Gestational Carriers—Surrogates

With experienced gestational carriers as part of the FCCI team, our professionals know the intense satisfaction and joy felt by a gestational carrier after a successful surrogacy!  We also know the immeasurable joy Intended Parents feel holding their child for the very first time.

Gestational Carrier (Surrogate) Screening & Assessment

  • Review of all materials submitted in the surrogate application and referral information, if supplied by the referral source
  • If requested by the referral source, an in-home visitation may occur
  • Mental Status Exam and clinical psychosocial interview with potential carrier and her spouse and/or partner, if in a committed relationship, exploring:
    • Thorough review of the potential carrier’s life history to the present
    • Motivation to be a gestational carrier
    • Assessment of the understanding of the process and its ramifications including her/their expectations and implications for her/their family
    • Emotional readiness and availability
    • Family history, interests, talents, relationships
    • Goals for the future
  • Psychological testing completed by the carrier candidate.
  • After a gestational carrier candidate (and her partner, if relevant) signs the appropriate consent forms, the referring Agency and/or Physician receive a summary of the session and any recommendations.

Ongoing Support and Counseling

Caring for the emotional needs for all involved in this process is not a single, isolated, one-time occurrence. FCCI is there for you from the initial meeting, assessment, consultation and pre-pregnancy medical treatments through conception, pregnancy, childbirth and post partum.

The process includes:

  • Monthly sessions are arranged with gestational carriers to ensure the babies they are carrying are growing in the most stress-free environment as possible. 
  • Intended Parents receive an update regarding their carrier (usually email) on a monthly basis.
  • FCCI and your Agency Case Manager communicate frequently regarding any matters pertaining to the match.
  • These sessions can begin at the signing of the legal contracts and continue through 2 months postpartum to ensure positive and rewarding experiences for both the surrogate and intended parents.
  • Ongoing and time-limited support groups are also offered

Support for Intended Parents and Gestational Carriers

Throughout the journey, there can be many challenges.  Those involved in the surrogacy process are asked to quickly share personal lives and become emotionally intimate with total strangers. Even with the “gut feeling” that this is the perfect match after the initial contact and screening occurs, expectations, changes in family constellations or unexpected delays or pauses in treatment can lead to problems in the best-laid plans and relationships.

FCCI’s multifaceted monitoring and support program for those involved with a surrogacy pregnancy addresses the emotional complexity of these relationships.   It enables all participants to:

  • Feel a sense of partnership with each other knowing they are being understood, accepted and respected regarding the emotional impact of their experiences
  • Feel his or her unique needs are being attended to with a respect for each individual’s autonomy
  • Collaborate in decision-making regarding treatment, birth plan, privacy issues and the health of the surrogate and the child by exploring any emotional reactions regarding options
  • Cope productively with any disappointments, waiting periods, complications or uncertainty
  • Deal with ambiguous feelings, even with a confirmed pregnancy 
    • For the intended parents these might occur due to multiple cycles of failed treatment, or not feeling attachment to their child since they are not pregnant, and/or anxiety about characteristics of the unborn child (if donors are being used)
    • For the surrogate these might occur with concerns about the impact this pregnancy will have on her privacy, parenting her own children or a smooth post delivery transition.