5 Lessons learned from becoming a Surrogate

Giving the gift of parenthood is a life-changing experience not only for the intended parent(s), but for you and your family, too. Here are some life lessons you will learn from becoming a Surrogate!

1 – An Appreciation for Health.

You will learn you have strength you didn’t know existed. Surrogacy requires higher standards of health – this should be a positive and rewarding experience for you, too. When reviewing each surrogate application, intended parents will get matched with compassionate, healthy, and responsible women who will carry successful pregnancies. You will find yourself in a process that is an emotional one, having a healthy mind and body to cope with those emotions is important. There will be ups & downs and changes to your physical body during pregnancy and after the baby is born. During the process you will find yourself going to bed earlier, eating healthier meals and more. Taking care of yourself can help ensure that you feel your best when it’s time for the embryo transfer and throughout the entire journey. Find more tips for a healthy pregnancy here!

2 – Compassion and Understanding.

Most surrogacy all have one thing in common: They know the joy that comes with raising children, and they feel compassion for others who have encountered obstacles along the path to parenthood. They want to help, and they are willing to provide a safe, healthy place for children to grow until they can come into the world and join their intended parents.

3 – Patience is a ‘Value.’

Patience is not only beneficial to our health and happiness. But It also helps us in cultivating enduring relationships. Enduring new relationships and building lasting ones are a virtue in Surrogacy. You will learn from the process that slow and steady wins the race. Yes, it is natural for wanting things to move along – however in Surrogacy patience is as important as the process itself. From sign-up to completion, the entire surrogacy journey should take from 12 to 13 months. The process of matching a surrogate with intended parents is an important, and well-researched decision. Then, Paperwork, legal work and medical exams typically take around 3 months. Then, the pregnancy itself lasts around 9 months. Since every case is different, it is difficult to make an exact estimate, but this is a reasonable range.

4 – The importance of asking for help.

One of the most important things we can do for ourselves is asking for help when we need it. In Surrogacy (and in life) this can be a humble lesson. Surrogacy takes a strong person, however, we all need a helping hand. Surrogate mothers gain access to a caring network of support and medical guidance. Each surrogate mother is assigned to a case manager who is there to assist them and answer any questions they may have throughout the process. Many surrogate mothers also form lifelong friendships with the intended parents whom they are matched with. Some even become repeat surrogates for the same family, when the intended parents decide they are ready for another child.

5 – Learn About YOU.

Learning about your own self may be the most important lesson of all. Finding out what keeps your body & mind healthy, how you maintain patience, what rewarding relationships mean to you but also the experience of helping others is personally fulfilling. Many surrogate mothers choose to participate in the process more than once. In some cases, in addition to offering a life-changing gift to intended parents, these women simply enjoy being pregnant. They like the physical changes that come with pregnancy, and they are thrilled by the knowledge that they are bringing new life into the world. For some of these women, having additional children of their own may not be the right choice, so they get to enjoy the pregnancy with the knowledge that other loving parents are waiting to welcome the new baby (or babies) into their lives.