Q: Are there age limits to being a gestational surrogate?

A: Ideally, gestational surrogates are between 21 and 42 years of age. Surrogate mother candidates who are over 39 will be required to complete more extensive medical screening than younger candidates.

Q: I had my tubes tied. Can I still serve as a gestational surrogate?

A: Absolutely. A pregnancy in a gestational surrogate is accomplished through in vitro fertilization (IVF). In IVF the embryos are placed directly into the surrogate’s uterus so that it is not necessary to use the surrogate’s fallopian tubes.

Q: What happens if one or both of the intended parents die before the baby is born?

A: If one intended parent dies, the other will take sole custody of the baby and fulfill the contract as if both were still living.

If both intended parents die before the birth of the child, the surrogate mother will relinquish the child at birth to the person named in the wills of the intended parents to serve as guardian of the child. Intended parents must provide Surrogacy Solutions with the full address and other contact information for guardianship. Intended parents are required to carry life insurance naming the unborn child or a trust for the exclusive benefit of the unborn child as the beneficiary. If intended parents have contributed sperm and/or eggs, samples of DNA are to be preserved in the event of the death of one or both of them prior to the birth of the baby. The death of the intended parents prior to the birth of the child will not result in you being obligated or permitted to raise the child.

Q: Will I meet the intended parents?

A: Yes, unless you and the intended parents reach an agreement to the contrary before the contract negotiations. Usually, you meet after the contract negotiations and before the medical treatment begins. The surrogate mother is allowed to escape from the contract without any obligation to the intended parents if she finds that she has no desire to assist the intended parents after meeting them in person.

Q: Is there anything required of my husband (partner)?

A: Your husband or partner must agree to participate in medical screening (HIV, Hepatitis B and C, CMV, and any other sexually transmitted diseases or disorders). The same request must be made of any person with whom you have had sexual contact during the six months prior to applying as a surrogate mother.

For married surrogates, husbands must become parties to the contract, agree to receive no tattoo or body piercing during the contract, and must cooperate with all provisions of the contract. The intended parents ordinarily ask to meet the surrogate’s husband, fiancé or partner.

Q: What if I have already found the intended parents I want to help. Can Surrogacy Solutions provide us with a contract?

A: Absolutely. We are happy to assist those surrogate and intended parents with their contract needs, contract administration, and finalizing the parent and child relationship after delivery. Our agency fees for helping in this way are reduced accordingly. If you are a surrogate mother who has already located a couple you want to help, call us toll free (1-800-376-6992). We will be glad to answer your questions and further describe how we can help you and your couple.

Q: Will my and my husband's names be on the birth certificate?

A: For a surrogacy child delivered in Arkansas, the law provides that the child is the child of the intended parents. The fact of the surrogacy is recognized by a court order so that the birth certificate can be issued in the name of the intended parents. We do not cause a birth certificate to be issued prior to that order being signed by the judge. For a child born outside of the State of Arkansas, the laws of that state will apply. In all but one state, that means that the surrogate and her husband would be named as the parents on the birth certificate. However, in those situations, we do not order the birth certificate if at all possible, until the intended parents are legally recognized as the parents of the child and can have their own names listed on the birth certificate.