At Private Label Surrogacy, Surrogates’ Health is Our Top Priority
At Private Label Surrogacy (PLS), we have created a program that prioritizes our surrogate’s health – so she can feel as good as possible while carrying a baby. One of the advantages when working with PLS is that our surrogates have access to our fertility nutrition and prenatal nutrition expert, Julie, and will receive nutrition consults at least 6 times during her journey. Julie is also available for questions as needed for our intended parents in addition to our surrogates.
Pre-Pregnancy Support
Providing support is very important to us and we want all of our surrogates to know we have their best interest at heart from day one to well after their journey is complete. To start with, Julie meets with each surrogate before she becomes pregnant to offer guidance on how to be her “best self” throughout the pregnancy.
In the beginning, Julie will complete a Pre-Pregnancy Nutrition Welcome Phone Call. This call takes about 30 minutes and covers the nutrition consultation schedule, what topics she is available to help them with, fertility nutrition recommendations, and goal setting. During this call, Julie will also provide her direct contact and information on discuss how to set appointments with her.
1st Trimester Support
Upon confirmed pregnancy, our surrogates meet with Julie on the Initial Prenatal Nutrition Video Call to complete a comprehensive nutrition assessment and discuss nutrition guidelines during pregnancy. Soon after, she will have another call to focus on first trimester symptom management, nutrition reminders, and answer any questions the surrogate may have.
2nd Trimester Support
During the second trimester, Julie will lead a personal discussion on weight management, physical activity and provide any needed advice or answer any questions. Throughout the pregnancy, Julie will be available if there are any aspects of care on which she can collaborate with the medical team. At this stage, development on what is currently occurring with fetal growth is highlighted.
Last Trimester Support
While each surrogate is in her last trimester, she will have a Gestational Diabetes Screening and labs to identify anemia. On this call, Julie will discuss the results and recommend any necessary dietary changes. She will also discuss probiotics and delivery preparation. With delivery approaching, PLS offers a checklist for surrogates and intended parents on what to bring to the hospital. While each surrogate and the intended parents will discuss their birth plan and wishes for the hospital staff.
Post Delivery
Another significant time during the surrogate journey is just after delivery! This time is not only important for replenishing their nutrient needs, healing, and weight management, but many surrogates choose to pump breastmilk for the baby to provide the benefits of the first couple of weeks of colostrum/ first milk. At this time, recovery nutrition for a surrogate is vital to getting back to where she wants to be physically and medically. Delivering a baby does cause blood loss and, on occasion, some surrogates may become anemic. Our expert is able to provide education and reminders of iron-rich nutrients, which can help with fatigue. If the surrogate is pumping breastmilk, it is advised to pump around the clock in the beginning to optimize her supply. This can be tiring and waking up at night to pump can take a toll on sleep. Extra calories and hydration is essential to supporting the milk supply.