Our Surrogacy Program

As social workers, who hold MSW degrees, who specialize in the domains of parenthood, fertility and surrogacy, we have put together a surrogacy program that is aware of the psychological aspect involved in the decision to have a child with the aid of a surrogate mother.

Having a child with the aid of a surrogate mother, unlike other alternatives for becoming a family, enables the parents to create a child who belongs to one or both of them biologically and to be involved in the pregnancy itself.

The surrogate mothers undergo professional assessments, through which the professional team examines their suitability and willingness for the process.

The professional team holds a number of separate talks with the prospective parents and with the surrogate mother, with the goal of examining the expectations of each and the nature of the relationship that they wish to have. This makes it possible for each side to forge a relationship based on coordinated expectations, and reinforces the joint process and leads to a successful outcome. 

The Program includes six stages:

Stage One: Consultation Meeting

At this meeting the professional team gives the couple extensive and comprehensive information about the stages of the program and helps them select the stages appropriate for them.

Stage Two: Opinions

In this stage professional expert opinions on the surrogate mothers and the couples are obtained, as required by law.

The opinion on the couple includes:

·        A medical and psychological evaluation

The opinion on the surrogate mothers includes:

·        A physical examination by physicians specializing in fertility treatments

·        A psychosocial assessment examining the surrogate mother’s place of residence and lifestyle along a timeline, as well as her familial and social ties. Opinions about her are obtained from relevant parties in the community.

·        A psychological assessment examining her personality and mental health

On completion of this stage, the Center holds meetings with the prospective parents and the surrogate mother, in order for them to get to know each other. The Center also enables both sides to read the professional opinions (medical, psychological and psychosocial).  

Stage Three: Legal Contract

The Center refers the prospective parents to an attorney specializing in surrogacy, who will draw up a legal contract. The surrogate mother chooses her own attorney, as required by law.

Stage Four: Preparation for the Committee

After preparation at the Center, the couple and the surrogate mother will apply to the Committee for the Approval of Agreements for Carrying Embryos, in order to have the surrogacy agreement approved and to comply with the terms of the Surrogacy Law.

Stage Five: Fertilization and Pregnancy

After the Committee has granted its approval, the medical stage begins. The prospective parents, along with the surrogate mother, will consult a specialist of their choosing and will begin the treatment, which includes the removal of eggs from the mother-to-be, fertilizing them with the husband’s sperm and returning the embryos to the surrogate mother’s womb.

Prospective parents who are in need of an ovum donation can obtain information from the Center about suitable physicians.

Stage Six: Counseling and Support

The Parenthood Center is a professional body run by social workers who hold MSW degrees, and is permitted by law to counsel the prospective parents and the surrogate mother throughout the period of treatments, pregnancy and after delivery.

The goals of the counseling are:

• To help the parties forge a good and stable relationship while maintaining clear limits that permit separation without any unresolved feelings after delivery.
• To build a psychological support system that enables the parties to go through the process without crises or unresolved feelings, while leading a normal lifestyle and maintaining the pregnancy
• To create a maximal safety net for the prospective parents, giving them the confidence that that the surrogate mother will behave according to the required norms throughout the process, both medically and psychologically. However, if, for any reason whatsoever, the surrogate mother is not approved by the committee, the Center will introduce the couple to another surrogate mother for no extra charge.

The counseling program includes:

• Home visits to the surrogate mother, with the goal of maintaining contact with her in her daily life and assisting her in all matters related to how she leads her life
• Mediation between the prospective parents and the surrogate mother, for any problem that should arise.
• Arranging meetings between the prospective parents and the surrogate mother, as necessary.
• Support groups for surrogate mothers are held at the Center. The goal of the groups is to support the surrogate mothers and strengthen them during the process.
• The Center runs support forum on the subject of surrogacy on the Nana portal, with the goal of providing the prospective parents and surrogate mothers with knowledge and tools that will enable them to cope with any matter and subject related to surrogacy.
• Preparing the surrogate mother’s children to accept the pregnancy and say goodbye to the baby
• If the prospective parents have a child of their own, preparing him or her for the arrival of a brother or sister
• The presence of the professional team at the hospital during delivery and the holding of a goodbye “ceremony” for the parties
• Maintaining regular contact with the prospective parents and the surrogate mother after delivery  

FAQs

Can the surrogate mother change her mind after the baby is born?

According to the law, surrogacy is Israel is full surrogacy. There is no genetic connection between the surrogate mother and the embryos. Therefore, the law perceives surrogate mothers as fertile women who are capable of having children of their own whenever they please, and who have no desire for a child who is not theirs.

Who are the surrogate mothers?

The surrogate mothers are single mothers (spinsters, divorcees and widows), aged 22 – 38, residing in Israel, members of the middle to low socioeconomic class, with up to 12 years of schooling.

In terms of their personality, they are independent and strong women who survive crises and are determined to achieve their goals, even at the price of social acceptance, but to do so while upholding the social norms.

Who is permitted to use the services of a surrogate mother?

According to a medical expert opinion, the prospective mother suffers from a medical or uterine problem preventing her from conceiving or from carrying a pregnancy to term. The prospective parents are residents of Israel and are supposed to be married or to have entered into a shared living agreement.

Who covers the cost of the medical treatments?

The law obligates the health funds to permit the couple and the surrogate mother to undergo the treatments at all of the hospitals in Israel, financed by the health fund.

Who guarantees that the surrogate mother will maintain the pregnancy?

• The surrogate mother undergoes a rigorous screening and assessment process with the goal of examining her degree of responsibility, stability and integrity and to ensure that her lifestyle, place of residence and job are suitable for the pregnancy of a surrogate mother.
• The assessment process is spread out over a number of months, and includes visits to the surrogate mother’s home and talks with her, so if the candidate is not serious, she naturally drops out during this stage.
• The committee examines the surrogate mother once again, by means of a face-to-face interview conducted by the committee’s social worker and psychologist.
• Throughout the period of the assessments and the committee, the surrogate mother does not receive any salary and, moreover, she spends her own money.
• According to the contractual arrangement between the parties, the surrogate mother receives most of the money between her fourth month of pregnancy and after delivery, which guarantees her desire to maintain the pregnancy.

What’s the difference between going through the surrogacy process independently and doing so by means of the Parenthood Center?

• The Center finds the surrogate mother for you, thus saving you both time and financial and emotional resources. Based on our experience, out of every seven candidates who apply, one is ultimately found to be suitable for the process.
• The Center is responsible for having the couples go through the Ministry of Health’s committee that approves the process. This means that if, for any reason whatsoever, the surrogate mother is not approved by the committee, the Center will introduce the couple to another surrogate mother for no extra charge.
• The Center supervises the process from the outset until six months after delivery, and promises to solve any problem that should arise during the process immediately, in order to achieve the final goal, with a sensation of great happiness and satisfaction.

What’s the difference between adoption and surrogacy?

• Surrogacy and adoption are alternative ways of becoming parents.
• Many couples have become happy families with these two methods.
• Choosing between the two alternatives is related to one’s worldview and wherewithal.
• Unlike adoption, surrogacy enables you to experience the pregnancy and delivery by means of the surrogate mother, and to raise the baby from the first day of his or her life.

How much does the surrogacy process cost?

The Parenthood Center offers a modular plan that allows each couple to purchase some or all of the Center’s services, and the fee is determined accordingly. That’s why we invite you for a personal consultation meeting, in order give you all the help you need in order to begin the process.