While it’s not legally required to work with a surrogacy agency during your fertility journey, most intended parents choose to do so. Read more to understand why.

Why Intended Parents Use Surrogacy Agencies vs. No Agency

If your family is planning to welcome a baby into the world with the help of a surrogate mother, congratulations! This is such an exciting time for everybody involved. Soon enough, you will be welcoming your child home and beginning your life together as a family.

While the surrogacy experience is special and exciting, it’s not exactly simple. In order to guarantee the best possible outcome, surrogacy requires many steps and legal processes. And these steps can sometimes be overwhelming!

This is why so many intended parents  prefer to work with a surrogate mother agency rather than navigate the process without professional help. However, this is a personal choice that differs from family to family. If you have not yet decided whether you want to work with a surrogacy agency, read on. In this article, we will discuss the differences between surrogacy without an agency and with one.

Intended Parents & Surrogacy Agencies: It’s a Match!

With a dedicated agency, there is support for every step of the intended parents’ surrogacy journey. And we don’t only mean emotional support—though that attention and care is certainly provided! A surrogate mother agency will also handle all the technical details of the process, like LMFT, lawyer and IVF referrals, along with coordinating travel, dealing with insurance and more. This doesn’t only remove uncertainty and stress, but it also streamlines the entire process, giving your family more time and space to prepare for your exciting new addition.

If you choose to work with a reputable surrogate mother agency like Extraordinary Conceptions, your family can expect:

  • Local Options. We operate across North America and have a dedicated European program. This allows for Intended Parents to navigate their surrogacy journey from home. Our surrogates are all located in the USA, Canada and Mexico and meet all the local surrogate requirements.
  • Flexible Budgeting. By working with a team of experts, you can create a surrogacy plan that suits your budget without missing any important services or steps.
  • Connections. As an Intended Parent, you will be expected to outsource a number of services, from your IVF doctor to reproductive attorneys for both you and your surrogate. When you work with an agency, you don’t need to research and vet these services—we can refer you to ones we know and trust.
  • Investment Security. Unfortunately, not every surrogacy cycle is immediately successful. While that can lead to broken hearts with a private agreement, that isn’t the case with an agency—at least not Extraordinary Conceptions. We see this as an investment from you, not a one-off trial. That’s why we offer Intended Parents two special programs to ensure success: SAFE and Stress-Free. The former stands for Single Agency Fee Experience, which promises that in the case of an unsuccessful cycle, you can try the process again with a new surrogate without paying another dime.* Our Stress-Free program is automatic for all Intended Parents and guarantees that you won’t pay your full agency retainer until after your surrogate passes her screenings.

*Some restrictions apply depending on your family’s individual circumstances

Is Surrogacy Without an Agency Possible?

Yes, surrogacy without an agency is possible. This is referred to as private or independent surrogacy.

Intended Parents who choose this option because it is less expensive. After all, there are no agency fees with a private agreement. However, families who choose to save money on a private surrogacy agreement will not be saving themselves time. Instead, Intended Parents  must carry out every step of the process, from advertising for a qualified candidate, vetting applicants and matching with a surrogate to navigating the medical steps, making sure that proper medical and life insurance is in place and also making sure the legal end of things are in accordance with the laws of the state and country the surrogacy is happening in – these are just a few of the steps that are taken in a successful surrogacy journey. This requires hours, if not weeks and months, of research and high-pressure decision-making. Of course, navigating these decisions and research without support is possible, and many families do this. However, for most, the stakes feel too high to forgo professional support, especially those navigating the process for the first time.

Choosing the Right Surrogate Mother Agency

At Extraordinary Conceptions, we’ve been in your shoes. We opened our doors in 2005 after our founders, Mario and Stephanie Caballero, welcomed twins into their family with the help of a surrogate mother. Since then, it has been their mission to provide the best possible support to families experiencing what they did, as well as the amazing surrogates and egg donors who make their dreams a reality. That’s why we always provide the best resources and support to our Intended Parents; we know how important support is during this time! Call (760) 438-2265 today to learn more about the surrogacy U.S. process with Extraordinary Conceptions!