Learn how surrogates get pregnant to help other people become parents

You’re not alone if you’re wondering how surrogates get pregnant. When intended parents first start to explore surrogacy, they often want to know more about the process that makes a surrogate pregnancy possible. It turns out that this family-building journey involves in vitro fertilization (IVF). The process can also involve donor sperm or donor eggs.

The Center for Surrogate Parenting has a 40-year history of creating families using gestational surrogacy. Our experienced team is here to explain the fertility treatments that help surrogates conceive for intended parents.

Exploring the treatments that make a surrogate pregnancy possible

When you choose to start or grow your family using gestational surrogacy, your surrogate will conceive using IVF. This advanced fertility treatment involves multiple steps to achieve a surrogate pregnancy.

• Ovarian stimulation. The woman who will be providing the eggs (either the intended mother or an egg donor) will take ovarian stimulation medications.
• Egg retrieval. When the eggs are mature, the woman will visit a fertility doctor for a short, outpatient egg retrieval procedure.
• Laboratory fertilization. The eggs will be transported to the IVF lab. There, a team member will fertilize them with sperm from the intended father or a sperm donor.
• Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). If desired, PGT can occur a few days after fertilization to determine the chromosomal health and sex of the resulting embryos.
• Embryo transfer. A fertility doctor will transfer an embryo to your surrogate’s uterus. This is how surrogates get pregnant.

After the embryo transfer, the fertility doctor will monitor your surrogate for signs of pregnancy. Once it’s clear that your surrogate has conceived, the doctor will monitor her and her pregnancy for a few weeks. Then, your surrogate will start receiving care from an OB/GYN until it’s time to deliver your baby.

Discussing how surrogates get pregnant using donor eggs or donor sperm

Using donor eggs or donor sperm doesn’t really change the process of achieving a surrogate pregnancy. The IVF process will still involve the same steps. The only difference is that you will need to select an egg or sperm donor in addition to picking a surrogate.

Reach out to learn more about conceiving using surrogacy

If you want to learn more about welcoming a baby through gestational surrogacy, we encourage you to contact us. The Center for Surrogate Parenting is happy to answer all your questions about how surrogates get pregnant to help make parenthood possible for people like you.