The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But The Truth
One of the expectations we have of surrogates is that you will be fully truthful throughout the process. Surrogacy depends a lot on trust. The intended parents are giving up control over the pregnancy. They need to be able to trust you. Completely. Absolutely. About everything. As a surrogate, you are going to be asked a lot of personal questions during the screening process. The only correct answer is the truth. And likewise, it's equally important for you to be truthful throughout the rest of the process.
What kinds of questions might you be asked? There are a lot of topics that are relevant either to your surrogacy itself or to the screening process. Just about anything is fair game. Here are some examples:
Your prior pregnancy history (including any pregnancy terminations)
Your prior non-pregnancy medical history
Your personal views on abortion and selective reduction
Your current relationship/marriage
Your prior relationships/marriages
Whether you have ever been a victim of sexual assault
Whether you have a criminal record
Any history of STDs
Your tattoos and piercings
Your drinking and smoking habits
Your financial stability
Your mental health history
Quite simply, you can expect to be asked about a lot of personal stuff. You really really really need to be truthful because the intended parents are counting on you with the most important thing in their lives. They are investing time, money, hope, and (irreplaceable) embryos. The entire surrogacy relationship is built on trust-you don't want to do anything that could damage that relationship.
Of course, we require intended parents to maintain confidentiality of your private information.
On the flip side, it's also important for intended parents to be truthful too. We’ll talk about that angle in another post.
Do you have questions about becoming a surrogate or intended parent? Email us at info@newenglandsurro.com. You can also schedule a free consult for us to answer your questions about the surrogacy process.