West Coast Surrogacy Featured in Parenting OC Magazine

                          EXPLORING SURROGACY WITH WEST COAST SURROGACY

Director of West Coast Surrogacy, Amy Kaplan, was recently featured in Parenting OC Magazine.
Here is an excerpt and the entire story can be viewed at the link:

Who Can Be a Surrogate?

Potential surrogates must undergo and pass a lengthy physical and mental exam to determine if she is a prime candidate. According to Amy Kaplan, President, West Coast Surrogacy/West Coast Egg Donation in Irvine, some of the main guidelines for potential surrogates include: must be between the ages of 21 to 40; have children of her own; have a history of full-term pregnancies without complications; a non-smoker; living a stable and healthy lifestyle; and have a support network of friends and family. “We look to see if she is willing to make lifestyle changes during the pregnancy—if requested by the intended parents—(i.e. refrain from coloring her hair, painting her nails, willing to eat organic food if provided an allowance, refrain from drinking caffeine, etc.)” Kaplan stated. She continued, “A surrogate does need to pass a psychological evaluation, as well as a medical screening exam. During this exam, a reproductive endocrinologist will evaluate her uterus and review her medical and pregnancy history. She and her partner/husband will also have screening for infectious diseases and drug use.” Becoming a surrogate does not have to be a one-time deal. As long as a woman meets the required criteria, she can be a surrogate as many times as she wishes. However, many fertility specialists prefer to use a surrogate candidate with no more than seven pregnancies.

What Does the Process Include?
The preconception phase is a complex one that can last several months. Besides being matched with the right surrogate for the intended parents and entering and passing the medical screening processes, the intended parents and surrogate then enter into the legalities of the surrogacy—a legal contract—where this phase alone can take up to at least two months to ensure that all parties are on board with the proposed terms and conditions. “The attorney will represent the intended parents and draft the legal contract between the parents and surrogate. This attorney will also file the documents to establish the legal parentage of the child/children,” Kaplan explained. “In California, this paperwork is filed and the Judgment of Parentage is granted prior to the birth. The parents’ names are listed as the legal parents on the birth certificate. This is the case with same sex couples as well. The surrogates name is not listed on the birth certificate.” This contract is a vital aspect of the entire course because it provides both parties with provisions that they have agreed upon. According to Kaplan, the surrogate does has the right to make decisions about her own body and about reduction and abortion, however, that decision could lead to a breach of contract. She also has the right to be compensated, reimbursed and have her medical expenses paid in accordance with the contract terms. Like many, Lawson and her husband paid $80,000 to $90,000 for each of their surrogates.
http://parentingoc.com/2014/04/exploring-surrogacy/

It Takes a Village to HAVE a Child

This post below is an excerpt of a lovely blog by KeAnne called "It Takes a Village to Raise a Child and Sometimes it Takes a Village to Have One" and you can read it in its entirety here:

http://www.blogher.com/it-took-village?from=pop

She describes her experience of becoming a mother with the help of a gestational surrogate.
 

 

The bones of my birth story and becoming a mother are like everyone else's: a woman in labor in the hospital; the hum of the equipment monitoring the woman and the baby; the nurses moving in and out; moans as the contractions intensified and soothing words.

The details are different.

I was not the woman in labor although the baby being born was my biological child.

The woman in labor was our gestational carrier. My husband and I sat in chairs against the wall a little removed from the bed. My anxiety was so intense that I thought I would vomit and I couldn't say a word. I wanted to make myself as small as possible. I was terrified.

When we started this journey with F, our gestational carrier in 2008, I never spent much time thinking about what the birth would be like. I knew some information about the stages of labor, pain, etc., but I never thought about what it would be like to sit in that room while she labored.

I was not prepared for the reality. I thought we would have hours to become prepared and accustomed as F’s labor progressed. I pictured us chatting and laughing, enjoying the excitement. In reality, she went into labor suddenly one day before our due date and when we arrived at the hospital an hour after receiving the call from her husband, she was almost fully dilated. It was almost too late for her to receive an epidural.

West Coast Egg Donation Launches

Right on the heels of announcing our new digs, we are announcing the launch of a new venture,
West Coast Surrogacy Egg Donation.

 (www.westcoasteggdonation.com)

 We have had the privilege of experiencing the incredible joy that creating a family through egg donation and surrogacy provides parents many times. We hope that you will join us in this most rewarding journey.

If you are interested in learning more, visit us today.

West Coast Surrogacy Announces New OC Offices

We packed up and moved but we're still in the neighborhood!

 

We're delighted to say that we have a lovely new location and we couldn't be happier!

 You can find us here:

6 Venture

Suite 395

Irvine, CA 92618

949-861-4100

 www.westcoastsurrogacy.com

 

GIVING THANKS: A Grateful Surrogate Mother

On the funny, clever and insightful blog, A MOM WITH A LESSON PLAN, the mommy blogger and surrogate shares why she is a grateful surrogate today, and always.  Here are a few of the highlights but I encourage you to read the entire post:

Image courtesy of A MOM WITH A LESSON PLAN

 

~ I’m grateful for the missed epidural. I didn’t need it but was afraid to not ask for it. Because the delivery was so quick the choice was taken away from me.  I can now say I’ve done a natural delivery with no pain meds at all. (Flexing superwoman muscles… hee hee).

 

~ I’m grateful for my mom’s encouraging voice in my ear as I focused on each contraction.

 

~ I’m grateful for the super quick delivery. Only 2 1/2 hours of serious contractions.

 

~ I’m grateful for the happy tears I saw when the new Mom laid eyes on the baby she’s dreamed about for so, so long.

 

~I’m grateful for the two parents who clung to each other while they watched their big boy be weighed and measured. (8.11 lbs and 19 inches)

 

http://amomwithalessonplan.com/why-i-am-so-grateful-my-surrogacy-update/

Reproductive Biologists Move IVF Information Forward

The opening paragraphs to an encouraging article found on MEDICALPRESS.COM are below.
The entire article can be found at the link at the bottom of the page.  While the language may be a bit difficult for a lay person to follow the upshot is that advancements in understanding of sperm will lead to advancements in IVF.

Two new papers from reproductive biologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with international partners, report advances in understanding the basic processes of sperm capacitation that may one day improve success rates of in vitro fertilization (IVF) by providing a shortcut to bypass problems, and may eventually lead to a male contraceptive.

A "pill for men" may be a long way down the road, says Pablo Visconti, lead UMass Amherst author, but this new fundamental knowledge of how sperm acquire the ability to fertilize an egg, letting scientists either block or enhance the process, is at the heart of being able to control it. Findings by the international research teams appear in early online editions this month of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC), which named one study a finalist for "Paper of the Week."

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-10-reproductive-biologists-vitro-fertilization-knowledge.html