother with their hands on her baby bump.

Start Your Path to Surrogacy With Joy of Life®

Surrogacy is a life-changing journey that brings joy and hope to families who long for a child. Partnering with an experienced surrogacy agency like Joy of Life® for this experience can make all the difference.

With dedicated support teams, professional guidance and a compassionate community, Joy of Life® ensures that surrogates and intended parents feel supported and valued at every step. Our team includes former surrogate mothers, who bring firsthand empathy and experience as they guide you through your surrogacy.

If you’re ready to take the first step or simply want to learn more, contact Joy of Life® to get the guidance you need.