A gestational carrier or gestational surrogate is a woman who carries a child conceived through the process of in-vitro fertilization utilizing the egg and sperm of the intended parents, an egg donor, and/or a sperm donor.  This is different from a traditional surrogate who supplies the egg and is the biological mother of the child she carries and delivers.  In the latter case, pregnancy is usually achieved utilizing the artificial insemination technique.

 

 

Please submit an Inquiry Form located on the Contact page.  We will then provide you with information about our program, how we might be of assistance to you, and can make arrangements for a free initial consultation.

 

 

Yes!  We are happy to assist any intended parent along the path toward realizing their dream.

 

  

Yes.  Though my practice is based in the Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC area, the program is both a national and international one.

 

 

This is a very personal choice.  Just keep in mind that with third party reproduction options, all parties are entering in to a consensual arrangement from the very start for you to have you baby.  For some, the ability for all involved parties to be in agreement from day one and to be a part of the entire process from beginning to end (often not an option with adoption) is critical.  Of course, too, is the ability to provide your own genetic material, which is also of great importance to many.

 

 

Many times couples cannot become pregnant without specialized medical care.  As the name implies, ART procedures are those that employ advanced technologies to help couples become pregnant.  In vitro fertilization (IVF) and related procedures, are collectively known as Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), and are being used more frequently as they become safer and more effective.  Third party reproduction enables an individual the chance to have a child that would otherwise be impossible.  Third party reproduction includes donor sperm, donor eggs, donor embryo, surrogacy, and gestational carrier.

 

 

You want to make sure that your attorney can and does advise you about the relevant laws in the state in which you reside and/or the state where the surrogate lives and will deliver.  This will impact how you will obtain a birth certificate with your names on it after the delivery of your baby.  You want to make sure you are only working with a surrogate who lives and will deliver in a surrogacy friendly state.  You also want to be assured that your surrogacy agreement is drafted by the attorney with the relevant state language contained therein.

 

 

No, all states are not the same.  It is the job of your attorney/program to educate you about what states are surrogacy friendly, and to make sure you are only working with a surrogate that will deliver in a surrogacy friendly state.

 

 

You should be matched only with a surrogate, again, that will deliver in a surrogacy friendly state.

 

 

This will completely depend on the state in which you live and/or the state where the surrogate delivers, as well as the type of surrogacy involved (traditional or gestational).  You attorney should advise you what will happen with the birth certificate and what procedure is involved at the time you are matched with your surrogate.

 

 

This will depend upon the state.  The relevant process will apply, either obtaining a pre-birth order, a post-birth order, or will go through a step-parent adoption process to obtain a birth certificate with the Intended Parent's names listed on it.  In a few states, this is all handled by paperwork without the involvement of a court process.  Note:  This does not however impact the Intended Parents ability to be with their baby in the hospital, to make medical decisions for their baby, or to go home with their baby after birth.

 

 

Yes.  There are couples that are able to find their own surrogate, and they come to me to prepare the legal agreement, and also sometimes to manage expense accounts and to assist the parties through the process, including taking care of the legal process before or after birth.

 

 

Yes.  You will still need to have an egg donor agreement prepared in that case and your donor will be screened medically by your IVF center.

 

 

If you cannot produce your own eggs and do not want to work with an egg donor, you can choose to look for a traditional surrogate that will be artificially inseminated, and it will be her own egg that is fertilized.

 

 

The surrogate will be interviewed, evaluated, psychologically and medically evaluated and tested, and a full background check will be done.  You will also meet your surrogate in person, and will develop a trusting relationship.

 

 

She will usually give birth where she lives.

 

 

This potentially can be immediate or can take 3 to 6 months.  This will greatly depend upon what is important to you in a match (race, location, and philosophy about selective reduction and termination).

 

 

Usually the Intended Parents.

 

 

This office has worked with many IVF physicians around the country, and will be happy to give you a referral to a physician in your area, if possible.

 

 

That is expected by most, if not all, surrogates who want you to feel as much a part of the pregnancy as possible and that you are comfortable with.

 

 

Usually insurance will cover pregnancy and delivery, with relevant deductions or copays.  You will know when matched with a surrogate what type of insurance she has and/or if we need to arrange for a policy for her, which is very likely.  There are many insurance plans that now exclude a surrogate pregnancy.  The good news is that there are also plans exclusively for a surrogacy arrangement that will insure coverage.

 

 

She is usually in the process with you for the long haul.  She will attempt a pregnancy as many times as you would like, so long as the attending physician recommends it.  It may be that the IVF simply does not work, however, and you might decide not to proceed.  Your legal agreement should state how many cycles the parties have all agreed to undergo in order to attempt a pregnancy and delivery.

 

 

That is specified in your surrogacy agreement and/or in your last will and testament.