Is Surrogacy Legal in Maine?

Beginning Your Surrogacy Journey in Maine

Eggceptional Fertility is honored to assist you in your journey to fulfill your family’s hopes and dreams. Choosing your surrogate is an incredibly important decision, and we are here to help make that decision as easy as possible. Our rigorous screening process is unmatched in the industry and helps us find exceptional and dedicated surrogates. Our staff is made up of experienced and compassionate professionals ready to guide you through your surrogacy journey with care.

We provide in person, phone, video conference, and email communication options to make our services more accessible. There is never a charge for a consultation with Eggceptional Fertility. We are excited to get to know you and help you on your journey!

How Much Does Surrogacy Cost?

Surrogacy requires a substantial financial investment. The exact amount depends on several factors, including surrogate experience, location, health insurance, and more. In broad terms, surrogacy costs include:

• Surrogate-related expenses
  • Surrogate compensation
  • Screenings
  • Health Insurance
  • Travel Expenses
  • Additional benefits
• Medical Fees
  • Egg retrieval or donor egg/donor sperm (if applicable)
  • In vitro fertilization (IVF)
  • Embryo transfer
  • Prenatal appointments
  • Labor & delivery
  • Postpartum recovery
• Agency Fees
• Legal Fees

Typically, the intended parents pay for all related surrogacy expenses. Some surrogates have their own medical insurance that covers surrogate pregnancies. In these cases, intended parents often give their surrogate slightly higher compensation, but don’t have to purchase a separate health insurance plan. Intended parents often also provide additional benefits as laid out in their surrogacy agreement; for instance, house-cleaning services, a maternity clothes stipend, or childcare if needed for the surrogate’s own children. Once you find your Maine surrogate, you will meet together with attorneys to create a legal agreement that lays out the exact compensation and benefits.

How Do I Find Surrogacy Agencies Near Me in Maine?

Surrogacy is a major emotional, physical, and financial commitment. It’s important to work with a quality surrogacy agency to save on time, money, energy, and ensure the smoothest possible journey. To find an excellent surrogacy agency in Maine, look for one with:

• Experience – the surrogacy journey is long (often over a year) and complex, with thousands of important details to ensure success and safety for everyone involved. While surrogacy experiences can share certain similarities, often unexpected situations arise. A surrogacy agency with years of experience will help you navigate your journey to parenthood with skill and confidence.
• Compassion – Intended parents pursuing surrogacy can feel a wide range of emotions – excitement, anxiety, joy, nervousness, and more. All these feelings are completely valid, and you deserve to work with an agency who will support you emotionally as well as logistically. Listen to your intuition when you meet with potential surrogacy agencies and stay away from anywhere that makes you feel like a number instead of a complete human being.
• Transparency – Surrogacy is complicated, but it shouldn’t be mysterious. As an intended parent, you should feel fully informed and aware of every aspect of the process. Of course, you won’t need to manage these details – that’s what your agency is for! Still, a great Maine surrogacy agency will be open and honest about answering your questions, whether it’s about their matching process, the surrogate timeline, or their costs and fees.

Since 2008, Eggceptional Fertility has provided expert surrogacy services to Maine families, led by our belief that everyone deserves the chance to build a family. Our intended parents, surrogates, and egg donors all make up our extended Eggceptional community, united by our shared dream of helping families.

Who Is Surrogacy For?

Surrogacy provides a wonderful option for intended parents who cannot carry and deliver a baby on their own, for any variety of reasons. In surrogacy, an embryo is developed in a fertility clinic and then transferred to the uterus of a surrogate (or “gestational carrier”). The surrogate then carries the pregnancy and delivers the baby. In return for the surrogate’s time, energy, and physical effort, the intended parent(s) provide compensation and benefits.

There are many reasons why an individual or couple in Maine might choose to find a surrogate on their path to parenthood. For instance, a woman might have healthy eggs, but not be able to carry a pregnancy for medical reasons. In this case, she could have her eggs retrieved, fertilized with her partner’s sperm, and then transferred to a surrogate who can safely carry and deliver a baby. In this way, both intended parents can still have a biological child. On the other hand, surrogacy also provides a path to fatherhood for single intended fathers and same-sex male couples, who can fertilize donor eggs with their sperm and transfer the resulting embryo to a surrogate.

Starting Your Surrogacy Journey in Maine: Experience Matters

The surrogacy process involves:

• Matching with a surrogate
• Creating a legal surrogacy agreement
• Developing and transferring embryos
• Pregnancy, labor, and delivery

Of course, there are many more steps along the way! The journey begins with an initial consultation with your chosen surrogacy agency. During this consultation, we’ll learn more about you and your family-building goals, as well as answer any initial questions you have about the process. We will also go into more detail about the entire surrogacy process to give you a clear understanding of what to expect. To begin your journey and find an excellent surrogate, schedule your initial consultation today.