What to Expect When You're Expecting: Surrogacy Edition

First trimester:

After your scheduled transfer you will continue the medications, and get blood work done.

This blood work is done to confirm your pregnancy. Once you have waited about 4-6 weeks, you will get to see the little surrogacy baby(s) on the ultrasound screen and hear the heartbeat. You will get 2-3 more ultrasounds and blood work done, this is an especially important part of the pregnancy. They do this so they can check on baby(s) to make sure they are growing right and your HCG levels keep going up. They will also be checking hormone levels to ensure the medications are working properly. Usually around 10 weeks of pregnancy, the IVF clinic will graduate you over to your OBGYN office for the rest of the pregnancy... This means NO MORE INJECTIONS!!

Second trimester:

This is where your medications will stop, and your routine check-ups become monthly instead of weekly. You get to see the surrogate baby(s) again at 13 weeks. In most cases, this will be the last time to see the baby(s) on screen until they do the routine anatomy scan. You will still get to hear the baby(s) heartbeat at your appointments and the OBGYN will keep track of their growth. The OBGYN will also keep track of your health as well. There may be some additional genetic tests run to ensure the baby is nice and healthy. Usually the embryos go through genetic testing before they are used, but they are not 100% guaranteed. This is important for the Intended Parents to be fully aware of any medical conditions their child(ren) may have. Third trimester:

These appointments will start becoming bi-weekly to weekly to help watch you and the baby(s) and to make sure you both stay healthy. These appointments track your blood pressure and weight gain, this also helps prepare you for labor by seeing where the baby is to help with labor and delivery. Postpartum:

Congratulations, you now have completed your surrogacy journey! You will have a check up at 1 week postpartum and at 6 weeks postpartum these checkups are crucial to check on your physical and emotional wellbeing. Some surrogates choose to pump for the baby for a period of time. While it is not a requirement, it is oftentimes very appreciated by the family.

This is something that you will all discuss and agree upon prior to delivery.

As you can see, most of this process is very similar to your own pregnancy! The main difference is that you are carrying a child for someone else and you will need to be extra cautious of the decisions you make while pregnant. There will be some emotional factors that may come into play since it is not your own child and it is always ok to reach out for some additional support if needed to work through those feelings.

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