Surrogate Mothers Online Q & A: Could you please tell us how the technical process works? Could you tell whether it hurts etc. not psychological. Also.... How much time is involved? - <A HREF="mailto:bananabang@yahoo.com">Kylie Weymouth & Tim Roberts</A> in Cahuna, Australia

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Surrogate Mothers Online Q & A

Q & A: Medical Issues - Gestational Surrogacy

Topics may include the risks involved in surrogacy, side effects from meds, questions about protocol, etc.

21. Could you please tell us how the technical process works? Could you tell whether it hurts etc. not psychological. Also.... How much time is involved? - Kylie Weymouth & Tim Roberts in Cahuna, Australia - Top

Every situation is different. If you're talking about the surrogacy process, first you need to find the "right" surrogate/intended parents for you. This can take from a month or two to well over a year depending on what your requirements are and what you are looking for.

The technical process for gestational surrogacy is as follows:

1. Everyone is tested medically to insure their suitability for surrogacy. This includes testing for sexually transmitted diseases for all parties, usually a hysteroscopy/HSG, trial transfer, trial cycle for the surrogate, etc. The testing phase is usually a 1-2 month process.

2. Once testing is done, and contracts are signed, the surrogate and the egg donor or IM start on injectible drugs to create many eggs and match their cycles so that the surrogate's uterus is ready to receive the emryos at the time the eggs are ready to be retrieved.

3. Retrieval. It's not really painful since it's done under anesthesia. Once I had 29 eggs retrieved in the morning and went out to dinner with a bunch of friends that night. Just took a couple of aspirin and was fine. The retrieval is done with an ultrasound guided needle thru the vaginal wall. The needle pierces the follicles on the ovaries which contain the eggs and aspirates the eggs from the follicles. They are then examined under a microscope for viability and fertilized with the intended father's sperm (or donor sperm if the IF is unable to produce)

4. The resulting embryos are incubated for several days (2 to 5 depending on your doctor's protocol. They are then transferred thru a catheter placed thru the cervix of the surrogate which is no worse than a pap smear.

5. The waiting begins. 2 weeks after transfer, a pregnancy test is done to see if it worked.

For traditional surrogacy, inseminations are done either at home or in a doctors office. They are not painful, and no shots are required as in gestational surrogacy. It would be the same as any other pregnancies.

Linda P - Updated: January 17, 2000
Topics may include the risks involved in surrogacy, side effects from meds, questions about protocol, etc.

21. Could you please tell us how the technical process works? Could you tell whether it hurts etc. not psychological. Also.... How much time is involved? - Kylie Weymouth & Tim Roberts in Cahuna, Australia - Top: Every situation is different. If you're talking about the surrogacy process, first you need to find the "right" surrogate/intended parents for you. This can take from a month or two to well over a year depending on what your requirements are and what you are looking for.

The technical process for gestational surrogacy is as follows:

1. Everyone is tested medically to insure their suitability for surrogacy. This includes testing for sexually transmitted diseases for all parties, usually a hysteroscopy/HSG, trial transfer, trial cycle for the surrogate, etc. The testing phase is usually a 1-2 month process.

2. Once testing is done, and contracts are signed, the surrogate and the egg donor or IM start on injectible drugs to create many eggs and match their cycles so that the surrogate's uterus is ready to receive the emryos at the time the eggs are ready to be retrieved.

3. Retrieval. It's not really painful since it's done under anesthesia. Once I had 29 eggs retrieved in the morning and went out to dinner with a bunch of friends that night. Just took a couple of aspirin and was fine. The retrieval is done with an ultrasound guided needle thru the vaginal wall. The needle pierces the follicles on the ovaries which contain the eggs and aspirates the eggs from the follicles. They are then examined under a microscope for viability and fertilized with the intended father's sperm (or donor sperm if the IF is unable to produce)

4. The resulting embryos are incubated for several days (2 to 5 depending on your doctor's protocol. They are then transferred thru a catheter placed thru the cervix of the surrogate which is no worse than a pap smear.

5. The waiting begins. 2 weeks after transfer, a pregnancy test is done to see if it worked.

For traditional surrogacy, inseminations are done either at home or in a doctors office. They are not painful, and no shots are required as in gestational surrogacy. It would be the same as any other pregnancies.

Linda P - Updated: January 17, 2000

Unless stated otherwise, all responses in the SMO Q&A are courtesy of one or more of the following hosts:

Sherry - Experienced gestational surrogate currently working on her 2nd surrogacy arrangement

Linda - New Mommy to twins born via gestational surrogacy and egg donation

Jennifer S. - Experienced AI surrogate

Lynn - New Mommy to a daughter born via traditional surrogacy

Tracie - 5 time egg donor (triplets, 2 sets of twins and 2 singletons) and 3 time surrogate (2-AI, 1-IVF).

Lisa - Experienced egg donor and previous gestational surrogate currently working on her 2nd surrogacy arrangement (Lisa was our former ED host, prior to July 1999.)
Disclaimer: Responses from SMO Q&A Hosts do not necessarily represent the opinions and ideas of SMO. Neither the Q&A hosts nor SMO guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the responses given here. As such, neither SMO nor the Q&A hosts are responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. Neither SMO nor the Q&A hosts shall be liable or responsible to any person or entity for any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly by the information or ideas contained, suggested, or referenced in these responses.

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