Surrogate's Guide | ANU Fertility

First Steps
The Process
Support & Legal

First Steps

Do I Qualify to be a Surrogate?

3 Key Questions

Have you given birth to and raised at least one child?
Are you between the ages of 21-45?
If you haven’t had children: Do you plan to have children for yourself in the future?

If you answered ‘Yes’ to the first two questions, you’re already halfway there.

If you don’t plan to have children but want to help others grow families, surrogacy could be a good fit.

If you want children of your own in the future, Egg Donation may be the best option for you now.

Qualifications to be a Surrogate in Canada

Between the ages of 21- 45
Non-smoker
Don’t take illegal drugs
Meet the clinics Body Mass Index requirements (BMI must be below 40)
No criminal record
Willing to take all medications as required by the fertility clinic
Willing to undergo a psychological assessment
Take a toxicology screening & STI test

What Can I Receive?

On average, a surrogate receives up to $45,000 for her first pregnancy.

While surrogacy is absolutely legal in Canada, technically, we cannot pay either surrogates or donors directly for their help.

Both surrogates and donors do have, however, all of their related expenses reimbursed – things like food, clothing, transportation, communication, wellness, post-birth recovery and others.

Where It Starts – Phone Consultation

We can walk you through the financial and logistical timelines.

Pregnancy History

How many times have you been pregnant?
Were your pregnancies healthy?
How was the delivery?
Were there complications?
Was it vaginal or C-section?

Overall Health

What is your current health status? Are you on any medication? If so, what? What is the dosage, what is your BMI?

After an in-depth phone consultation, it’s time to start thinking about who you might pick to be your Intended Parent. We’ll provide you with a number of profiles that match your values and is the best fit.

Choosing Your Own Intended Parents

Who Makes Your Heart Sing?

Studies show that a positive relationship between the Surrogate and the Intended Parents has a direct impact on the success of the Surrogacy itself.

After you complete your profile, we’ll narrow down a list of Intended Parents so you can make a strong choice.

You lead in picking the Intended Parents that feel right to you, and we will always go at your speed. Our aim is to provide you with the best information to make an informed decision.

Who Matches Your Values?

You’ll want to carry a child for a couple (or person) who matches your values. Choose someone who “makes your heart sing,” someone who checks all the right boxes:

Are you looking for LGBTQIA2S+ couple (or single)? Perhaps an independent working woman? Maybe it’s a couple that’s been unable to conceive naturally?

Once you’ve picked a profile, we’ll book a Zoom call with you and the parents. We will be right there with you for the entire journey, start to finish.

Once You Find Your Match

The “Rush To Wait”

As a Surrogate, you’ll begin to observe something we call the rush to wait. The process of Surrogacy takes a little time.

Between visits to lawyers and clinics, it’s perfectly natural to get a little antsy.

RUSH – Get your profile completed.
WAIT – To find a good match
RUSH – Book a Zoom with the Intended Parent. You’re anxious to meet them, we get it!
WAIT – More paperwork
RUSH – Off to the clinic for screening
WAIT – More appointments with counsellors and lawyers

It’s a big decision, so it’s important to take each step as it comes.

You’ll also be assigned a support person & mentor once your profile is complete. They will walk with you through every step of the journey.

Two Types of Surrogacy

Surrogacy is split into two types: traditional and gestational.

Gestational Surrogacy

A Surrogate does not use her own eggs, meaning the Surrogate is simply the carrier of a fertilized embryo(s) transferred via In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

Gestational Surrogacy involves an Intended Mother (or an Egg Donor), an Intended Father (or a Sperm Donor) and a Gestational Surrogate.

Once a transfer is successful, you’ll then carry and give birth to the child just like a normal pregnancy.

Traditional Surrogacy

A Surrogate uses her own eggs and is artificially inseminated with the sperm of the Intended Father or sperm donor.
NOTE: Gestational Surrogacy is the most common.

The Process

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

Life in the Dish

IVF is the science & soul of Surrogacy.

It happens by manually combining a sperm and egg in a petri dish (there are no turkey basters involved). The embryo(s) is then transferred to the uterus, and hopefully, a regular pregnancy follows.

Pioneered in the UK in 1978, an estimated 5 million children have been born worldwide through IVF.

IVF really brings the best of humanity together—scientific progress, unconditional love, and parenthood.

IVF Medications

Warming the Engine

Once the contract is signed, you’ll begin hormone treatment to prepare the body for IVF.

In essence, hormone treatment is like revving up the engine before hitting the road. Estrogen and Progesterone are used to trick the body into thinking it’s pregnant. Just like natural hormones, these drugs will make you feel, well, hormonal.

Once the body thinks it’s already pregnant, you’ll be ready for an ultrasound to check the lining of your uterus

Hot Date With The Ultrasound Tech

The hormones start about ten days before the lining check.

During the ultrasound, the lining of the uterus will be checked for optimal thickness, and the second set of hormones will be added to your protocol.

They usually want the lining around 7mm-8mm thick or greater for the best chance of a successful transfer.

The Transfer

Conception on the Big Screen

The most beautiful experience in your life may just be watching the embryo on a large screen where you can see each individual cell alive and ready to flourish.

Guests of honour will include the embryologist, the doctor and the nurses. Your support team (partner, best friend, etc.) and the Intended Parents can also be in the room during this incredible moment. This is when magic and science collide into a baby-making party.

It’s a non-surgical procedure similar to a pap. You’ll be able to watch, through ultrasound, as the wand is inserted and the embryo is released to float and eventually nestle into the lining of your uterus.

Once the transfer is complete, and after a quick 30-minute rest, you’re free to go home.

The Betas

Test Time!
When a fertilized egg attaches to the uterine wall, a vital hormone is generated. Following this, there is an anxious two-week period until your Beta Marker test can be measured with a simple blood lab draw.

There are two crucial blood draws during this time. The initial test occurs 12 to 14 days after the transfer, establishing a baseline number (preferably 100 or higher).

48 hours after the first test, another measurement is taken. If this number has doubled, you can breathe a sigh of relief; chances are the transfer was successful.

The Pregnancy

Pregnant in Stereo

Once a successful transfer has occurred (after 2nd beta’s double or better), congratulations, you’re pregnant!

You’ll get another ultrasound at 6 weeks, then all your care can be handled by your medical team (includes OB, family doctor, or midwife – with a support person like a doula optional).

For the first 12 weeks of gestation, you’ll be required to stay on hormone treatment. This is what we call being “pregnant in stereo.” You’ll get weepy watching commercials, you’ll cry despite being terrifically happy.

The Delivery

You’re The Rock Star

You’re giving the Greatest Gift anyone can ever offer. You’ll cry, you’ll feel proud.

Because of you, someone’s dream will come true. We like to refer to you as The Honorary Auntie.

This is the true moment of magic—some Surrogates have confessed that it was more joyful for them than the birth of their own children.

Whether this is your first time or not, surrogacy post-partum is different because you don’t have a newborn to care for. You get to sleep, rest, and recover fully—faster than after a personal birth.

What to Expect After Pregnancy

Once you’ve given birth you’ll finally get to sleep again and not have to go to the bathroom every 2 minutes!

Obviously, you’ll need to recover, but you can recover knowing that not only have you made parents, but you’ve also made aunts, uncles, grandparents – and maybe even a sibling!

As with other pregnancies, you may still have the 3-day cry post-partum – this is natural as the hormones still have to leave your body.

We’ll help you create a birth plan for feeding the baby in advance. Some surrogates pump breast milk (depending on everyone’s wishes and the practical considerations of distance).
While you will naturally produce colostrum, you can choose to continue pumping or stop milk production. Some surrogates go on to pump for a milk bank in their own community, while others decide not to produce or provide any breastmilk at all. You are in control of your body, though the intended parents will make their own choices about what they use.

All of this is a personal choice and something that you can work out with your IPs as your relationship develops and how you feel.

Your Partner

The Other Person In The Room
Supportive family and friends are a huge plus for the success of your Surrogacy. Often, a partner or spouse will be along for the ride.

Sometimes, partners ask questions like:

How much will this all cost? What do we have to pay for?
Whose genetics are being used?
Are we responsible for this child?

The answers to those questions are:

Intended Parents are responsible for all your surrogacy-related expenses. After the Surrogacy agreement finalizes, that money is paid upfront and held in trust by ANU.
Since we focus primarily on gestational surrogacy, the answer to whether the baby will be genetically related to you is an emphatic NO. As a surrogate, the baby will possess none of your genetic material since both the eggs and the resulting embryo come from elsewhere.
No, you are never left alone or responsible for the child

Support & Legal

Surrogate Contract

What’s In The Fine Print?

Writing up a contract regarding babies can seem, at first glance, very black and white. A contract is essential to ensure the security of everyone involved.

Your lawyer will guide you through creating a detailed contract that protects everyone involved. We can refer you to an experienced surrogate-friendly attorney.
Think of this contract as a map that outlines your entire journey.
What sets us apart is our personalized approach. Before engaging with lawyers, we create a comprehensive profile that examines your family life before, during, and after pregnancy. This tailored information becomes the foundation for your legal agreement, ensuring it addresses your specific circumstances and preferences.

24/7 Access to Canada’s Strongest Surrogate Support Network

You can’t do this alone, and we encourage the active participation of your spouse/partner.

We also offer a surrogate mentorship program so you have 24/7 (only emergency calls after 6pm) support throughout the entire process.

With ANU mentorship, you’ll have access to a strong support system of individuals who have all been surrogates and know exactly what you are going through.

Legal FAQs

Is The Baby Mine?

The answer is no. After the birth, everyone signs a Declaration of Parentage, which states that the Intended Parents are indeed the parents.

Lawyers take the birth registry from the hospital, file for the birth certificate, and ensure the IPs names are on the birth certificate from the start (varies from province to province). The lawyer will take care of these steps.

Will I Get Left With A Baby If They Change Their Mind?

The answer is no. If this situation were ever to arise, ANU, the lawyers, and the social workers at the hospital would work with you to ensure the child is placed in a loving home. You are never left alone.

There is a massive waiting list for adoption in Canada.

It’s important to emphasize that the child will NOT be abandoned, and you will not be left alone to make any difficult decisions. We are with you every step of the way.

What Is The Citizenship Of The Child?

If the IPs are from another country, the child goes home with a Canadian birth certificate and a Canadian passport. It is the responsibility of the IP to apply for citizenship of the child in their home country.

Will I Ever Be Asked To Have An Abortion?

When you complete your surrogate profile, we ask about your views on abortion and under what circumstances you would consider it. This isn’t random—it’s a crucial alignment question.

We ensure shared views and values on this topic before you ever meet potential intended parents. If your positions don’t align, we won’t share the profile of those parents.

If medical testing reveals issues, secondary testing will confirm the results, and any decisions would involve thoughtful discussion with all parties.

While you always maintain autonomy over your body, it’s important to understand that if you agree to certain conditions in your contract and later refuse, this may nullify the contract, affecting reimbursements.

These difficult scenarios are extremely rare, but we believe in addressing them honestly from the beginning so everyone has clear expectations.

Myths & Misconceptions

Doesn’t Surrogacy Exploit People?

Everyone comes to Surrogacy of their own volition. In Canada, we are not compensated for this act of kindness.

Countries around the world have been cracking down in recent years by banning foreign Intended Parents.

Our system in Canada is very careful that people aren’t taken advantage of throughout the process.

It’s Not The Way “Nature” Intended Things

At the heart of Surrogacy exists a medical marvel—IVF. Science cures all kinds of problems, and infertility is one of them. Often these positions are best approached with empathy and education.

A Sane Person Would Never Do This

In the immortal words of Selena Gomez, the heart wants what it wants. You never have to justify the reason for wanting to help someone.

Our Story

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