Surrogacy Process in Florida
Learn how the Florida surrogacy process works and how Creative Love guides and supports gestational surrogates through every step, from application to delivery
How the Gestational Surrogacy Process Works
Becoming a gestational surrogate involves several important steps to make sure you are medically, emotionally, and legally prepared for the journey ahead. At Creative Love, we guide you through each stage so you always know what comes next.
The process begins with your application and initial screening. Once you are approved to move forward, you’ll complete our prescreening process and have the opportunity to meet intended parents who may be a good match for you. After you choose to move forward together, you’ll complete medical screening with the intended parents’ fertility clinic and work with a reproductive attorney to finalize your surrogacy agreement.
Once medical, legal clearance and your trust account is established the cycling fertility clinic will issue a cycle plan and you’ll begin medications to prepare your body for embryo transfer. In gestational surrogacy, the embryo is created using the egg and sperm of the intended parents and/or donors. Because your own eggs are not used, you have no genetic relationship to the baby you carry.
After embryo transfer, the fertility clinic will monitor you closely through the early stages of pregnancy. Once you are released to your own OB/GYN, you’ll continue with regular prenatal care through pregnancy and delivery.
Throughout the entire surrogacy process, Creative Love stays involved to help coordinate your journey, answer your questions, and support you and your intended parents from application through delivery and beyond
Surrogate Application
Your surrogacy journey begins with completing our online surrogate application. The application helps us learn more about you, your health history, previous pregnancies and deliveries, lifestyle, family, and what you are looking for in a surrogacy journey.
Once we receive your application, our team will review it to make sure you meet Creative Love’s initial surrogate requirements. These requirements are designed to protect your health and help determine whether surrogacy may be a safe option for you.
If you meet the initial qualifications, a member of our team will contact you to schedule a personal interview. This gives us a chance to get to know you, answer your questions, explain what to expect, and learn more about the type of intended parents and surrogacy experience you are hoping for.
Surrogate Prescreening & Home Visit
After your interview, we’ll begin the next stage of our prescreening process. This includes a home visit or virtual home visit, psychological evaluation, medical prescreening, and background checks. Our team will begin reviewing your pregnancy and delivery records, confirm that your Pap smear is current, coordinate initial medical testing, and complete federal, state, and residential history background checks.
During the home visit, we’ll meet with you and learn more about your family, support system, and living environment. This is also another opportunity for you and your partner, if applicable, to ask questions and get to know our team. You’ll also complete a psychological evaluation with a licensed psychologist experienced in third-party reproduction. If you have a spouse or partner, they will participate in the process as well. Completing these steps before matching helps us identify potential concerns early and gives intended parents and their fertility clinic a more complete picture when considering you as a potential gestational surrogate.
Creating Your Surrogate Profile & Matching
Once you complete our prescreening process, we’ll work with you to create your surrogate profile. Your profile helps intended parents get to know you, your family, your personality, and what is important to you in a surrogacy journey.
Matching is a mutual decision. We’ll share information about intended parents we believe may be a good fit, but you decide who you are interested in meeting. We consider preferences, communication styles, personalities, expectations for the journey, and the type of relationship both you and the intended parents hope to have.
When there is mutual interest, Creative Love will arrange a match meeting so you can get to know one another, ask questions, and decide how you feel about moving forward together. There is no pressure to accept a match. We want both you and the intended parents to feel comfortable and excited about beginning the journey together.
Final Medical Screening & Clearance
Once you and your intended parents agree to move forward together, the next step is final medical screening with their fertility clinic. The fertility clinic will review your pregnancy and delivery history, medical records, and previous screening results. You’ll also complete the clinic’s required testing and meet with the reproductive endocrinologist to make sure you are medically ready to proceed with an embryo transfer. Testing may include bloodwork, infectious disease screening, and an evaluation of your uterus and uterine lining. Each fertility clinic has its own medical screening requirements, so some testing may vary. Once the fertility clinic gives final medical clearance, you can move forward to the legal phase of your surrogacy journey.
Phase Two
Psychological Screening, Background Check, Medical Pre-Screening
Background Check
You and your spouse and/or partner will complete a background check searched by your name and SSN. This is conducted on both a federal and state criminal records, as well as residential history.
Psychological Screening
You will undergo psychological screening with a PhD Psychologist whose focus is on third party reproduction. The psychologist will administer the MMPI-2 or PIA, personality assessment questionnaire. Your spouse and/or partner will be required to attend this appointment. This appointment is for the purpose to ensure that you are of sound mind and emotionally stable to undergo the surrogacy process. Also, that you have the support of your spouse and/or partner. During this appointment the psychologist is also there to provide support to you and discuss any concerns or fears that you may have.
Medical Pre-Screening
We will request your past pregnancy records going back seven years and any current medical records. We require that you have a current pap and/or physical exam completed in the last twelve months. If you are due for your annual exam we will make arrangements for you to complete. You will need to provide a clearance letter from your current OB/GYN stating that you are medical cleared to be a surrogate.
Phase Three
Medical Screening
Medical Screening: Once your match is official you will then be seen at the intended parent(s) fertility clinic by their reproductive endocrinologist. This appointment is to conclude that the intended parent(s) fertility doctor deems you suitable to be a gestational surrogate. You will be required to complete an in-depth exam from the fertility doctor. Complete infectious disease testing, meet with the clinical nurse coordinator to go over the steps that are medically required of you and the medications.
Every clinic can possibly have different protocols. Your spouse and/or partner will be required to complete the FDA infectious disease panel.
- Meet with a Reproductive Endocrinologist
- Physical examination
- Gynecological Exam – Pap smear (this should be completed as part of the prescreening)
- HIV Antibody
- Hepatitis A, B and C Surface Antigen
- Hysteroscopy – a small camera is placed in the uterus to look at the uterine cavity
- RPR for Syphilis
- Blood count and chemistry
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) - Blood type and RH
- Drug toxicology
- Group B Strep
all screening costs are covered by the intended parents.
Phase Four
Gestational Surrogate IVF Cycle
You’ll have the full support of your nurse at your cycling clinic. Your nurse will review each step of the cycle plan with you. Your nurse will explain each medication that will be used. All necessary medications that you will be required to use in order to prepare your lining to accept the embryo for implantation and support a pregnancy. You’ll have all of the support from us throughout the process. From the start of the medication protocol to the embryo transfer takes five to six weeks. Some clinics use a more natural approach using less medication, but sometimes requiring more monitoring appointments leading up to the embryo transfer. Every clinic is different.
- You will start with Lupron to down regulate you. You might take birth control as well.
- You will then start taking estrogen in either a patch form or oral pill. Estrogen grows your endometrial lining to thicken to support implantation of the embryo.
- You will then start using progesterone in either a suppository form or injection. This is what supports the pregnancy until the placenta begins to release this hormone naturally.
- You will have an embryo transfer where a small catheter is inserted into your vagina and through your uterus. The embryos will be placed in the uterus with the hopes of implantation.
- You will have a beta test (pregnancy test) 10 days later to confirm a pregnancy.
- You will have blood draws and ultrasound throughout the first 8-10 weeks to monitor the pregnancy before being released to the Ob/Gyn.
- You will have several lining checks before the embryo transfer to confirm that your uterine lining is thick enough to accept the embryo for implantation.
Phase Five
Gestational Surrogate Pregnancy And Delivery
With a surrogate pregnancy is does differ somewhat then your natural pregnancy. With a surrogate pregnancy you went through IVF so you will be required to continue on medication to help support the pregnancy that are naturally produced by the body in a natural pregnancy for the first trimester.
Every clinic can possibly have different protocols. Your spouse and/or partner will be required to complete the FDA infectious disease panel.
Early Pregnancy
Monitoring
You will be monitored more closely throughout the first 8-10 weeks at the fertility clinic then from a natural pregnancy.
Communication With
Intended Parents
The intended parents are a huge part of this journey and might want to attend appointments with you. On going open communication about ever appointment is crucial to the intended parents should they not be able to attend.
Birth Planning
& Delivery
The delivery is a very special time for all involved. Before this time our surrogate coordinator, mental health counselor, intended parents and surrogate will meet to come up with a birth plan that everyone is comfortable with.
Always available to guide you
We’re Here for You
Throughout your surrogate journey with Creative Love we will provide you with support with either in person or through Skype to assure that all of your questions are answered and that you have the full support that you need.
If you are ready to join our agency family we welcome you to complete a surrogate application with us today! If you are still exploring the possibility of becoming a surrogate, or would like to better understand the different steps of the Florida surrogacy process, we welcome you to contact us. We will be happy to assist you throughout your journey.
Ready to Begin Your Surrogacy Journey?
Take the first step toward becoming a gestational surrogate with full support, guidance, and care from our experienced team.
