How does pumping breast milk work after a surrogate birth?

Learn the answer to this week's user-submitted question about surrogacy in this week's installment of Ask a Surrogacy Expert! Have a question about surrogacy that you'd like answered? Submit it at brightfuturesfamilies.com/ask

Hey, everyone, it's Amanda Kinnard-Fuchsgruber, Director of Bright Futures Families Surrogacy, with this week's Ask Question. And today's question is: How does pumping breast milk work after the birth in regards to where does the equipment come from, who pays for all the supplies, and does a surrogate receive compensation for her milk? Time and effort?

So, yes, all of the above, I guess, in a sense. But typically your contract will outline the compensation amount, whether it be per day or week for pumping, and that is a fee that's given to your surrogate. Sometimes you can get the health insurance to cover part of the breast pump, although I will say it depends on the insurance, how complicated it is and what kind of pump your surrogate is wanting or needing. Also, if there is any portion of that that the insurance doesn't cover, that means it is the intended parent's responsibility. Intended parents are also responsible for shipping supplies, pumping supplies, anything like that that's needed. Also, keep in mind, pumping is not like a faucet. It can't just be turned off once you don't want any more breast milk. So the surrogate does need time to wean. So make sure that you're being open and honest about how much milk you want, when you want to stop her pumping, and when you want to stop getting milk so that she has time to wean, which can typically take two to four weeks. But yes, the surrogate gets compensation and. And the intended parents are responsible for paying for all the parts and pieces, like pumping bags, shipping boxes, freezer bags, all of that fun stuff that's needed when you're pumping breast milk. Hope that helps.