When you first begin looking into surrogacy – whether you are a woman who is interested in becoming a surrogate mother or intended parents hoping to grow your family through surrogacy – it can feel a little overwhelming. We’re here to help you navigate surrogacy in Ohio, from the surrogacy process and how to become a surrogate to how to find a surrogate and much more.
Intended parents and surrogates from all around Ohio – Columbus, Cleveland, Akron and Cincinnati, plus all the towns in between – have chosen Circle Surrogacy as their surrogacy agency. Circle provides best-in-class support for parents and surrogates, a variety of programs and a staff with personal experience.
Surrogacy allows couples and individuals from a variety of backgrounds, ages, and sexual orientations to build their families. These intended parents from Ohio who use surrogacy and egg donation don’t all look the same. They often include:
No two surrogacy journeys are the same!
If you live in Ohio and are ready to start a surrogacy journey, you have access to many benefits as intended parents, including:
Circle Surrogacy has helped straight and LGBTQ+ singles and couples from Ohio grow their families through surrogacy and egg donation for almost 25 years.
The surrogacy process can feel complicated and overwhelming, as there are many moving parts. Working with an agency helps you navigate the milestones and events throughout your journey so that you can focus on the most essential thing: preparing for the arrival of your baby!
You may choose to undergo your surrogacy journey independently or with the help of a surrogacy agency. With over two decades of experience, Circle Surrogacy recommends working with an agency to ensure you have the proper support to ensure you have as smooth and safe of a journey as possible.
Choosing an Agency
Beginning your journey toward surrogacy is a big step, so it’s important to do your research! Not every surrogacy agency is a good fit. Finding a surrogacy agency with which you have good chemistry and who shares your views about the surrogacy process is key to a successful journey.
Also, surrogacy laws vary by state, so working with an agency that has lawyers knowledgeable in ART and surrogacy law is important. They will help you understand the surrogacy laws in Ohio.
Finding a Surrogate and Egg Donor
Prior to matching with your surrogate, you’ll need to match with your egg donor (if needed). You can search our egg donor database where you’ll find bright and ambitious young women who are excited for the opportunity to help you grow your family.
Your Matching Team will help you find the perfect surrogate match and encourage you to form a strong bond with the woman who will carry your baby(ies). If you’d like to find a surrogate in Ohio, you can share your preference with your Matching Team.
Pregnancy and Parenthood
During pregnancy, your agency will be supporting you through each milestone, helping you prepare for traveling for the birth and ensuring you have everything you need to return home safely and securely. This is an excellent time to further develop your relationship with your surrogate, and if she lives close to Ohio, perhaps even visiting her for appointments.
Once you’ve identified surrogacy as the way you’d like to grow your family, and you’ve selected an agency with which you’d like to meet, the first step is to schedule a consultation.
A surrogacy consultation is an in-depth meeting (about 2 to 2 1/2 hours long) with a parent intake consultant and a lawyer. This private meeting will allow us to get to know you and your story, as well as talk about surrogacy and the process as it relates to your personal situation. We’ll help you understand surrogacy programs and surrogacy costs, as well.
If you're not ready for a full consultation but would like more information, you can schedule a pre-consultation with our intake team by contacting [email protected] and someone will reach out to coordinate a time.
Bringing a baby into your family is one of the greatest joys you can experience. Intended parents from Ohio have been using surrogacy as a means to grow their families for decades. Surrogacy is a safe way to have the family you’ve always dreamed of.
Having an understanding of surrogacy laws, the surrogacy process and surrogacy costs will help you make an informed decision to grow your family.
Surrogacy costs in Ohio can be categorized into four areas:
Most agencies do not offer fixed costs for any of these cost categories, which can result in surprise fees and financial uncertainty throughout the surrogacy journey. However, Circle Surrogacy fixes the costs for professional fees, gestational carrier and egg donor fees, and medical and insurance expenses.
Circle Surrogacy’s programs and pricing are structured to achieve two primary goals: success and cost security.
Circle is proud to offer the all-inclusive Journey Protection Guarantee Program, which is designed to help as many Intended Parents as possible bring home a baby while reducing variable costs.
Journey Protection Guarantee Program
Surrogacy only: $157,750
Surrogacy plus egg donation: $184,750
(both prices exclude IVF)
Our Journey Protection Guarantee offers Intended Parents:
The costs outlined above are for our Surrogacy Only and Surrogacy Plus Egg Donation Programs. For more information about the costs of our other programs, please email us or call us at 617.439.9900.
Some intended parents may have the opportunity to qualify for financing for their journey. Please speak with our Parent Intake Team or Consultation Team or by filling out this form.
When starting your journey to parenthood, it's exciting to find your surrogate match. Circle works with many surrogate mothers from Ohio, as well as most of the surrounding states. Additionally, we have a strong representation in the South and Midwest, making it even easier for surrogates and intended parents to connect.
Get Started
It's hard to imagine what it will be like finding the right woman to carry your baby(ies). In many cases, intended parents aren't sure what they should look for in a gestational carrier.
The first steps in finding a surrogate mother match are to determine what you're looking for in a surrogate, your relationship with your surrogate, and what your expectations for your journey are.
Thinking about what's important to you in your gestational carrier and journey will make it easier to find a surrogate on your own (if you're on an independent journey) or to determine if your surrogacy agency has presented you with a good match.
We'll help find your surrogate mother match.
You'll be asked to fill out an intended parent profile that not only allows us to get to know you better but also helps your Matching Team find your surrogate match.
This profile is filled with information about you, your relationship (if you are coupled), your family, your hobbies, your plans for parenthood, and what brought you to surrogacy. We'll ask that you also share photos of yourself, your loved ones, and anything else that gives a good sense of who you are as people.
In addition to your profile, there are certain criteria on which you will be matched with your gestational carrier. Intended parent matching criteria includes their preferences on the:
If you are making an independent surrogacy journey, you can use the above as guidelines for what you should be looking for in a suitable match.
We recommend intended parents keep the following 3 criteria in mind when searching for a surrogate mother in Ohio:
1. Is it legal for her to be your surrogate? In the United States, each state has its own laws regarding surrogacy. In addition, each country we assist in has different requirements and laws regarding surrogacy. Therefore, our legal team ensures that the laws of the surrogate’s home state (where the delivery will take place) complement the laws of the intended parents' home state/country (including laws around same-sex parenting). The legal department will always approve a match from a legal standpoint before a surrogate profile is presented to intended parents. We will never knowingly present matches that are not a safe legal fit.
2. Do her personality and surrogacy expectations match yours? At Circle, your Matching Team (which includes a lawyer) will work together to find you the best surrogate match. Surrogates and intended parents (IPs) undergo phone calls or in-person meetings with the Circle team early in the process; these meetings help determine your personality as it relates to surrogacy. We also look at IPs' and surrogates' expectations and hopes for the journey, including the number of embryos to transfer and communication styles.
3. Do you agree on expectations surrounding termination and selective reduction? We ask IPs and surrogates their views on termination of a pregnancy as we want to create a match of IPs and surrogates who share similar views. We want to ensure that the surrogate’s and intended parents’ views align in the event a situation arises where a reduction or termination is considered. In our experience, many intended parents prefer the option to make the choice of termination.
Because we are dedicated to the security of our intended parents and the safety of their future baby(ies), Circle Surrogacy conducts a full screening of our surrogates prior to matching with intended parents.
Some intended parents require an egg donor in order to grow their family. Your egg donor will provide half of your child's biology. Here's how to go about finding your egg donor match from Ohio or another state.
Finding the perfect egg donor can feel like an overwhelming task. How do you begin to find an egg donor who will help you grow your family?
Here are some steps to help you find your perfect egg donor match:
Our Egg Donor Database
The first place most intended parents look for their egg donor is in an egg donor database. Most of these databases allow you to search on specific criteria. Circle's egg donor database is easy to use and navigate.
It can be helpful to make a list of search criteria before you begin. Things to consider are:
You don't need to know exactly what you're looking for in a donor. Some intended parents don't know until they find her.
Although there are no legal frameworks in place for surrogacy arrangements, the state’s recognition of past cases suggests favorable outcomes for surrogacy in Ohio. Also, the 2001 Decker v. Decker case laid the groundwork for same-sex couples to receive legal recognition in surrogacy agreements as long as the agreements are written.
Determining parentage in Ohio
When it comes to parentage, intended parent(s) can file with an Ohio court requesting that he/she/they be named the legal parent(s) of the child(ren). Because judges have broad discretion on that process (e.g. pre-birth or post-birth, hearing or no hearing, etc.), it is important to work with an Ohio attorney familiar with Ohio judges and experienced in the practice of fertility law.
There is a lot of information out there about becoming a surrogate, but here are 5 quick things for you to know before you begin!
Ready to learn more? Read on!
Surrogates are women who have children of their own, have had relatively easy pregnancies and births (they like being pregnant!), and many have completed their own families. Surrogate mothers want to help others have their own families.
What is surrogacy? It's an amazing way to help make intended parents' dreams come true and give others the ultimate gift: a baby!
At Circle, our Ohio surrogates receive the support and guidance of our experienced social workers and program coordinators, many who have been surrogates themselves. We support women wherever they are in the process whether they are ready to apply now or are interested but want to talk with experienced surrogates or Surrogate Advisors. Here is an overview of the process:
Learn more about the surrogacy process at Circle.
Wherever you are in your journey, we suggest completing our online surrogacy application. It takes only about 10 minutes to complete and there is no obligation to proceed if you aren’t ready.
Women who apply to become surrogates do so because they want to help someone experience the joy of parenthood who can't do so on their own.
What type of women become surrogates in Ohio?
Surrogate mothers have had uncomplicated pregnancies and are usually finished growing their own families. Surrogate moms are generous and kind, courageous and caring.
They are just like you!
Requirements for Becoming a Surrogate in Ohio
Women who are interested in becoming a surrogate in Ohio must meet the following requirements:
The Circle Surrogate Promise was created for surrogates because we truly care about our carriers, and we want each of them to have the most successful and rewarding journey possible.
In the past, our carriers shared thoughts and improvements with their social workers, or during their exit interviews, and we took all of those conversations and suggestions to heart and improved on our offerings to our gestational carriers.
The Circle Surrogate Promise is a program exclusive to Circle Surrogates; no other agency can offer the same level of security and support.
Circle Surrogacy promises:
Women who live in Ohio and apply to become surrogate mothers do so because they have the desire to help others experience the joy of parenthood. While there is a monetary incentive to be a surrogate, the indescribable sense of fulfillment our surrogates get from helping intended families bring a child into the world is like nothing else.
As a surrogate mother in Ohio, you have the opportunity to earn between $50,000 and $60,000 in payments and benefits. Surrogate mothers are paid a base fee of between $30,000 to $40,000, plus additional compensation and benefits for milestones along their journey.
The actual amount you will make as a surrogate will depend on a few criteria: the state you live in, if you have insurance, and if you're an experienced gestational carrier.
Calculate your surrogate pay in Ohio with our surrogate compensation calculator.
Surrogate payments are made monthly, and surrogate mothers start earning compensation and benefits even before they are pregnant.
Circle provides best-in-class surrogate support because so many of our staff are experienced surrogates – and they have shared with us the type of support surrogates need on their journey. Our surrogates receive top-notch prescreening, social work, and legal and journey support from the moment they fill out their application until months after they deliver. Our team is ready to answer any question you can dream of (and then some).
You'll also be connected with other surrogate mothers through private social groups, and you'll experience exclusive events with the Circle team.
We can also connect you with skilled, trustworthy experts. For example, when it’s time for you to review legal contracts, we’ll recommend an attorney local to you with whom we’ve worked previously and who has a strong working knowledge of assisted reproduction technology law. It’s just one more way we clear the path for you and make the entire surrogacy program as seamless as possible. Read our blog post about the 10 steps to becoming to a surrogate.
As an Ohio gestational surrogate, the question of who you help is almost as important as your decision to help. After all, you and the prospective parents will embark on a monumental journey together. You want to be sure that you connect with and trust them fully. That’s why Circle Surrogacy built an extensive and thorough matching process.
As a first step, your Surrogate Support Team will try to find the perfect intended parent(s) for you based on personality fit and legal circumstances. You’ll get to review each other’s profiles, ask questions, and generally feel each other out. There will also be an initial Skype call and, possibly, an in-person meeting. It’s all about making sure both you and the intended parent(s) feel completely comfortable with the match. And of course, the surrogacy agreement only moves forward if you do.
Circle works with single parents, LGBTQ+ and heterosexual couples, domestic and international couples, and more. We’re confident you’ll be able to find a great match.
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