The first concern was the early arrival of my daughter. She was born at 36 weeks gestation, which is technically not full term. One of the requirements for surrogacy is that the candidate have had normal, healthy pregnancies. Since my daughter turned out to be healthy -- did I mention that the technician's estimates were wrong and my daughter was born weighing a normal-for-her-gestation 5lbs 3oz, nearly a pound more than predicted? -- all of the agencies assured me it would not be a concern unless my medical records indicated complications.
Concern number two was a hormone condition called prolactinoma. It is caused by a tumor on the pituitary gland that exerts pressure causing excess production of prolactin, the hormone that regulates milk production. I won't go to great lengths to explain my diagnosis, but in short in order to get pregnant with my daughter I had to take medication to regulate the prolactin so my body would menstruate again and enable pregnancy to occur. Essentially, the elevated levels caused my body to incorrectly believe I was already pregnant or nursing, which often inhibits pregnancy. I was afraid the condition may be seen as a hurdle for IVF and make me ineligible.
I spoke to several agencies by phone and e-mail and if there was one consistency, it was the attitude of everyone I talked to. They were SO wonderful. Every.Last.One.
The first agency turned me down right away, stating their RE wouldn't work with someone with my "condition". When I prodded for additional details, they were unable to give me answers. Another agency said they needed more info. A third directed me to their website to fill out an application. At that point I was frustrated and decided to just start applying.
When you get to this step, make sure you have some time on your hands -- surrogacy applications are llloooooonnnnnnnggggggg. Of the three I applied to, one turned me away because my husband had an OWI when he was 23, one still hasn't responded and one called me to ask some additional questions, none of which had to do with my prolactinoma. When I questioned her about it, she said "oh, it's no problem!"
::blink, blink:: What? Really?
She indicated they would need some medical records to confirm that it was in fact small and under control, plus a physicians letter to clear me for pregnancy but that she didn't anticipate any issues.
Woo hoo! I'm not accepted yet, but it's progress!
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