The Process
Agency Selection and Onboarding
Choosing an agency is one of the hardest deceisions in surrogacy because they are the project managers that you are hiring, but you don’t know a whole lot about the project! Good agencies are guides, partners and friends who will be able to assist in any and all aspects of your journey. Onboarding with Roots starts with an introductory phone call with our co-founder Brooke Kimbrough, who walks you through the process, introduces the team and answers all of your questions.
Waitlisted.
This is one of the most challenging parts in all of surrogate… the hurry up and wait! There is a surrogate shortage in the United States and has been dfor several years. All good agencies have waitlists for parents as there are just not enough surrogates to support all of the Intended Parents seeking to grow their family through surrogacy. Wait times can be anywhere from a couple of weeks to 18 months, depending on the agency. At Roots, we offer several packages that can expedite wait times for our parents and put them on a shorter path to parentage. Plans and Pricing.
Surrogate Vetting.
Gestational Carriers are scrupulously vetted for four months with Roots Surrogacy before they ever are introduced to an Intended Parent. It is an arduous process that we take pride in as our surrogates come out educated about the process and commited to the journey and timeline. We follow all social media, do investigative background checks, run her driving record, a full review of medical records, pregnancy and delivery history, run lab work and do psychological interview and testing. We only end up partnering with one percent of the surrogates that apply with us. In maintaining this level of care and scrutiny, we are confident in the surrogate candidates that we put forward and their ability to connect and comitt to your family and the surrogacy process.
Matching.
Once you have reached one of the top slots on our waitlist, we begin considering a multitude of factors that allows us to connect you with a surrogate that fits your wants and needs. Once that surrogate is fully vetted, her profile is shared with you. You only see one profile at a time and are asked to carefully consider her as a viable choice. There is no database of surrogates. If you choose to pass, you remain at the top of the list but the surrogate will be matched with the next Intended Parent. If you do choose to accept to take next steps with her, your profile is shared with her. She also has to pick you. If all parties agree, the medical records, background checks and psychological evaluation of the surrogate is shared with your clinic for approval. Once approved, we will do a match call to introduce you, set expectations, talk timeline and particulars.
Surrogate Prep and IVF.
In order to have your surrogate prepared and qualified for IVF, several steps need to take place. We need to get the surrogate physically evaluated at your IVF clinic in a process known as a medical screening. They will do a transvaginal ultrasound and a series of labs. Once cleared, we will begin the legal contract phase. Your attorney (we can refer you to one) will draft your Gestational Carrier Agreement, which is the legal relationship between you and the surrogate. You will go over it with your attorney and then it will be sent to the carrier’s attorney. She will review it with the surrogate and everyone will sign and notarize. Once legal contracts are in place, you will fund escrow. This is a holding account that the remainder of all payments will come from (surrogate payments, hospital, OB care, insurance, etc.) Lastly, your surrogate will start on a course of medications that will prepare her body for transfer. The transfer will occur at your clinic and we will test for success ten days post transfer.
Pregnancy.
If the transfer is successful, the IVF physician will be in charge of the surrogate’s care for the first trimester because she will remain on medications until then. Once we reach about 12 weeks, the surrogate will transfer care to her OB and will be seen like a natural pregancy for the remaining two trimesters. The surrogate will give birth in a hospital near her. You will be expected to be at the birth and will usually be allowed in the delivery room. It is a magical day and everyone is thrilled that the baby has arrived. You will go home with baby after you are released from the hospital usually 24-48 hours after birth if there are no complications. Depending on where the baby is born, we will help the planning of your return home with baby.
Parentage Order.
Parentage Orders grant you parentage to your child. We only work with states who provide these prior to the baby being born in a process known as a Pre-Brith Order. We will work with an attorney in the state where your baby will be born in order to acquire this judgement and will provide it to the necessary people to make sure that you are the parent(s) listed on the birth certificate.
Birth and Beyond.
Depending on the need of your family, post birth we can help facilitate travel arrangements, passports or other documentation needed in order to get you back home. We maintain long term connections with all of our clients and love to see updates on baby and family milestones. A large number of our clients return for additional sibbling journeys and we are happy to oblige!
Frequently Asked Questions
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Frequently Asked Questions *
It’s normal to have a significant number of questions related to surrogacy, the surrogate, the process, the cost, etc. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions we receive!
Gestational Carrier vs Traditional Surrogate?
A gestational surrogate is a woman who carries a child conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) using the egg of the intended parent or of an egg donor, and the sperm of the intended parent or a sperm donor. A gestational surrogate has no biological connection to the child. A traditional surrogate is a woman who carries a child using her own egg and is the genetic and biological mother of the child.
Although we feel that traditional surrogacy is the right arrangement for some intended parents, because it raises complex issues in establishing parenthood, Roots limits its process to gestational surrogacy.
How long from start to baby?
The length of the surrogacy process varies and is dependent on several factors including, but not limited to, your surrogacy plans and goals and the number of cycles required to achieve a pregnancy. Intended parents should plan on approximately 18-24 months from the time they sign on with an agency until they have a child. At Roots, we offer several packages that can expedite the timeline. Plans and Pricing can be accessed HERE.
Why work with an agency?
Imagine we are building a house. The agency is the general contractor. We make sure that the project is managed ethically, efficiently and effectively. Working with an agency reduces the risk of complications, and offers additional protection to both the surrogate and the intended parents. It helps to ensure that the surrogate receives fair compensation, ongoing psychological support, and treatment. It also offers the intended parents the comfort of knowing that their surrogate has been throughly screened to ensure that she is a top quality candidate with their best interests at heart.
Can we work with a surrogate we already know?
Yes. If you know someone who is willing to carry a surrogate pregnancy for you, you can work with that surrogate. However, the surrogate will still be required to go through the agency process and screening requirements.
What kind of relationship will I have with my surrogate?
Relationships vary in surrogacy because they are based on the needs and wants of the people participating in them. Some journeys create lifelong friendships, some people graciously part ways after birth, and everything in between. You can have as much or as little contact as you and the surrogate are comfortable with. Relationships and communication are important parts of surrogacy and it is our hope that an organic friendship develops over time.
What is the overall cost of surrogacy?
Surrogacy costs can vary significantly based on a number of factors. Generally, intended parents are responsible for the following costs: Agency fees; legal fees; medical expenses; health insurance; surrogate compensation and reimbursement. The cost of most surrogacy arrangements range from $175,000 to $225,000 but may vary even further depending on each given scenario. There are lots of stop-gaps that curb ballooning costs and make sure that parents are finacially protected. Generally, a good estimate for cost is $150,000 + Agency Fee.
What is the legal process like?
Every surrogacy arrangement will include a legal contract known as a GCA (Gestational Carrier Agreement) You and your surrogate will each have your own attorney who will contribute to the contract drafting process and ensure your legal interests are represented and your rights are protected. The legal contract will outline everyone’s rights and responsibilities throughout the process.
After the first trimester, your attorney will also prepare and finalize a pre-birth order and establish you as the legal parent of your child. Parentage, in PRE-BIRTH order states, is granted while your baby is still in utero. Surrogate’s do not have the option to change their mind. The court order identifies you as the parents and there is no subsequent adoptive process necessary after birth. You are added as parent(s) to the birth certificate immediately.
Roots only works in states that offer a pre-birth order to protect both parents and surrogates.
What is the wait time to find a surrogate?
Roots Surrogacy offers multiple waitlists that vary in time and cost. Our longest wait time is approximately nine months with our fastest being within a couple weeks. Please see our Plans and Pricing to learn more about cost and timelines.
What happens if my surrogate backs out?
Surrogates do not often back out of the process, but life does happen. If your surrogate chooses not to proceed, Roots Surrogacy will rematch you with another surrogate without any additional cost
What happens if there is a miscarriage?
This depends on what the situation. There are three types:
1. Failed transfer: If the embryo fails to implant at all, the surrogate will wait for her next cycle, start meds again and transfer again. Failed transfers happen and the success rates vary from clinic to clinic, doctor to doctor. The financial burden is minimal as the surrogate's base compensation will not have been touched and she will only repeat her medication bonus ($500) and her transfer bonus ($1500).
2. Chemical pregnancy: If the embryo implants and then fails to grow (usually between 6-10 weeks), then the surrogate will wait for her HCG level to go back down to zero and transfer again. Financially, it is relatively identical to the above scenario although if it is after heartbeat, there may have been one month payment of the base compensation paid ($6000)
3. Late Term Miscarriage: While rare, this does happen on occasion. It will depend on why but usually an embryo issue so again, you would use the same surrogate. Financially, it will depend on how long the pregnancy lasted. We pay the base compensation of $60,000 over 10 monthly instalments. Each month, she receives $6000 after confirmation of fetal heartbeat. If the pregnancy was lost at 20 weeks, it is likely that you would have made 4 monthly payments of $6k each.
Where do most surrogates live?
The geography of the surrogate is the LEAST important matching criteria, as long as she lives in a surrogate friendly state. There is a surrogate shortage in the United States and the goal is always to find the BEST quality candidate, not necessarily the closest. There are 20 surrogate friendly states in the United States that offer pre-birth orders and legal protection for parents and surrogates alike. We are not taking geographic requests for surrogates.
How can we ensure that our surrogate has a healthy lifestyle and habits?
Surrogates are grown women with healthy lifestyles and families. From the time a surrogate partners with Roots Surrogacy, we are evaluating her lifestyle to make sure that it is in line with our culture of health, happiness and humility. In addition, she is psychologically interviewed and tested, medically screened, drug tested and we have reviewed here health history of pregnancies and deliveries. The surrogate is consistently monitored by physicians and Roots Surrogacy, throughout the process. If additional requests from the parents are asked of the surrogate, like the addition of choosing organic options when available, these will be discussed and agreed upon in the match call.
How do I know that I am picking the right surrogate?
During the matching process, Intended Parents often worry about picking the “wrong surrogate”. That is why we are here. We help families pick “the right surrogate” 150 times a year and we are good at our job! In order to help us help you, here is a good way to start thinking about what you are actually looking for. Fold a piece of paper in half. Column “A” is the left side. Column “B” is the right side. The “A” column is all of your non-negotiables; these are things that good agencies will already have screened for and prequalified. These are things like healthy lifestyle, healthy past pregnancies, responsibility, care, compassion, and maturity. Column “B” is the “would be nice” category. These things may be traits like religion, politics, geography, marital status. Roots will always hit all of column “A” and will try and target as many column “B” requests as we can. Ultimately, you are looking for someone who is going to be kind, compassionate and cautious when it comes to your baby.
What if I have other questions?
It is very normal to have lots of questions during the initial stages of research. You can schedule an educational consult with the owner to walk through the surrogacy process and have all your questions answered. You can schedule a consult HERE.