How to Become a Surrogate in the State of Oklahoma
There are so many hopeful parents who, from a young age, dream about having a family of their own. Perhaps even a pet or two, a house, a stable income and a car. In essence, the American Dream, the picture that society impresses on us. But, sadly, this isn’t how reality works. Whether it’s through infertility, another medical condition or health issue, family planning and conceiving biologically doesn’t happen. This can be a painful pill to swallow.
If you are a woman who has a heart to help others, you know the struggles these intended parents face. You may even know some. Perhaps a loved one has seen the success you’ve had with your own family and asked you to help them out. Your heart aches to help, but you don’t know how. You’ve come to the right place! We are here to tell you how you can become a gestational carrier in the state of Oklahoma!
Physical and Health Requirements
To begin, each and every woman thinking about becoming a gestational carrier must meet certain age and health requirements. Please be sure to check with your state laws to see what this looks like, as age ranges can vary. In the state of Oklahoma, an ideal gestational carrier is young – between the ages 21 and 39 – and has had at least one successful, healthy pregnancy prior to the surrogacy. In addition, you must be parenting one child of your own.
Age and reproductive history play a role in the gestational carrier approval process because we want to make sure you’re able to become pregnant and carry the baby to term without complications.
It’s very important for you to be healthy and self-reliant. You cannot use drugs, smoke, nor drink alcohol during the surrogacy. If you are a smoker, you should stop smoking two to four months prior to beginning the surrogacy journey. Any sexually-transmitted diseases will disqualify you from consideration.
To ensure that you meet all of these requirements, your doctor will have you go through a physical evaluation. You are not eligible until your primary care provider provides you with a clean bill of health.
Have the Right Mindset
Your motivations and intentions for becoming a gestational carrier must be sincere. You must have a genuine passion for helping intended parents grow their family and have children of their own. If you’re looking to make a living, this isn’t the path for you.
You’ll have to pass a psychological evaluation before starting the surrogacy process. We want to make sure you’re here for the right reasons, but we also want to make sure you’re mentally and emotionally prepared to make the commitment. It’s important that, as a potential gestational carrier, you understand what you’re getting yourself into and that no one is forcing you into this decision.
Recruiting and Preparing
You must live in the United States to work with Adoption Choices of Oklahoma. After we receive your application, we will conduct an interview and a background check. We’ll also review your medical history. Once all of that is complete, we’ll start the matching process. This is the process in which we find the intended parents you’ll be working with. Based on your preferences and who you’d be comfortable with, we will select intended parents for you to meet and choose from.
Know that each and every intended parent who wants to work with us is carefully screened as well. Just like you, they must undergo a physical and mental evaluation to 1.) ensure they are choosing gestational surrogacy for the right reasons and 2.) they are healthy enough to go through the process. While preparing the intended parents for in vitro fertilization (IVF), we’ll prepare you for the transfer process. You’ll undergo a series of blood tests and hormone injections. Once the IVF is completed, we’ll transfer the embryos into your uterus. We’ll monitor you until we confirm that you are pregnant. After that, you’ll have to see an obstetrician regularly and keep in touch with the intended parents.
Do You Want to Become a Gestational Carrier?
At Adoption Choices of Oklahoma, we strive to make the gestational surrogacy process as easy as possible. We want the best possible outcome for the intended parents, so we search for the best possible gestational carriers. If you think you’re a good fit for the job, or if you have any additional questions about the application process, feel free to contact us.
Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Oklahoma is a surrogacy and adoption agency, licensed by the state of Oklahoma and leader in the community. We assist both intended parents and gestational carriers (surrogates). Our staff members are committed to providing an ethical, empowering, and personalized experience to all involved in the surrogacy process.
You may visit our website here or call toll-free: 800-898-6028 | OKC Local: 405-755-1999 | Tulsa Local: 918-447-7777
or Text: 405-310-8790
Meet the Author: Heather Valenzano is an up-and-coming content creator with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and a minor in English. After graduating from Iona College in 2019, she got an internship – and then a part-time job – writing blogs and managing social media accounts forHip New Jersey, a lifestyle website owned byLong Shot Productions. She has also produced website and social media content forCommonPage, an external collaboration platform.
When she isn’t working, Heather enjoys watching crime shows like Forensic Filesor posting book reviews toOnlineBookClub.orgunder the username “LavenderLiterature2.”