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Family Forward Surrogacy
4800 Hampden Lane,
Suite 200
Bethesda, MD 20814
Family Forward Surrogacy is easily accessible by public transportation or car. We’re a three-minute walk from the Bethesda Metro Station on the Red Line. Parking is available in a public garage under the building with entrances on Hampden Lane and Elm Street, and of course, we’re happy to validate parking tickets.
Surrogates: Now is actually a great time to apply to become a surrogate! FFS has a waiting list of Intended Parents ready to be matched. The average time for a surrogate to complete the application and matching process is one to three months (prior to contracts and pregnancy). FFS is now offering a COVID COMPENSATION BONUS of $4,000 for surrogates willing to match and move ahead immediately.
Not ready to move forward right away? That’s okay! Much of the screening process, such as application completion, medical records review, virtual home visit and initial psychological screening can be accomplished remotely. Your application can be placed on hold until you are comfortable moving forward.
Intended Parents: Even prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, there was more demand for surrogates than available qualified women, creating an average wait time of about three to six months. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, matching times have doubled. In normal times, the entire surrogacy process took 15 to 18 months from the first call until the birth of your child. During the pandemic, we anticipate that the entire process will be closer to two years. Even if you are not ready for your surrogate to become pregnant for a year or more, it makes sense to start the process now to secure your place on the waitlist.
Time to Complete: ~2 days
When I can start this step: ~ 2 weeks after match
Time to Complete: ~3-6 weeks
When I can start this step: After medical clearance
Time to Complete: ~2-4 weeks
When I can start this step: Now
Time to Complete: ~4-6 weeks
When I can start this step: After preliminary screen
Time to Complete: ~1-3 days, 4-6 weeks
When I can start this step: After psych complete
The next step is to put a legal contract in place. This contract is called a Gestational Surrogacy Agreement (GSA). The GSA will be drafted by an attorney who is a member of the bar in the state where you live, since that is the state where you will be getting medical care and where the baby will be born. Your intended parents’ lawyer will draft the GSA. For a more detailed look at what will be covered in the GSA, please see the Surrogate Compensation Guidelines.
You’ll get a separate attorney experienced in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) to represent you. FFS can help you identify an attorney in your state. Your attorney’s fees will be paid by the intended parents, but the attorney will represent only you and look out for your interests. At about 20 to 22 weeks’ gestation, a court order will be initiated to have the intended parents’ names put on the birth certificate when the baby is born. The intended parents will have all the rights and responsibilities for the baby as soon as he or she is born.
You will continue to take some medications for 10-12 weeks. Once you have finished the medications the primary physician responsibility will pass from the IVF doctor to an OB/GYN close to your home who delivers at a local hospital. From this point on, the medical aspects of the pregnancy should be similar to your previous pregnancies. You can usually continue to use the OB/GYN you already see, but in some cases, the IPs will want you to have a different OB/GYN (for instance, if your OB does not have a favorable view of surrogacy). You may also have to be followed by a high-risk OB/GYN or Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) doctor if the pregnancy becomes high risk (all multiples pregnancies are considered high risk). The hospital where you’ll deliver is usually dictated by where your OB/GYN has privileges, but if the pregnancy is high risk, the hospital may be chosen based on the level of its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
The emotional aspects of this pregnancy will be different because you won’t be preparing to bring baby home, and because you will be sharing it with the intended parents. Some intended parents will want to attend most appointments, while others will join you only for milestone appointments like the 20-week sonogram. Either way, you’ll be in touch with each other at least once a week to share details about how you are feeling, the baby’s movements and any appointment details.
The big day! Most often, the intended parents want to be in the delivery room with you. They want to be there to support you and to see their baby come into the world. When asked about their journeys years later, many surrogates say that the most fulfilling part of the surrogacy journey was the moment they saw the intended parents’ faces the first time they held their baby.
Approximately 2 weeks prior to the embryo transfer date, you’ll begin taking medications to build up the lining of your uterus. If you live more than 90 minutes from the IVF clinic, you’ll travel to the clinic at least 1 day prior to the scheduled embryo transfer. The transfer procedure is simple and feels similar to having a pap smear. You should be able to travel home (if you are not local to the clinic) the day of transfer or the following day. About 2 weeks after embryo transfer, you will have a pregnancy test!
Joint Psychological Screening – FFS will schedule a joint session for you and your intended parents with a social worker or psychologist specializing in assisted reproductive technology (ART). In this meeting, you’ll discuss preferences and expectations for the journey, such as how to communicate with each other during the pregnancy and how often. The social worker will also walk you through potential sticky issues, such as termination or selective reduction, if there were to be an issue with the fetus. If you live close to the intended parents, this meeting will take place prior to medical screening. If you are traveling a long distance, this will occur during the same trip as your medical screening.
Gestational Carrier Day (GC Day) – A gestational carrier is another term for a surrogate. GC Day is a visit to the intended parents’ in-vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic. This medical visit will be coordinated by FFS and IVF clinic personnel, and will be scheduled at least 2 weeks after Preliminary Match Acceptance to give you a chance to schedule the time off with your and your partner’s employers. During this visit, you’ll have in-person medical testing including an HSG and mock embryo transfer. Both you and your partner will have an infectious disease and drug testing as well. In some cases, if the results from GC Day are favorable, you may get final medical clearance a few days later.
Mock Cycle – Some IVF doctors will require one additional step before they grant medical clearance. This step is a mock cycle. For the mock cycle, you’ll take medications, either by injection or via vaginal suppository, over a period of about 2 weeks to develop the lining of your uterus. You’ll go to a few monitoring appointments, either at the IPs’ IVF clinic or at a clinic close to your home, to monitor how your body is responding to the medications. The monitoring is done through blood tests and transvaginal ultrasounds. Your body must be able to develop a uterine lining at least 8mm thick to be cleared to become a surrogate. If your body responds well to the mock cycle, you’ll get final medical clearance at this point. You’ll stop taking the medications, have your period, and your body will be ready to start the full medicated cycle once the legal and financial pieces are in place.
The big day! Most often, the intended parents want to be in the delivery room with you. They want to be there to support you and to see their baby come into the world. When asked about their journeys years later, many surrogates say that the most fulfilling part of the surrogacy journey was the moment they saw the intended parents’ faces the first time they held their baby.
You will continue to take some medications for 10-12 weeks. Once you have finished the medications the primary physician responsibility will pass from the IVF doctor to an OB/GYN close to your home who delivers at a local hospital. From this point on, the medical aspects of the pregnancy should be similar to your previous pregnancies. You can usually continue to use the OB/GYN you already see, but in some cases, the IPs will want you to have a different OB/GYN (for instance, if your OB does not have a favorable view of surrogacy). You may also have to be followed by a high-risk OB/GYN or Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) doctor if the pregnancy becomes high risk (all multiples pregnancies are considered high risk). The hospital where you’ll deliver is usually dictated by where your OB/GYN has privileges, but if the pregnancy is high risk, the hospital may be chosen based on the level of its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
The emotional aspects of this pregnancy will be different because you won’t be preparing to bring baby home, and because you will be sharing it with the intended parents. Some intended parents will want to attend most appointments, while others will join you only for milestone appointments like the 20-week sonogram. Either way, you’ll be in touch with each other at least once a week to share details about how you are feeling, the baby’s movements and any appointment details.
Approximately 2 weeks prior to the embryo transfer date, you’ll begin taking medications to build up the lining of your uterus. If you live more than 90 minutes from the IVF clinic, you’ll travel to the clinic at least 1 day prior to the scheduled embryo transfer. The transfer procedure is simple and feels similar to having a pap smear. You should be able to travel home (if you are not local to the clinic) the day of transfer or the following day. About 2 weeks after embryo transfer, you will have a pregnancy test!
The next step is to put a legal contract in place. This contract is called a Gestational Surrogacy Agreement (GSA). The GSA will be drafted by an attorney who is a member of the bar in the state where you live, since that is the state where you will be getting medical care and where the baby will be born. Your intended parents’ lawyer will draft the GSA. For a more detailed look at what will be covered in the GSA, please see the Surrogate Compensation Guidelines.
[email capture and LINK to https://www.dropbox.com/s/l948ogw5sypyspo/FFS%20Surrogate%20Compensation%20Guidelines%2020200519.pdf?dl=0]
You’ll get a separate attorney experienced in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) to represent you. FFS can help you identify an attorney in your state. Your attorney’s fees will be paid by the intended parents, but the attorney will represent only you and look out for your interests. At about 20 to 22 weeks’ gestation, a court order will be initiated to have the intended parents’ names put on the birth certificate when the baby is born. The intended parents will have all the rights and responsibilities for the baby as soon as he or she is born.
Gestational Carrier Day (GC Day) – A gestational carrier is another term for a surrogate. GC Day is a visit to the intended parents’ in-vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic. This medical visit will be coordinated by FFS and IVF clinic personnel, and will be scheduled at least 2 weeks after Preliminary Match Acceptance to give you a chance to schedule the time off with your and your partner’s employers. During this visit, you’ll have in-person medical testing including an HSG and mock embryo transfer. Both you and your partner will have an infectious disease and drug testing as well. In some cases, if the results from GC Day are favorable, you may get final medical clearance a few days later.
Mock Cycle – Some IVF doctors will require one additional step before they grant medical clearance. This step is a mock cycle. For the mock cycle, you’ll take medications, either by injection or via vaginal suppository, over a period of about 2 weeks to develop the lining of your uterus. You’ll go to a few monitoring appointments, either at the IPs’ IVF clinic or at a clinic close to your home, to monitor how your body is responding to the medications. The monitoring is done through blood tests and transvaginal ultrasounds. Your body must be able to develop a uterine lining at least 8mm thick to be cleared to become a surrogate. If your body responds well to the mock cycle, you’ll get final medical clearance at this point. You’ll stop taking the medications, have your period, and your body will be ready to start the full medicated cycle once the legal and financial pieces are in place.
Joint Psychological Screening – FFS will schedule a joint session for you and your intended parents with a social worker or psychologist specializing in assisted reproductive technology (ART). In this meeting, you’ll discuss preferences and expectations for the journey, such as how to communicate with each other during the pregnancy and how often. The social worker will also walk you through potential sticky issues, such as termination or selective reduction, if there were to be an issue with the fetus. If you live close to the intended parents, this meeting will take place prior to medical screening. If you are traveling a long distance, this will occur during the same trip as your medical screening.
Meeting the people you will help is truly exciting! Shortly after the psychological screening, you’ll be presented with a set of intended parents who closely match the preferences you have outlined. You’ll have the opportunity to review their pictures and their “Dear Surrogate” letter and may ask us any questions you have about them.
If you think it would be a good match, we’ll arrange a time for the match meeting where you’ll meet the intended parents in person if you live close to one another, or via video conferencing if you live far apart. This meeting will be attended and facilitated by FFS. If you don’t think it’s the right match, you may choose to match with other intended parents. A good match is a joint partnership in which both parties feel comfortable and benefit.
Preliminary Match Acceptance – 1 to 2 days after the match meeting, FFS will follow up with you and the intended parents to ask if you think it is a good fit. If both parties are in favor of the match, we’ll confirm that you have a preliminary match via email. At this point, the match is still subject to further medical and psychological clearance.
An FFS Representative will come to your home and spend 1 to 2 hours talking through the process with you and your partner and answering any questions you may have. We’ll usually be able to tell you about potential intended parent matches at this meeting as well.
Web Pre-Screening – Takes 5 to 10 minutes to fill out, and you can do it right now! Answering these 25 questions is a quick and easy way to find out if you might be a good candidate for surrogacy.
Phone Conversation with FFS Surrogate Coordinator – Takes about 1 hour. It will be scheduled after you complete the Web Pre-Screening.
Valerie Miller, FFS Surrogate Coordinator, will call you at a time that is convenient for you. Valerie will walk through the surrogacy process step by step. She’ll ask you about your medical history, family, support system, health insurance and your preferences for intended parents. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions about the process. Valerie, an experienced surrogate, is happy to talk with you about her personal surrogate journey and also to share the knowledge she has gained helping many other surrogates through the process with FFS.
FFS intake forms – From 1 to 3 hours. These can be completed after you speak with Valerie. You will need to submit a detailed written application, consent form, HIPAA waiver and compensation request form. Through these forms, you will provide personal and medical information and preferences for the type of intended parents you would like to match with, such as local or long-distance, traditional or gay couple, the amount of contact and communication you would be most comfortable with, and more.
Pregnancy-related medical records sent to our office. About 20 minutes to 2 hours. Usually takes 1 to 2 weeks from the time you submit the request to the hospital or doctor’s office.
Health insurance card and documentation sent to FFS. This should be available on your provider’s website, but sometimes takes a few calls to the provider to locate.
Two recent pay stubs (if applicable) sent to FFS. Usually takes about 20 minutes to locate and send.
Clearance letter from your OB/GYN sent to FFS. Usually 1 to 2 weeks, but could be longer if you need to schedule a new appointment with your OB/GYN in order to obtain this.
Provide short-term disability policy (if applicable) – This should be available on your provider’s website, but sometimes takes a few calls to the provider to locate.
Background checks – You and your partner will have to give permission (via response to an emailed request) for FFS to run background checks on you.
You’ll find the detailed list of all the items you will need to complete on the Countdown to Match Checklist. Please print this out and check off each item as you complete it.
FFS will arrange for you and your partner to have an in-person meeting with a psychologist or social worker. You’ll also take a personality test as part of this visit.
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