It’s common for a surrogate to receive medical care by her chosen obstetrician once she is released by the fertility center. This is typically after the first trimester. In most cases, the surrogate returns to the same doctor used when she carried her own children. This is really nice for a surrogate because she already knows and trusts this practice. And again, in most cases, the intended parents want the surrogate mother to be comfortable in her prenatal care.
But there are some cases when surrogates cannot use the practice previously used. Perhaps it is because of a recent move to a different state or area, or maybe their OB has retired. If this happens, how do you decide which doctor to see?
At the start of my second surrogacy, my husband lost his job which meant that we did not have health insurance. I was 28 weeks pregnant and I could not return to the OB practice I had used for my first surrogacy. While my gestational agreement covered new insurance, I had to choose another plan separate from my family, and this complicated things. While searching for the best plan for my family, I had to look and see what plans would cover myself, the baby, while being able to remain at my current practice; which ended up being impossible.
Luckily, it all worked out. The second practice was fine. Unfortunately, I found out that I had to deliver at a different hospital. I was not thrilled about this new change because I had been looking forward to delivering at this new, state-of-the-art hospital. My husband, an ever-positive ray of sunshine, kept telling me he would find a job and we would be covered and able to go back to my previous OB in time for my delivery. I thought that was a far stretch. Strangely enough, it ended up working out that way, which was great for my husband. Of course, but I was doing somersaults (in my head), to be back with my previous OB and delivering at the swanky new hospital!
Since I still had to go through the process of finding a new doctor, mid-journey, I have some tips for you to think about when you are looking for a new or different practice as a surrogate:
- Experience with gestational carriers
- Compliance to include the intended parents in the prenatal visits and delivery
- How the doctor handles c-sections, as I had to have one and our previous doctor was known for how well she handled them
- Location! I wanted to deliver near my house. Since I knew I was going to be in the hospital for at least 3 days, I wanted my two young sons to be able to visit their mommy!
- I didn’t want to have to go to different places for ultrasounds or bloodwork. It’s nice to have everything was done in the same building.
I was lucky. Everything ended up working out and my “in between” practice turned out to be just fine. My intended parents let me choose where I was most comfortable and Shared Conceptions helped me with the ever-confusing insurance process. If you are interested in becoming a surrogate, give Shared Conception a call today! We would love to hear from you!
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