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Reproductive Services

MFM preconception consults for IVF patients, and clearance for gestational carriers.

Ouma is a physician-led maternal-fetal medicine practice, not an app. Our board-certified MFMs see IVF patients before embryo transfer and screen gestational-carrier candidates against ASRM criteria, by telehealth, wherever they live. Fertility clinics and surrogacy agencies get a full consult note back that explains the reasoning.

For IVF clinics and fertility physicians Preconception consults Your patient is seen before transfer, their chronic conditions are worked up, and a consult note comes back to you. See how it works For surrogacy agencies and intended parents Gestational-carrier clearance Candidates are screened against ASRM criteria, and agencies can follow every step in Ouma Connect. See how it works
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Preconception Consults ↓Carrier Clearance ↓Ouma Connect ↓Case Study ↓Screening to Postpartum ↓
50Licensed to practice in all 50 states
24/7SMS nurse line for intended parents and carriers
100%of consults are with a board-certified, US-based MFM. Never software.

Ouma for IVF and preconception

Preconception consults, before the embryo transfer.

Preconception visits are hard to book. Many MFM practices offer few slots for them, and patients can wait months to be seen. For an IVF patient, that wait isn’t neutral: fertility declines with age while chronic conditions become more common. Ouma’s MFMs see IVF patients by telehealth with fast turnaround and work through whatever their fertility physician wants answered.

01

The referring question

We start with what the fertility physician asked us to look at.

02

History and risk

A full medical, surgical, and obstetric history, then a risk stratification.

03

A plan for the pregnancy

What should happen before transfer, what to watch once the pregnancy begins, and who else needs to be involved.

04

Optimization first

If a condition isn’t well controlled, we work on it before conception. With Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, for example, how active the disease is at conception tends to set the course of the pregnancy.

Questions fertility physicians send us

  • Repaired congenital heart disease
  • Breast cancer survivorship
  • Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis on biologics
  • Chronic hypertension
  • Thyroid disease
  • Diabetes
  • Autoimmune conditions
  • Patients in their late 40s and 50s
  • Intended parents with HIV or hepatitis B using a carrier

It’s a full maternal-fetal medicine consult, done by video. The physical exam comes from the patient’s primary care physician, as it usually does, and we order labs and imaging when they’re needed.

Risk assessment and optimization

Medical history, current treatment, and risk factors, with a plan to get the patient as healthy as possible before pregnancy.

Specialty clearances

When cardiology, neurology, rheumatology, or endocrinology needs to weigh in, Ouma arranges it, so your patient isn’t left to find a specialist on their own.

A full consult note

Written the way physicians write to each other, with the reasoning behind the recommendation. No scorecards or graphics.

Patients who travel to you

Ouma is licensed to practice in all 50 states, so patients who fly in for treatment can be seen wherever they live.

Not going through IVF? Patients with a chronic condition who are planning a pregnancy can be seen too. Talk to us

What your program receives

A consult note that shows the reasoning.

Every consult goes back as a standard MFM consultation note, the format physicians already use with each other. It sets out the patient’s history, the risks we found, and the plan, and it explains the recommendation, so the fertility physician can see why the call was made. Agencies also receive a written clearance letter for each gestational-carrier candidate.

ASRM’s criteria are where every carrier screening starts. When a candidate falls outside one of them but is a good candidate in the MFM’s judgment, the note says so plainly and gives the reasons.

Illustration of an Ouma consult note. The note’s sections are listed below.
  1. The referring physician’s question
  2. History
  3. Risk stratification
  4. Plan, including anything to optimize first
  5. Recommendation, with the reasoning and any ASRM criteria involved

Ouma for 3rd-party reproduction

A one-stop shop for third-party reproduction clearances

Ouma gives agencies, carriers, and intended parents one telemedicine practice for surrogate medical screening, specialty clearances, and care once the pregnancy is underway.

A gestational carrier is choosing an elective pregnancy for someone else’s family. We screen against ASRM’s criteria and SMFM practice so intended parents start from as low a risk as possible, and so the carrier goes home healthy to their own family.

“The intended parents want to get a baby out of this. That’s great. But we also owe it to the gestational carrier to make sure she goes home safe and sound to her kids and her family.”
Sina Haeri, MD, MHSAMaternal-fetal medicine physician and CEO, Ouma Health

Gestational carrier screening

The surrogate medical screening agencies need before a match. Board-certified MFMs review each candidate against ASRM criteria, identify risk factors, and set a care plan before embryo transfer. If a condition such as thyroid disease needs better control first, the plan says how.

Judgment, written down

When a candidate falls outside one of ASRM’s criteria, such as having more prior deliveries than the guideline suggests, the MFM looks at their full history and writes down the reasoning either way.

Intended parent consultations

Most carriers are cleared without the intended parents in the room. When intended parents want to go over the plan, or a risk needs explaining to everyone, such as an intended parent with HIV or hepatitis B, the MFM meets with the carrier, their partner, and the intended parents together.

Ongoing pregnancy support

Once the pregnancy is underway, the Ouma MFM team is available if needed to order labs such as NIPT with mobile phlebotomy, review ultrasounds and lab results, and support the carrier through the pregnancy.

Every consult is with a board-certified, US-based MFM employed by Ouma, never a contractor. Our MFMs are well versed in ASRM’s gestational-carrier criteria, which many MFM practices rarely deal with.

More services we offer

Laboratory ordering

NIPT testing with mobile phlebotomy, genetic counseling, and results interpretation.

Ultrasound review

MFM review of ultrasound and lab results when the pregnancy calls for it.

Intended parent support

24/7 SMS nurse-line access, and a session with the MFM on request.

Ouma Connect · for agencies New

See where every candidate stands, without a phone call.

Ouma Connect is our portal for agencies that refer gestational-carrier candidates to Ouma for nurse intake and MFM clearance. After you refer a candidate, an Ouma nurse reaches out within two business days. Every candidate in your book sits in one table, and each row carries its own progress rail, with days in the current step and the next appointment. Open a candidate to see the same rail in plain English ("their nurse intake is on the calendar"), a card with the next appointment, and a feed of every stage change. If a candidate is on hold, Connect shows it calmly, along with the step where things paused.

1

Active referrals, candidates in MFM review, and clearances this month.

2

Click any stage in the pipeline strip to filter the table.

3

Every row has its own rail, and the current step pulses.

4

Days in the current step and the next appointment, per candidate.

How a referral moves

Every candidate follows the same five steps.

Each row's progress rail tracks these steps, from referral to MFM clearance. The step a candidate is on pulses, and a plain-English note says what happens next.

  1. 1Referral receivedOur team is reaching out to schedule their nurse intake
  2. 2Nurse intake scheduledTheir nurse intake is on the calendar
  3. 3Nurse intake completedWe’re booking their MFM consult now
  4. 4MFM scheduledTheir MFM consult is on the calendar
  5. 5MFM completedCleared, with the date

If a candidate pauses

On hold, shown calmly.

When a candidate asks to pause, Connect says so plainly and marks the step where things stopped. Their place in your book is kept, so the process picks up where it left off.

The note on the candidate's page
Where they paused, on the same five-step rail
Filters and searchInvitation-only accessEach agency sees only its own referralsGender-neutral language throughoutNo login to Ouma's clinical systems needed

Next up in Connect: clearance letters and screening summaries delivered to your Reports shelf with an email alert, and referring a new candidate from inside Connect.

Connect is invitation-only. Ask about access for your agency.

Ask about Ouma Connect →

Ouma case study

Case of the wrong label

Gestational Carrier

Reclassified and cleared

A 24-year-old hoping to be a gestational carrier was repeatedly disqualified because their records indicated a past history of ITP. After they met with the Ouma team at the infertility physician's request, and a thorough review of records, it was determined the ITP diagnosis had been entered as a medical error, and they did not in fact have it.

Confirmatory blood work confirmed this, and reassurance was provided to the candidate, the intended parents, and the fertility clinic.

The outcome

Cleared from an MFM standpoint to proceed as a gestational carrier, so the couple’s plans could go ahead.

01

Identified misdiagnosis

Thorough records review revealed the ITP diagnosis was entered in error.

02

Commissioned bloodwork

Confirmatory lab work was ordered to validate the finding.

03

Confirmed correct diagnosis

Results confirmed the candidate did not have ITP, resolving the disqualification.

Gave clearance

Cleared to proceed as a gestational carrier.

Partnership

Gather × Ouma

Medical records collection meets MFM screening, improve match times and increase clinical approval rates with one streamlined workflow.

Reduce screening & match times

Full medical records with detailed summaries by Gather, MFM screening by Ouma.

Saves you time

Worry-free coordination that accelerates delivery and reduces agency admin work.

Increase clinic approval rate

Comprehensive risk evaluation optimizing the chance of a healthy outcome.

Cost-efficient

A single fee covers the full screening and records workflow, start to finish.

From screening to postpartum

A partner in your path to parenthood

From the first consult through postpartum, the same Ouma care team stays available, and the MFM steps in when the pregnancy calls for it.

01

Preconception and screening

Preconception consults for IVF patients, carrier screening against ASRM criteria, and specialty clearances as needed.

02

Early pregnancy

NIPT with mobile phlebotomy, genetic counseling, and an MFM consult when one is needed.

03

Ongoing care

MFM review of ultrasounds and labs as needed, monitoring for blood pressure or diabetes when the pregnancy calls for it, and the 24/7 nurse line.

04

Postpartum

Lactation consultations and continued access to the Ouma care team.

What our community says

Trusted by leading reproductive partners

“We have been really happy with Ouma and the consults. Ouma has already made such a difference for our patients, and we are grateful for the relationship.”

Diving deeper

The clinical detail behind our clearances

Maternal-fetal medicine for surrogacy and gestational carrier clearance

Intended parents, agencies, and fertility programs need timely, standardized medical clearance for gestational carriers, wherever the carrier lives. Ouma's maternal-fetal medicine specialists provide surrogacy MFM consults and gestational carrier medical clearance by telehealth, with consistent documentation your program can rely on. Our guide to MFM clearance for surrogacy and IVF explains what the evaluation covers and what to expect.

Every gestational carrier screening is performed by board-certified MFM physicians and can be paired with ultrasound interpretation and high-risk pregnancy care (tele-MFM) if the carrier goes on to a complex pregnancy.

Preconception MFM consults for high-risk and complex histories

A preconception MFM consult, sometimes called preconception counseling, is a maternal-fetal medicine visit before pregnancy for someone whose history could make pregnancy riskier. Fertility clinics refer IVF patients before embryo transfer. Surrogacy programs refer carrier candidates. Some patients come with a chronic condition, such as hypertension, diabetes, thyroid disease, or a heart condition, and want a plan before they try to conceive.

The consult covers their history, a risk stratification, a plan, and anything that should be better controlled first. Ouma is licensed to practice in all 50 states and does these consults by telehealth, so patients who travel for fertility care can be seen from home. For older patients, our page on pregnancy risk and age covers the background.

Frequently asked

Common questions about MFM clearance

Our team can turn around gestational-carrier and IVF clearances fast, wherever the carrier lives.

What is MFM clearance for IVF or surrogacy?
MFM clearance is a maternal-fetal medicine evaluation of whether someone is medically ready to carry a pregnancy, and under what conditions. Ouma provides it for IVF patients before embryo transfer and for gestational-carrier candidates before they’re matched or before transfer.
What is a preconception MFM consult?
A preconception MFM consult is a visit with a maternal-fetal medicine physician before pregnancy, for someone whose medical history could make pregnancy riskier. Ouma’s board-certified MFMs do these by telehealth for IVF patients, gestational-carrier candidates, and patients with chronic conditions who are planning a pregnancy.
What happens in a preconception consult?
The MFM starts with the referring physician’s question, takes a full history, stratifies risk, and sets out a plan for the pregnancy. If a condition such as blood pressure, thyroid disease, or inflammatory bowel disease isn’t well controlled, the plan covers getting it there before conception. The physical exam comes from the patient’s primary care physician, and the MFM orders labs or imaging when needed.
What does the referring clinic or agency receive?
A standard MFM consultation note that includes the history, risk assessment, plan, and the reasoning behind the recommendation. Surrogacy agencies also receive a written clearance letter for each gestational-carrier candidate.
What are the medical requirements to be a surrogate or gestational carrier?
ASRM’s 2022 recommendations say a carrier should be of legal age, preferably 21 to 45, and ideally should have had at least one term, uncomplicated pregnancy, with no more than five previous deliveries or three cesarean deliveries. A prior cesarean doesn’t rule someone out on its own; ASRM’s guideline sets the limit at three. Screening also covers medical history, infectious disease testing, a psychosocial evaluation, and a uterine evaluation. Ouma’s MFMs screen candidates against these criteria and SMFM practice. Our guide to MFM clearance for surrogacy and IVF has more detail.
What can disqualify someone from being a surrogate?
Common reasons are not having had an uncomplicated term pregnancy, more prior deliveries or cesareans than ASRM’s guideline, serious complications in a past pregnancy such as preterm birth, and medical conditions that aren’t well controlled. An MFM looks at the whole history, and a reason on paper isn’t always the end of it: in one Ouma case, a candidate’s disqualifying diagnosis turned out to be a records error, and the candidate was cleared (the case study on this page).
Can a candidate who doesn’t meet every ASRM criterion still be cleared?
Sometimes. ASRM’s criteria are the starting point. When a candidate falls outside one but their overall history makes them a good candidate in the MFM’s judgment, the consult note says so and explains why. When a candidate isn’t a good fit, the note explains that too.
Do intended parents meet with the MFM?
Only if they want to, or if a risk needs to be explained to everyone. Most carriers are cleared without the intended parents in the visit. Intended parents can ask for a session to go over the plan, and when an intended parent has a condition such as HIV or hepatitis B, the MFM can meet with the carrier and intended parents together.
Is Ouma available nationwide for reproductive programs?
Yes. Ouma is licensed to practice in all 50 states, so fertility clinics and agencies can refer patients and carriers wherever they live, including patients who travel to a clinic in another state.
Is Ouma an app or a medical practice?
Ouma is a physician-led, MFM-founded medical practice. Every consult is with a board-certified, US-based maternal-fetal medicine physician employed by Ouma, not software and not a contractor.
Does Ouma provide MFM clearance for gestational carriers and surrogates?
Yes. Ouma provides gestational carrier medical clearance and surrogacy MFM consults by telehealth, with standardized documentation for intended parents, agencies, and fertility programs, wherever the carrier lives.
Can agencies see where a gestational-carrier candidate is in MFM clearance?
Yes. Ouma Connect shows every candidate an agency has referred, with progress through five steps from referral received to MFM completed, days in the current step, and the next appointment. Each agency sees only its own referrals.
What do intended parents see on an Ouma Connect status page?
The carrier’s first name and last initial, the current step in clearance, and the next appointment’s date and time (shown in Pacific time), under the agency’s name. The page shows nothing clinical and no reports, and it needs no login. The agency can revoke it at any time, and it expires 60 days after clearance.
Do agencies need access to Ouma’s medical records system?
No. Ouma Connect is a separate, invitation-only portal, so agencies never touch Ouma’s clinical systems.

From Ouma Answers

What should you look for when evaluating virtual fertility and maternity care platforms?

The short answer

Vendors in this category differ far more than their websites suggest. Five questions separate them, and none of them is a feature.

Read the full answer →

Medically reviewed by Sina Haeri, MD, MHSA

Related questions

Employers — Do virtual maternity and fertility platforms integrate with existing health insurance? → Employers — What should a global workforce look for in a virtual maternity and fertility benefit? → Browse all 19 answers →

Let’s Talk

Preconception consults and carrier clearance for your program.

Our reproductive partnerships team sets up referrals for fertility clinics and surrogacy agencies, and can walk your agency through Ouma Connect.

Get in Touch →Learn How It Works

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