Carrying a child for someone else one is one of the most profound gifts a woman can give. If you enjoy being pregnant and have easy pregnancies, being a surrogate for a family that could not otherwise have a baby can be a deeply rewarding experience.
Begin Your Online Application
The first step toward becoming a gestational surrogate is completing our online application. You will begin with a qualification questionnaire designed to determine whether you meet the initial requirements for surrogacy. The questionnaire covers areas such as age, residency and citizenship status, lifestyle, pregnancy history, medical history, and employment.
If you meet the preliminary qualifications, we will ask you to provide additional information about your health, family, background, support system, and motivation for becoming a surrogate. Please answer each question fully and honestly so that we can properly support you and determine whether surrogacy may be a safe and appropriate path for you.
Personal Interview
After reviewing your application, a member of the Dakota Surrogacy team will meet with you by video conference, telephone, or, when practical, in person. This conversation allows us to get to know you personally, better understand why you feel called to become a surrogate, and discuss your expectations for the journey.
You will also have the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the medical, emotional, legal, financial, and practical responsibilities involved. We want you to feel informed, supported, and confident before deciding whether to continue.
Preliminary Screening
Our preliminary screening process includes criminal background checks and a comprehensive review of your prior pregnancy and delivery records, as well as other relevant medical records. We will also evaluate your home environment, support system, insurance coverage, and overall readiness for the journey.
Collecting medical records can take time. With your authorization, our team will help request the necessary records from your obstetricians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers. Additional documentation may be requested based on your individual history or the requirements of a fertility clinic.
Psychological Evaluation and Consultation
After a potential match has been identified, you will complete a psychological evaluation with a licensed mental health professional experienced in assisted reproduction. Your spouse or partner may also be asked to participate. The evaluation is intended to confirm that you understand the emotional responsibilities of surrogacy, have appropriate support, and are prepared for the relationships and experiences that may arise throughout the journey.
The intended parents will also complete a psychological consultation. A joint meeting between you and the intended parents may be required to discuss communication, boundaries, expectations, decision-making, and plans for maintaining a healthy relationship throughout the journey.
Creating Your Surrogate Profile
Once the preliminary application and screening requirements have been completed, we will work with you to create a personal profile to introduce you to prospective intended parents. Your profile may include information about your family, interests, personality, values, pregnancy experiences, reasons for becoming a surrogate, and the type of relationship you hope to have with the intended parents.
Your profile will be shared thoughtfully and only with intended parents whom we believe may be compatible with you.
Mutual Matching
We believe a strong surrogacy journey begins with a thoughtful, mutual match grounded in trust, respect, open communication, and shared expectations. Potential matches are considered based on factors such as personalities, values, communication preferences, location, compensation expectations, views regarding the pregnancy, and the type of relationship each party hopes to build.
If you and the intended parents are interested in one another, we will arrange a match meeting so that everyone can become better acquainted, ask important questions, and openly discuss expectations. A match will move forward only when both you and the intended parents independently feel comfortable and confident proceeding together. You are never required to accept a match.
Medical Records Review and Screening
The intended parents’ fertility clinic will review your pregnancy and medical records to determine whether you may be an appropriate candidate under its medical guidelines. If the clinic grants preliminary approval, you will complete an in-person medical screening.
Testing varies by clinic but may include a physical examination, bloodwork, infectious-disease testing, drug and nicotine screening, a Pap test if needed, and an evaluation of your uterus through ultrasound, saline sonogram, hysteroscopy, or other testing. Your spouse or partner may also be required to complete infectious-disease testing.
The fertility physician—not the agency—will determine whether you are medically approved and will later establish the medication and embryo-transfer protocol that is appropriate for you.
Independent Legal Representation and Gestational Carrier Agreement
After psychological and medical clearance, the legal-contract process will begin. The intended parents and gestational surrogate must be represented by separate, qualified reproductive-law attorneys so that each party receives independent legal advice and advocacy.
The gestational carrier agreement will address compensation, reimbursements, medical care, insurance, communication, pregnancy-related expectations, decision-making, parentage, confidentiality, delivery, and the rights and responsibilities of everyone involved. Your attorney will review the agreement with you, answer your questions, and negotiate any requested changes. Legal clearance must be issued before fertility medications begin or an embryo transfer occurs.
Cycle Preparation
After legal clearance has been confirmed and the required escrow funds and insurance arrangements are in place, the fertility clinic will prepare your individualized cycle calendar. This calendar will explain when to begin each medication, the prescribed dosage, required monitoring appointments, and the anticipated embryo-transfer date.
You will also receive instructions regarding medications, vitamins, travel, exercise, sexual activity, and any temporary lifestyle restrictions. It is important to follow the clinic’s directions carefully and promptly communicate any questions, symptoms, missed doses, or scheduling concerns.
Medications and Monitoring
Depending on the fertility clinic’s protocol, you may take medications that help synchronize your cycle and prepare the uterine lining for embryo implantation. These may include estrogen, progesterone, birth-control medication, or other medications administered by pill, patch, suppository, or injection. Some transfer cycles use fewer medications or follow a natural-cycle protocol.
Bloodwork and ultrasound monitoring will be completed as directed by the fertility clinic. These appointments allow the medical team to evaluate your hormone levels and uterine lining and make any necessary adjustments before the transfer.
Embryo Transfer
The embryo transfer is typically a brief, minimally invasive procedure performed at the fertility clinic. Using ultrasound guidance, the physician places the embryo into the uterus through a thin catheter. Sedation is generally not required, although clinic protocols vary.
Afterward, you will follow the fertility clinic’s instructions regarding medications, activity, travel, and rest. Some clinics recommend a short period of reduced activity, while others allow a return to normal activities relatively quickly. Dakota Surrogacy will help coordinate the transfer arrangements and provide support throughout this meaningful milestone.
Pregnancy Confirmation and Fertility-Clinic Monitoring
Approximately nine to fourteen days after the transfer, you will complete a blood test to measure pregnancy hormone levels. If the result is positive, additional bloodwork will generally be ordered to monitor the early pregnancy. An ultrasound is usually scheduled several weeks later to confirm the location and development of the pregnancy and, when timing permits, cardiac activity.
You will continue taking prescribed medications and remain under the fertility clinic’s care until the clinic determines that you are ready to transition to your obstetric provider. Because each journey is different, pregnancy cannot be guaranteed, and more than one embryo-transfer attempt may be necessary.
Pregnancy, Delivery, and Postpartum Support
Once care has been transferred to your obstetric provider, you will generally attend routine prenatal appointments along with any additional monitoring recommended for your individual pregnancy. Dakota Surrogacy will remain actively involved by coordinating communication, assisting with reimbursements and practical needs, helping everyone prepare for delivery, and supporting you and the intended parents throughout the pregnancy.
As the birth approaches, we will work collaboratively with you, the intended parents, your attorneys, and the hospital to develop a respectful birth plan that addresses everyone’s roles, preferences, and expectations. Our support continues through delivery and the postpartum period.
A Journey Guided by Faith, Compassion, and Service
Dakota Surrogacy is a faith-based agency, and our faith shapes how we think, serve, and operate. We believe every person involved in a surrogacy journey should be treated with dignity, compassion, honesty, and respect. We view the opportunity to help build a family as both a blessing and a profound responsibility, and we strive to approach every decision with integrity, humility, prayerful consideration, and genuine care.
Becoming a gestational surrogate requires commitment and may bring meaningful changes to your daily life, but it can also be an extraordinarily powerful and rewarding experience. By choosing to carry a child for another family, you are offering a deeply generous gift of service and hope.
If you feel called to help someone experience the blessing of parenthood, we invite you to apply. Dakota Surrogacy would be honored to walk beside you and support you throughout every step of the journey.