Intended Parenting Basics
“However parenthood comes to you is a beautiful miracle.”
Through our journey of creating Healing Hearts Surrogacy, we have learned that the vast majority of intended parents know the ins and outs of the infertility world. It is safe to say that most intended parents will exceed our personal knowledge on the infertility aspect, however our team is a group of individuals who know the depths of Surrogacy. We know that each couple has most likely had a long heart breaking journey with infertility leading them to our website to seek a surrogate in order to complete their family. We understand that surrogacy is often times not the first option for couples to achieve having a child, but we pride ourselves in making Surrogacy a successful and positive journey with the end result being a beautiful healthy baby.
OUR GOAL
We aim to provide one of a kind services to both our intended parents and our surrogates. This means that you get access to the best surrogates East Idaho has to offer to carry a healthy baby for you, top noch experts of Reproductive Medicine, and support through every step of your journey. We are here to answer any questions at any time, help you and your surrogate navigate through the legal aspect as well as the technical parts of surrogacy, and we pride ourselves in making surrogacy a positive experience for all involved.
WHERE TO BEGIN
Healing Hearts Surrogacy is proud to offer the highest quality surrogates. Unlike many agencies, we are not afraid to turn away potential surrogates when we feel they are not the best fit for our agency. We focus on quality over quantity, as carrying a child for another person is an extremely delicate and important task. Because of this, we make sure that our surrogates are the best fit for our agency, and ultimately the best fit for you and your family. . If you are interested in seeing surrogate profiles and working with our agency simply contact us so that we can begin the process. Once it is agreed that our agency is the right fit for you, a questionnaire will be sent to you and once that questionnaire is returned and the agency fee is paid we will send you potential surrogate portfolios of which you will choose 4 or so candidates and then interviews will be set up to determine your ideal surrogate.
Our surrogates undergo a 7 week application process and out of our applicants 1 in 10 are actually approved by Healing Hearts Surrogacy. By the time you have met any of our surrogates you can rest assured in knowing that we have spent weeks to get to know our surrogate’s personally. As mothers we would never qualify a surrogate who we would not trust to carry our own child. Background checks, medical evaluations, character assessments psychological evaluations, clinical records review, and a comprehensive psychological evaluation will all take place to ensure your surrogate is more than equipped to handle this journey ahead.
Contract Phase
The contract phase is one of the most important parts of the surrogacy journey as it ensures protection of all parties involved. The contract will outline clearly what is expected from both parties and will also include a detailed description of the payment schedule, fees, and any topics that are relevant to surrogacy. We have attorneys that we recommend who are well versed in the surrogacy world, however this decision is completely up to you as intended parents to choose the attorney that fits your needs best. The attorney ensures that everyone is protected by the contract as surrogacy case law is still emerging and thus unsettled.
Some feel that the contract phase feels overwhelming and unknown, as there are a lot of small details that go in to creating the finalized contract. However, at the Healing Hearts Surrogacy we have taken a lot of the guess work due to our fee schedule already being provided before contracts even start. We want this process to be as straight forward as possible and do our best to anticipate any expected fees so that it takes the guess work out of the equation for you.
Before the contract is even started, both parties will receive a questionnaire that will be filled out by both parties. The attorney uses this questionnaire to draft the contract, which will then be sent to you and the surrogate. Each party can request any changes they want to be made from there, and once both parties are in agreement, a final contract will be made and sent to both parties. Almost all contact with the attorney will be done through email, which makes it a convenient and pain free process.
Transfer Time!
After the contract phase, your Surrogate will be cleared to begin meds such as Lupron, Estradiol Valerate, and Progesterone and have regular appointments at the clinic. Each clinic will have their own protocol for the Surrogate to prepare her body for success with the embryo transfer. On actual transfer day, you will go over any final preparations with the reproductive endocrinologist. Many of the last minute details have to be finalized the day of the embryo transfer as this will be a real-time embryo which relies on the status of the embryo. Although you have already gone through so much with the profile and contract phase, this part will begin to make it feel real and all your hard work will pay off once that little embryo is snuggled in. After embryo transfer, our agency will help the surrogate with understanding the general process and she will continue taking meds and monitor pregnancy status with the help of the agency, you, and the fertility clinic. Our agency provides extreme support to both you and your surrogate, and there is never a question too small or big.
The Pregnancy
There is a miracle growing at this stage! This is one of the most fulfilling and exciting periods of the journey. Getting that confirmation that there is a healthy embryo growing is a relief and exciting all at the same time. This is the phase that we like to call “hurry up and wait”. You’ve done the hard steps of preparing for pregnancy and now that it is here this is where you get to sit back and enjoy the pregnancy to its fullest. Healing Hearts Surrogacy continues to provide encouragement and communication between all parties so that everyone is involved and questions are answered as they come along. We also ensure that both parties continue to uphold the contract and that your embryo is taken care of on every aspect. Your surrogate will graduate from the clinic and begin seeing her OB/GYN and maintain meds and appointments.
Your Baby’s Birthday
This is the day we have all been waiting for, the birth of your baby! Most intended parents wish to be present at the time of delivery, and we try to make this happen to the best of our abilities. However as our surrogate who have all given birth before know, babies have timing of their own. We work with the hospital to ensure that everyone is accommodated the best they are able. The details of how the delivery and hospital time will be shared will be laid forth in the contract phase, but more importantly we hope you will create a relationship with your surrogate throughout this journey to ensure that you both get the most out of this experience. At Healing Hearts Surrogacy we have watched this transition period happen multiple times and we feel that the first 48 hours are a very important transition period for every one involved. It is an amazing beginning for you as new parents to a newborn, and also a period of closure for the surrogate and her family. We encourage that during this 48 hour period everyone “shares” in the overall hospital experience including sharing time with the baby. One of the greatest form of closure for your surrogate, is her being able to see you with your new baby. This allows closure that this baby is going to loving parents and that the surrogates hard work and effort has been met with a beautiful ending. After all parties are released from the hospital this is when the surrogacy journey officially ends and from there it is up to you to decide the type of contact you would like moving forward.
Extra Details
Health Insurance: All of our surrogates have insurance, however there are now surrogacy exclusions for different types of insurance companies. This is case by case, but we do have insurance options for all surrogates so that you will only be responsible for out of pocket expenses incurred throughout the pregnancy.
Escrow: We have found that escrow takes the stress out of the equation and lets you and your surrogate focus on a good healthy pregnancy. The escrow company we use is a third party that is not handled or established by Healing Hearts Surrogacy. Typically the attorney oversees what is done with the funds. It provides your surrogate security in knowing payments will be received as defined by the contract, and also ensures that medical bills are paid.
Counseling Sessions: As a nurse, mental health workers, mothers, intended parents, and surrogates we understand the importance of mental health in the process of surrogacy. Because of this we have partnered with Southwest Behavioral Health Consultants PLLC to offer counseling to Surrogates and Intended Parents. In the event that your surrogate chooses to do counseling this option will be available to her throughout the pregnancy and up to 3 months after delivery. This will be outlined in the contract, but this amount will not exceed $500. We will ask that intended parents pay this money to the agency in addition to the agency fee, and if at the end of the pregnancy the surrogate chooses not to proceed with counseling, then this $500 will be reimbursed to the Intended Parents. If you as an intended parent need counseling then you can call Southwest Behavioral Health Consultants PLLC directly to schedule. Below is a link to their counseling website.