A woman may decide to choose a surrogate path because of her love of being pregnant and to help others, in addition to the compensation that is paid by the intended parents/surrogacy agency in return for her services. Surrogacy is a year-long commitment or even more during which a surrogate must be able to handle all the expenses even the costs due to unforeseen health abnormalities in surrogates during which she has to be taken a special care.

Surrogacy compensation is the money that is paid by the intended parents to the surrogate to cover all her expenses. A surrogate will not incur any spending during the entire surrogacy journey.

Surrogacy Compensation

The surrogacy compensation includes:

• Base compensation – It is the fixed flat rate that is discussed and agreed upon during the contract. This will be paid monthly once the pregnancy is confirmed after embryo transfer. Base compensation may vary based on several factors such as:

• The budget and financial situation of the intended parents
• The state in which you undergo surrogacy
• The rates fixed by surrogacy agencies
• Experience of the surrogate
• Local or international parents

We know that California is the best state for surrogacy, how much do surrogates get paid in California? The average base compensation for a surrogate ranges between $30,000 and $45,000. Some agencies if not a full-service may offer a less base cost of $25,000 and some agencies pay well even with $50,000. If you have experience in a successful surrogacy in the past, then you are expected to get an additional amount of $5000 to $10000.

• Other Expenses – In addition to the base, there will be a monthly allowance (around $200 to $250) and other costs paid by the intended parents to take care of the surrogacy expenses. These include:

• Contract signing bonus (Average: $1000)
• Embryo transfer fee (Average: $1000) and a mock transfer cycle fee can be around $250
• Travel to clinics and regular doctor visits
• Telephone calls
• Medicines such as prenatal vitamins
• Special food intake
• Maternity clothes (From $800 for a single child to $1000 for multiples)
• If the surrogate has her child, then expenses to childcare when she is taking care of the surrogate baby. Also housekeeping expenses.
• Lost wages meaning you or your spouse may get a loss of pay for your absence from the job during doctor appointments or if you are advised to take a rest. This pay will be compensated.
• If your insurance has co-pay or doesn’t cover certain expenses, those will be offered.

• Additional compensation – Certain unexpected scenarios may occur during the surrogacy for which a surrogacy agency can provide an extra payment. They are:

• Cesarean or C-section (Average: $2500 to $3500)
• Multiple fetuses such as twins or triplets. For twins, you may expect from $5000 to $10,000 additionally and for triplets from $10,000 to $20,000.
• Termination of pregnancy
• Selective reduction (Average: $1500)
• Breast milk; Some intended parents may require you to provide breast milk for a sufficient time, for that you will be given a stipend.
• Reproductive organ loss (Average: $5000)

It is advisable for the surrogates and the intended parents to discuss these special cases while signing the contract. Also, a surrogate has to get a clear term on whether she will be paid if there is an unexpected abortion or if the embryo transfer fails.

Surrogacy compensation at the Made in the USA surrogacy agency:

If you are a prospective surrogate in California with the following questions in mind “how much do surrogates get paid in California and which agency pays you the best?”, then “Made in the USA Surrogacy” agency is the best you can find in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Roseville and many other places in California.

We are very transparent about all the expenses incurred and we ensure that we break down the expected and unforeseen expenses and clearly state them in the contract. We offer a base compensation of $40,000 for the first time surrogate and $45,000 for the experienced.

We understand that the pandemic has created a huge impact on everyone’s life, so we extend our support to you during this critical time by providing a sign-on bonus of $5000 in instalments.