How Are Surrogates Screened?

BabiesSprouts Surrogacy facilitates a full screening of their surrogates prior to matching them with intended parents. Our decades of experience has led us to this in-depth screening regimen to ensure that each and every surrogate that is ready to match has been fully vetted in our 3-step screening process to determine the strongest, healthiest and most successful surrogates. We do this because your security – and the safety of your future baby – is our number one priority.

Only the Best Surrogates
Our surrogate screening process means that we’ll only present you with a potential surrogate match when we’ve determined she is not only a good candidate for surrogacy, but a surrogate candidate who meets BabiesSprouts Surrogacy’s highest standards. In fact, we accept only the top 4% of surrogate applicants into our program. For parents, this thorough screening process can result in a wait time for matching with the right surrogate, but we believe a best-in-class surrogate is worth it.​

Surrogate Prescreening
This first step of the screening process happens right after a woman fills out the surrogate application. Our Prescreening Team – that includes experienced surrogates – will connect with every applicant to talk through the answers on her application, get clarity where needed, and answer any questions she might have.

While in Prescreening, our agency team will gather the following information from the surrogate applicant:

Health and pregnancy history

Criminal and financial background checks

Insurance information

Medical records

If women meet the criteria to become a Circle surrogate after Prescreening, they will progress to the second step of the process which is to be screened by a licensed mental health professional.

How BabiesSprouts Goes the Extra Mile

Many other agencies complete just this first step in the screening process and consider a surrogate “screened” and ready for matching. Because of this, other agencies may have shorter or no wait times to match. At BabiesSprouts Surrogacy, we encourage you to wait for a fully-screened surrogate to match with to reduce the risk of match breaks and disappointment for all parties.

The Surrogacy Consultation
BabiesSprouts Surrogacy employs an in-house team of licensed mental health professionals who screen and support surrogates. Our experienced team has screened thousands of surrogate applicants. They not only understand what the surrogate process is, they have supported women through the entirety of their journeys, and that experience has informed the questions they ask to determine if a woman would make a good surrogate.

During the surrogacy consultation, which can last approximately 2-2.5 hours, surrogate applicants are asked about the following:

Their motivation to becoming a surrogate

Their pregnancy history

Family and interpersonal relationships

Any hobbies, interests, life experiences

Who her support network is (women will be asked to identify a Primary Support Person for the duration of their journeys)

Her surrogacy journey expectations and preferences (including the level of communication with intended parents and the type of intended parents she’d prefer to work with)

Her views regarding termination and selective reduction

At this stage, the surrogate candidate’s primary support person will also have a call scheduled with the support team. During this call, the mental health professionals are able to determine if the primary support person identified will provide the proper emotional support for the candidate.

Psychological Exam

The third and final step in the Surrogate Screening Process is the psychological assessment. Each surrogate must complete psychological testing through the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) which is interpreted by a licensed psychologist. The test typically takes around 30-45 minutes, and is used to further screen the carrier for psychological/psychiatric problems and assess her overall psychological functioning to determine if she is a suitable candidate for our program.

A surrogacy journey can be complex, and BabiesSprouts Surrogacy facilitates a comprehensive screening process to determine the strongest candidates up front. Of course, no one could predict human behavior entirely, but we do our best to provide parents with as much confidence and security as possible.