Callie Megel, Intake Coordinator at Bright Futures Families Surrogacy, here for Ask Question. And today's question is: What is the typical process during the time directly after baby is born?

Well, that's the end goal right? So that's celebrated. That's amazing that you've made it this far. The process is really quite simple. If delivery went great, hopefully you get to go home soon on the doctor's releases but you kind of just go home and relax and return to your daily life. It might involve some pumping and managing that but usually the case managers from the agency really take care of you and making sure that you are well supported. They do look into making sure all those bills are paid through, you know if it's coming from your OB or the hospital but that's pretty much the process.
Usually, you go home and intended parents go home with baby and hopefully it's happy, healthy everyone. But if there's any complications you reach out to your case manager directly and they will handle it all.

Surrogacy Commitment and Intentions

• The team confirmed that 99.9% of surrogates do not want to keep the baby, emphasizing strong commitment to the surrogacy process. 

• Amanda explained that surrogates are motivated by the goal to create joy and bring life, not personal gain. 

• Intended parents seek to welcome the child and then return to their normal lives, highlighting clear role expectations. 

• This insight helps reduce fears driven by negative media stories, reinforcing trust in the surrogacy process. 

• Understanding this high commitment rate supports marketing and counseling strategies aimed at intended parents and surrogates.

• Infertility Awareness and Support

  • The discussion highlighted that infertility affects a significant portion of the population, emphasizing the need for supportive services.

  • Infertility impacts roughly one in six people, representing millions of families worldwide, which frames the scale of the issue Danielle addressed 

  • • This prevalence shows infertility is common rather than rare, breaking stigma around the topic 

    • Danielle stressed infertility is not shameful, encouraging open conversations and support 

    • The message sets the foundation for outreach and service development in fertility support 

    • Recognizing wide impact helps the business prioritize empathetic communication and resource allocation

  • Surrogacy was presented as a key path to parenthood offered by the organization, inviting engagement from both prospective parents and surrogates 

  • • This dual-focus approach broadens market reach and potential service users 

    • Danielle’s invitation to connect signals active recruitment and community-building efforts 

    • Positioning surrogacy as a supported option aligns with business goals to expand client base 

    • This framing supports long-term growth through relationship development and trust-building in the fertility space

Hi everyone. Ashley Old, Case Manager with Bright Futures Families, here with your Ask a Surrogate Expert question. This week's question is how much does _surrogacy cost and why? Surrogacy usually costs between 175,000 to 200,000, covering surrogate pay, legal, medical insurance and agency support. Clinic fees are separate. It's a huge investment, but it ensures everyone is fully supported and cared for throughout the journey. Thanks for the question.

We are always happy to send people in directions of non profits and fertility related charities that might fit them really well that need volunteers. So if you ever want to reach out, ask us. We're happy to individualize any suggestions to you.

Hi Janelle Ibarra, Social Media person here at Bright Futures Families, here for Ask a Surrogacy Expert. Who can be in the delivery room during a surrogacy birth? So there are a couple pieces to this. The first piece being it's going to depend on who is decided during the matching process and legal contract piece. So sometimes the intended parents request that they can be in there. The second piece to consider is that different hospitals and birthing places have different policies and so the number of people who can be in the room may vary.

Delivering a surrogacy birth at home is generally not feasible, prioritizing safety due to potential complications.

If I’ve had an abortion, can I still be a surrogate?

• The main update confirms that having had an abortion does not disqualify someone from being a surrogate, provided it is not the most recent pregnancy.

• Amanda clarified the policy that surrogates can have had an abortion before but not as their latest pregnancy.

• Medical records must be collected to check for any complications such as significant blood loss.

• This ensures the surrogate’s health status is clear and safe for the process.

• The guidance supports expanding the surrogate candidate pool without compromising medical safety.

• The surrogate’s time off for medical appointments is managed through a combination of personal leave and compensation structured in the gestational carrier agreement.

• Surrogates must attend multiple appointments including medical screening, embryo transfer, monitoring, and OB visits throughout the pregnancy 

• Clear legal review of lost wage clauses is critical to avoid surprises during the surrogacy journey 

Hi everyone. Ashley Old, Case Manager with Bright Futures Families, here with your Ask a Surrogate expert question. This week's question As a surrogate, how am I paid and how often? Great question. As a surrogate, once pregnancy is confirmed, you're typically paid in monthly installments. You will also receive additional payments for specific milestones and expenses along the way. Thanks for the great question.

• The main point is that clients can work with Brightff.com families even if they already know their gestational carrier or intended parents.

• Jenn explained the Indy Match program allows independent matches while still providing full agency support from screening through birth.

• • The agency handles all medical screening for the carrier just like in the full-service program.

  • Support continues from the moment of matching until after the baby’s birth.

  • Monthly agency fees start only after medical records are approved by the clinic.

  • This approach reduces financial risk for intended parents if records are not approved.

Hi, it's Janelle with Ask A Surrogacy Expert. Our question is, while in the womb, how is your relationship different with your own children than your relationship with the surrogate baby? So really, I think there's that psychological piece of knowing, hey, this isn't my baby. So when you feel kicks and flutters and things like that, it's like, oh, it's so cute. So it really just does feel like babysitting. For me, it wasn't quite as sentimental. I think everybody's a little bit different with that. But it was cool to be able to text the IPs and let them know baby's kicking like crazy today. But it doesn't feel quite the same because you are aware already that you are just growing someone else's baby for them and that eventually you'll be able to do this awesome thing of giving baby back to them once he or she is born. And it's just, it's incredible. So not the same, but also amazing.

What surrogates should know about travel after delivery.

Key questions to ask during a surrogacy match meeting for a strong partnership.

A breakdown of commonly overlooked costs in the surrogacy journey.

An overview of postpartum counseling and emotional support for surrogates.

A thoughtful conversation about post-birth emotions, boundaries, and healing for surrogates.

A clear explanation of why injections are part of the IVF process for gestational surrogates.

Just like any pregnancy, restrictions are to be expected. What restrictions can surrogates expect that differ from their own pregnancies? Callie has the answer.

In this Ask a Surrogacy Expert video, Bright Futures Families team member Janelle shares whether potential gestational carriers can apply to become a surrogate through our surrogacy agency if they are currently breastfeeding their own children.