Course / High Level Process & Decisions
Gestational surrogacy is a multifaceted process that involves medical, legal, and emotional coordination between intended parents, surrogates, fertility clinics, and agencies. The process typically takes 12–18 months from the initial consultation to the birth of the baby.
At Surrogacy4All, our structured, step-by-step model ensures each milestone is handled with transparency, compassion, and full compliance with all applicable laws. Below, we outline each major stage of the journey from start to finish.
Surrogacy laws differ significantly across states and countries. In the United States, some states (like California, Illinois, and Nevada) are known for being “surrogacy-friendly,” offering clear legal frameworks that recognize intended parents’ rights. Other states have more complex or restrictive laws.
Before proceeding, it’s essential to:
Verify the legal status of gestational surrogacy in your jurisdiction.
Understand pre-birth and post-birth parentage options available in your state.
Consult with a surrogacy attorney to ensure compliance with both state and federal regulations.
At Surrogacy4All, our legal network spans across all major U.S. surrogacy states, ensuring every intended parent has a compliant and smooth experience.
Intended parents can either:
Pursue an independent surrogacy arrangement (handling recruitment, legal, and logistics themselves), or
Work through a full-service agency like Surrogacy4All that manages every aspect — from screening to delivery.
Working with an agency provides numerous benefits:
Comprehensive surrogate matching and screening
Access to pre-vetted surrogates
Full case management, including escrow coordination, medical scheduling, and legal document tracking
Emotional support and guidance for both surrogate and intended parents
Independent arrangements can appear less costly initially, but often lack the structure and protections necessary to manage the complexity of modern surrogacy.
The surrogate (gestational carrier) plays a pivotal role in the surrogacy journey. Selecting the right match involves balancing medical qualifications, psychological readiness, and personal compatibility.
At Surrogacy4All, this process includes:
Detailed background screening (criminal, lifestyle, and social evaluation)
OB/GYN and fertility clinic clearance
Psychological testing to confirm emotional readiness
Personal interviews and compatibility assessments
Once both parties agree, an official “match agreement” is signed, initiating the next phase of medical and legal preparation.
Before an embryo transfer can take place, both the surrogate and intended parents undergo a series of medical evaluations.
For the Gestational Carrier:
Uterine assessment via transvaginal ultrasound
Hormonal and infectious disease testing
Drug screening and psychological evaluation
For the Intended Parents (and Donors, if applicable):
Semen and/or egg quality assessment
Genetic screening (if using their own gametes)
This screening process ensures optimal medical outcomes and emotional readiness for all involved. Only after successful clearance can the legal agreements and embryo transfer be scheduled.
Legal contracts protect all parties and clarify every aspect of the surrogacy arrangement.
Key agreements include:
Gestational Carrier Agreement (GCA): Outlining responsibilities, compensation, medical decisions, and confidentiality.
Parentage Agreement: Establishing intended parents’ legal rights before or after birth, depending on jurisdiction.
Escrow Agreement: Detailing how payments and reimbursements will be handled.
At Surrogacy4All, each party is represented by independent legal counsel, ensuring fairness, clarity, and compliance with applicable laws.
Once legal documentation is finalized, the fertility clinic prepares for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer.
Steps include:
Embryo creation using the intended parents’ or donors’ sperm and eggs.
Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) may be performed to identify chromosomally normal embryos.
Uterine lining preparation for the surrogate through hormonal medication.
Embryo transfer — typically a single high-quality embryo is transferred to the surrogate’s uterus.
Two weeks after transfer, a pregnancy test confirms whether implantation was successful.
Around 6–7 weeks into pregnancy, an ultrasound is performed to confirm the presence of a fetal heartbeat. This is one of the most exciting milestones in the surrogacy journey.
At this point:
Pregnancy monitoring transitions to the surrogate’s local OB/GYN.
Regular updates are shared with intended parents.
The next financial installment (if applicable) is typically disbursed.
Once the pregnancy is stable, focus shifts to ongoing health management and delivery planning.
Ensuring proper insurance coverage is crucial for protecting all parties during pregnancy and delivery.
Steps include:
Reviewing the surrogate’s existing health insurance policy.
Securing additional surrogacy coverage if necessary (many traditional plans exclude gestational pregnancies).
Confirming newborn coverage immediately after delivery.
Surrogacy4All assists all clients in reviewing, securing, and managing appropriate insurance policies to avoid unexpected financial exposure.
Parental establishment legally transfers parental rights to the intended parents — ensuring they are recognized as the child’s legal parents from birth.
Depending on the state, this can occur:
Pre-birth: A court order is obtained before delivery, making the intended parents the legal parents immediately upon birth.
Post-birth: The order is issued shortly after delivery, completing the process.
Surrogacy4All’s legal experts work closely with courts and hospitals to ensure seamless parental establishment without delay.
In the final stage, a hospital delivery plan is coordinated between the surrogate, intended parents, medical team, and agency.
The plan includes:
Labor and delivery preferences
Who will be present during birth
Newborn handoff procedures
Post-delivery support for the surrogate
After delivery:
The baby is immediately placed under the care of the intended parents.
The surrogate receives postpartum medical follow-up and emotional support.
Final legal documents and birth certificates are processed by the agency’s legal team.
At Surrogacy4All, every delivery is treated with the respect, gratitude, and professionalism it deserves — celebrating the completion of a deeply meaningful journey.
Our job is to listen, to connect the dots between your needs, and to determine how we can best help you have your baby. If you’re asking how much does it cost for a surrogate, we’ll walk you through every step of the process to ensure there are no surprises.
To make an appointment with one of our counselors or physicians, please call (212) 661-7673 or email info@surrogacy4all.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Surrogacy4All is a unique international surrogacy service targeted at providing state of the art IVF and surrogacy services to Intended Parents irrespective of age, sex or color, at the lowest possible cost in the world.
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