Compensation - How Much Do Surrogates Make?
Being a surrogate is hard work. IMA ART Fertility's luxury surrogacy program rewards our surrogates for their beautiful sacrifice of time, their selflessness, and the risks they - and their families - undertake helping others to create their families.
Although the surrogacy process can be extremely rewarding for both the intended parents and surrogate mother, it can also be exhausting as it requires a lot of time, energy and a healthy dose of empathy on the part of the surrogates. All of these have been taken into consideration at IMA ART Fertility to give our surrogates the tailored, exceptional support they deserve.
There are physical, psychological and demographic requirements to become a surrogate —
Physical
At IMA ART Fertility, we believe being a gestational carrier — for a person or a couple you met for the first time months before implanting their embryo — is equally challenging whether you’re living in California, Delaware, New Hampshire, Washington or any other state. For this reason, and unlike other agencies, surrogates entering IMA ART’s luxury surrogacy program are evenly compensated, regardless of where they live.
And because being pregnant and delivering a baby is not without health risks, your mind may be flooded with questions like: How am I protected in this journey? Is there a life insurance policy? How much do surrogates get paid?
At IMA ART Fertility, we prioritize your safety, comfort, and compensation. Because of this, we present intended parents with some of the best private surrogate-specific insurance available on the market. This way, if something should happen — as unlikely as that may be — your partner and children will be protected at every step of the surrogacy journey and beyond.
Psychological
The money — base compensation — is paid at 10% per month as long as the surrogate is pregnant. The first payment is due on the first of the month following confirmation of pregnancy. These equal installments are paid monthly with the final payment due within two weeks after birth.
We want you to focus on having a healthy pregnancy journey, which is why we have curated a comprehensive, stress-free compensation package for you.
Surrogate Pay - What to expect
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Comprehensive Surrogate Insurance
Our highly experienced network of legal advisers and insurance providers help our intended parents and potential surrogates navigate surrogacy law and complex insurance policies regarding surrogate pregnancy. IMA ART Fertility selects the best medical insurance to protect the health and wellbeing of the surrogate and the fetus.
Here’s a breakdown of the comprehensive surrogate insurance offered through IMA ART Fertility:
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18-Month Accidental Death Insurance: In rare cases of the accidental death of a surrogate, up to $550,000 in coverage is paid to her family.
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Loss of Reproductive Organs Insurance: Between $5,000 and $10,000 is paid to the surrogate mother if she loses any of her reproductive organs in the course of the IVF treatment, medical procedures, pregnancy or delivery.
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Total Permanent Disability Insurance: A maximum benefit of $250,000 is paid to the surrogate in cases of physical impairment and the inability to be employed in any occupation suitable for their education, experience or training.
Some surrogates arrive with their own health insurance at other agencies. In those cases, a Reproductive Law Attorney and Insurance Specialist will assess coverage for surrogacy. However, more insurance companies no longer provide insurance coverage for babies born through a surrogacy contract.
IMA ART Fertility does not want you to experience unnecessary stress about that distinct possibility. Our luxury surrogacy program includes surrogate specific Maternity Care Insurance, providing up to $250,000 of coverage at in-network providers.
Surrogates should not have to worry about the where and how of medical costs while carrying a baby for another couple or individual. At IMA ART the surrogacy journey should be as stress-free as possible.
Discover more about becoming a surrogate
Access to a Clinical Psychologist (PhD)
Our Clinical Psychologist will provide ongoing support before implantation, during pregnancy and after birth. Why? Because we are keenly aware that the body goes through many hormonal changes after delivery — we care about you and your wellbeing.
Additional Benefits and Reimbursements
While surrogates are entitled to our high base surrogate mother compensation and other payments, our surrogates receive additional benefits and reimbursements to help ensure they have a comfortable, rewarding surrogacy experience.
Let’s take a closer look at the compensation we’ve mentioned as well as other benefits and reimbursements.
Surrogate Candidate Medical Screening
At IMA ART Fertility, you will receive a one-time compensation of $500 for a Surrogate Candidate Medical Screening regardless of the outcome.
Surrogate Candidate Legal Confirmation
A surrogate at IMA ART Fertility is entitled to a $500 Surrogate Candidate Legal Confirmation fee once she is matched with intended parents, whether a couple or individual.
Monthly Expense Allowance
This $460 monthly allowance — for 12 months — for surrogate mothers is paid throughout the duration of the pregnancy. This typically ends after childbirth.
Injectable Medical Allowance
This $500 is payable to the surrogate within seven days after medication commences for embryo transfer.
Embryo Transfer Allowance
You will be paid this $800 allowance every time an embryo is transferred in each cycle.
In instances where the transfer is canceled, a Canceled or Dropped Embryo Transfer fee is given. A one-time payment of $750 is made to the surrogate — this is paid in the event injectable medications have commenced and the transfer is canceled due to no fault of the surrogate.
Housekeeping
It’s difficult to keep up with day-to-day household chores while pregnant, particularly if the doctor puts you on bedrest. Subject to the Surrogacy Agreement with the intended parents, IMA ART Fertility surrogates are entitled to $100/week to be used toward housekeeping. This is paid once pregnancy is confirmed with a fetal heartbeat ultrasound and will continue for one month after the delivery. At IMA ART, we want our surrogates to have a stress-free journey and we realize every little bit helps.
Maternity Clothing Allowance
This allowance is $1100 for a single fetus pregnancy and $1500 for multiples, and it’s paid 12 weeks after the embryo transfer. It’s intended to help you update your wardrobe as your body shape changes during pregnancy. Our goal is to help you be as comfortable as possible and feel your best during your surrogacy.
Variable Reimbursements
These reimbursements are subject to the Surrogacy Agreement with the intended parents. They include:
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Mock Cycle Allowance
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Canceled or Dropped Embryo Transfer Allowance
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Ectopic Pregnancy
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Invasive Procedure Inconvenience Fee
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Selective Reduction for Termination or Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) at or After the 13th Gestational Week
Here are answers to common questions about surrogate compensation. If you have questions about surrogacy that we didn’t cover here, see our main FAQs for parents and surrogates.
How much do surrogates make?
Surrogates at IMA ART Fertility earn a base compensation of $85,000, in addition to other benefits and reimbursements. Due to the high demand for surrogates, all surrogate mothers at IMA ART Fertility receive the same compensation, no matter which state they live in, and no matter whether they are first-time or experienced surrogates.
While the surrogacy experience is unique for each surrogate mother, many of the joys and challenges of pregnancy are universal. The woman’s body doesn’t know which state it’s in, and neither does the fetus. For this reason, we believe your location should not be a factor in your surrogate pay or benefit packages. Even if you live in a generally lower-income state with a lower cost of living, you’ll still be paid the same as a surrogate in California or New York.
No amount of money can equal the sacrifices involved with gifting a child to a family. We see the efforts, and this is one of the ways we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices that our surrogates make. We are committed to making a surrogate’s journey as comfortable and stress-free as possible.
How do I get paid as an IMA ART Fertility surrogate?
As a surrogate at IMA ART Fertility, your surrogacy pay includes surrogate base compensation, which is paid in monthly installments; pre-pregnancy payments; monthly allowances covering the entire pregnancy period; and benefit packages for the fourth trimester after your delivery.
You will also receive an additional benefits package for travel expenses, lost wages, medical expenses and child care, among others.
Details of the package will be explicitly laid out in the Surrogacy Agreement with the matched intended parents. Payments may be transferred directly to the surrogate’s designated bank account or via Zelle or another online payment method the surrogate is comfortable with.
Do I get paid more if I’ve already been a surrogate?
Traditionally, base pay for experienced surrogates and first-time surrogates may be different, depending on the surrogacy agency. However, IMA ART Fertility does not follow the industry standard and pays first-time surrogates the same competitive rate as experienced surrogates. Why? Because IMA ART believes every pregnancy and delivery is challenging, exhausting and time-consuming.
The exact amount will be agreed upon by the gestational surrogate and the intended parents, and mediated by IMA ART Fertility. This will be included in the legal contract. (Note: No embryos are implanted until after a surrogate signs a legal contract with the parents.)
What if I miscarry? Will I still be paid?
At IMA ART Fertility, you are paid in installments as you reach certain milestones in the course of the pregnancy. This means that if, unfortunately, complications set in and a miscarriage happens at any stage of the pregnancy, you get paid up until that point.
Does every IMA ART Fertility surrogate get a C-section for delivery?
While this may be a condition of contracts between potential surrogates and intended parents, at IMA ART Fertility our surrogates, their OBGYN and intended parents are free to choose safe delivery options as they prefer. An exception to this rule is the presence of a previous medical history or certain complications that will restrain the surrogate from making those choices. In that case, a safe option is chosen by the OBGYN during antenatal care.
What if I am pregnant with multiples?
Every once in a while, a single embryo transferred in the womb can divide into two, three, or more, resulting in a multifetal pregnancy. For example, a surrogate mother may be carrying twins or triplets. In situations like this, depending on the needs of the intended parents, our gynecologist will recommend a selective induction to reduce the number of fetuses in order to increase your chances for a healthy, successful pregnancy and childbirth.
In cases where intended parents want to keep the twins or triplets, surrogates are entitled to additional compensation.
What happens to my breast milk after delivery?
In special circumstances you and the intended parents may come to an agreement — prior to embryo transfer and an integral part of the Surrogacy Agreement — where you pump breast milk. If this is agreed upon, you will be compensated for that.
Why IMA ART Fertility?
With surrogate mothers in high demand, we pay a standard base pay of $85,000 to all surrogates — regardless of which state they reside in and whether it’s their first time as a surrogate or they’ve been through the surrogacy process numerous times before.
At IMA ART Fertility, our intended parents are high net-worth individuals who are willing to pay competitively high rates as well as numerous benefits and reimbursements. And as a surrogate you’ll have the power to choose which intended parents you’re willing to be matched with. Carrying an embryo for another couple or individual is a beautiful sacrifice, and you have the right to select the agency to serve your and your families best interests.
Our Co-Founder and CEO Michelle Tang, as well as Co-Founder Ron Sonnenberg, will be on hand to answer questions and provide support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through the dedicated IMA ART app. You won’t be handed off to a subordinate who only works 9am to 5pm on weekdays, leaving you waiting through the night or over the weekend for assistance.
Surrogacy Compensation FAQ
Ask us about these reimbursements. We won’t disappoint you.
Psychological
Base Compensation
At IMA ART Fertility, base compensation for a surrogate is $85,000.
This is a basic payment expectation we set for surrogacy, separate from any benefits, financial allowances, or additional earnings. However, the final amount will be agreed upon by the surrogate and intended parents before implantation of the embryo.
While most (if not all) surrogate agencies pay surrogates different amounts depending upon where they reside in the U.S., IMA ART Fertility does not follow the industry standard. While typically surrogates are paid more in California than anywhere else in the country, pregnancy is no less difficult or medically risky whether the surrogate lives in Los Angeles or Oklahoma City. Morning sickness does not miraculously disappear if a surrogate lives in Macon, Georgia, rather than San Francisco.
Being pregnant for nine months is tough.
Traditionally, first-time surrogates don’t earn as much as experienced surrogates. However, due to the high demand for surrogates today, at IMA ART Fertility a first-time surrogate can earn the same — USD $85,000 — as an experienced surrogate.
However, surrogates do receive compensation before embryo implantation. This is separate and in addition to the base payment and includes:
Medical Screening Clearance Fee: $500
Legal Confirmation: $500
Injectable Medication Allowance: $500 is paid within seven days after medications for embryo transfer commences.
Embryo Transfer Allowance: $800 is paid seven days after the embryo transfer procedure.
Base surrogate compensation is paid monthly after an ultrasound is used to confirm the fetal heartbeat. This is usually at six weeks after implantation. The last installment is paid within two weeks after birth.
