Thinking about another surrogacy? Many surrogates come back to us for multiple surrogacies and we love working with our experienced carriers! There is a lot to consider when thinking about another journey and below you will find helpful information on what to think about, and information you'll need as you consider another surrogacy.
If you're considering a return surrogacy journey – congratulations, that's wonderful!
Now that you're an experienced surrogate, you know what to expect from the process, timeline, matching and expectations from your agency and intended parents.
There are, however, a few additional things to think about if you're ready to do another surrogacy journey.
Some surrogates are ready to move forward in another journey shortly after they have completed their first surrogacy, while others need more time before committing. Some women also want to take advantage of the freedom they have to take family trips or experience big life events within their immediate/extended family that may be restricted during a surrogacy/pregnancy. There’s no right or wrong answer here but it’s important to think about when the timing feels right for another journey!
A surrogacy is impossible without you but also your support network! Talk to your family, friends and children about doing another surrogacy journey. This will impact them too and we want to make sure that your core group of support people are on board and supportive of the plans.
If you're ready to do another journey, there are a few steps each gestational carrier should take as she moves towards a second (or third!) journey.
Speak with your doctor about your desire to do another surrogacy to get their medical recommendations. They will likely also give you recommendations for when they suggest you do another transfer after your most recent delivery. We also ask that experienced surrogates get an OB approval letter as part of their re-screening process with Circle. You can email Kristi Johnson, or your support social worker for a copy of this form to bring to your appointment with your OBGYN or send to their office via fax/scan.
It's also important to speak with your family before applying for a return journey because they are such a big part of your surrogacy. If you have a spouse, talk about what a 12-16 month surrogacy means for your family at that moment, and if your kids are old enough, talk to them as well. Having full support helps make a smoother journey!
You'll need to fill out the surrogate application. We must make sure that we have your most up-to-date information in our system to best support you on your surrogacy and that starts with the application. After you click submit, a member of our surrogate outreach team will email you with the next steps.
If you're considering a return journey as an experienced surrogate, you may have some questions. We've gathered the most frequently asked questions from other surrogate mothers for you here.
Yes! Experienced carriers usually request a higher base fee to acknowledge their experience and successful fulfillment of the requirements of a surrogacy in their first journey. Women will commonly request an additional $5,000 to their base fee per surrogacy journey but this is flexible. We want you to decide on a base fee that feels comfortable for you and we can explore the exact details with you to account for your specific situation. You will also have the opportunity to detail any other changes to your financial package during your screening process. Many experienced surrogates come to us wanting to make financial modifications from their first journey as they have a better understanding of their financial needs during the process than they did as first timers.
This is ultimately dependent on the IVF clinic that you are matched with in another journey but most clinics allow a transfer to occur 9 to 12 months after a surrogate’s most recent vaginal delivery or 12 months after a c-section delivery.
We encourage our surrogates to wait at least three months after they have delivered vaginally to apply. After a c-section delivery, we encourage women to apply six months post partum. We want our surrogates to have dedicated time to their post partum recovery and to focus on themselves and their family. However, you are free to apply when you feel the timing is right!
No! The re-screening process with Circle for another surrogacy is typically much faster and much shorter. There are fewer documents to fill out, fewer medical records to collect (typically we only need to collect your most recent surrogacy/pregnancy and IVF records rather than all of your prenatal records), and the screening with the social worker for you and your primary support person is about half the length of your initial screening.
The process for a sibling journey looks very similar from an application and screening perspective. Typically the biggest issue that comes up for sibling journeys is the timeline. Many surrogates are hopeful to return for another surrogacy fairly quickly after their first journey is completed. Many intended parents are not in a place emotionally or financially to start a journey right away given they now have a newborn at home and have invested a lot of finances into their first journey. It’s helpful to discuss everyone’s expectations around timeline together so that everyone is on the same page. It may mean that both parties pursue their second journeys at different times or anticipate doing another journey after the surrogate has completed another surrogacy in the interim.
Absolutely! While it's a special experience to do a sibling journey with your intended parents, that might not be something they are planning – or are ready for. You can absolutely be matched with a new set of intended parents. And because you're experienced, you can help show them the ropes!
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