So you want to be a surrogate? I remember when I first considered becoming a surrogate - searching everywhere for information and ending up down many an internet rabbit hole. I was excited and nervous; my husband was skeptical. How [...]
Care Package Ideas for Surrogates and Egg Donors During a recent egg donation cycle, my lovely friend and recipient gave me an enormous box labelled 'Sarah's Donor Cycle Care Package.' Thinking it was probably a box of chocolates and a [...]
One Year On Surro-baby, Darcey, turned one last weekend. Her dads threw her a party, of course, and like all first birthdays, it was more of an anniversary for the parents than it was a party for the baby. An [...]
Surrogate Age Limits There are some surrogate age limits applied to surrogacy in Australia, and each State has it's own requirements and restrictions. In most States, the surrogate must be over 25 years of age. In the ACT, the surrogate [...]
After a baby is born through an Australian surrogacy arrangement, a Parentage Order is required to transfer parentage from the surrogate and her partner to the intended parents. When the baby is born, the surrogate and her partner register the [...]
Traditional Surrogacy Traditional surrogacy is where a surrogate uses her own eggs to conceive, with sperm from an Intended Father or a donor. It is different from gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate becomes pregnant with an embryo created with an [...]
Gift Giving in Surrogacy Arrangements One of the first questions asked by surrogates and intended parents, is whether the intended parents can give gifts to their surrogate, or her family members, without compromising the surrogacy agreement or the Parentage Order [...]
Surrogates are like sisters. Surrogacy is a unique and special journey, not just for the intended parents, but for the women privileged enough to carry a baby for someone else. It's an unusual thing to do, and most people don't [...]
Surrogacy and Money Conversations It is a fact universally known, that altruistic surrogates don't like to talk about money. We don't like asking for money, and we'd rather spend our own money than burden our intended parents. We feel that [...]
Milk and Feeding a Surrogacy Baby Most new parents have to grapple with learning how to feed their newborn and making the right decisions for the family. When you add in surrogacy, it can take on a whole other level [...]
The Fourth Trimester Many people haven’t heard of the ‘fourth trimester,’ let alone when it applies in a surrogacy arrangement. The fourth trimester refers to the first three months after a baby is born when baby is going through a [...]
Surrogacy Milestones and Celebrations When most people have a child, they celebrate milestones like a Baby Shower, and later the birth, and then Birthdays, and Mother's and Father's Days, without having to consult or think about anyone outside their own [...]
Finding Happiness Beyond Surrogacy Surrogacy can be all-consuming - for the intended parents, and the surrogate family. Relationship-building takes time (particularly if we want to get it right) and so does the process. Medical appointments, counselling, legal advice, blood tests, [...]
In this episode of The Australian Surrogacy Podcast, I interviewed my husband, Troy, about his experience as a surrogate's partner. I was often asked what Troy thought of me being a surrogate, so this week I thought it would be [...]
The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Epsiode 5: Rhiannon In this episode you'll hear from the sensational Rhiannon, who was a gestational surrogate for her brother and his partner not once, but twice - and is planning on doing it again! Listen [...]
This is a 2-part episode with Carla, an egg donor and a traditional surrogate. Carla has donated her eggs to 8 couples! In this episode we explore her egg donations and her reasons for donating, and hear all about her [...]
The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 8: Hayley. Hayley is a gestational surrogate, and she and her intended parents all live in WA. Not everything went smoothly in Hayley's surrogacy journey, and particularly during the last trimester. Hayley has some great [...]
Kate is a gestational surrogate for a gay couple, Mike & Glenn (listen to their story at Episode 10). Kate is due to give birth any day now, and in this episode you'll hear all about her plans for a [...]
The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Epsiode 19: Charmaine. Charmaine was a gestational surrogate and birthed James for his parents in 2017. Not everything was sunshine and rainbows, and Charmaine has a lot of wisdom for other intended parents and surrogates. If [...]
The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 21: Marnie B. Marnie B is a gestational surrogate for interstate intended parents. Marnie and her team did a mammoth amount of research and preparation prior to proceeding with the arrangement, and the preparation is [...]
This is Part 1 in a 3-part episode with Rachel, a surrogate who has delivered 5 babies for their intended parents. In this episode, Rachel tells her story of starting as an egg donor, and then as a traditional surrogate. [...]
This is part 2 of a 3-part interview with Rachel. In this episode, Rachel talks about finding her final intended parents, Marian and David, and their journey to the birth of baby Hugo. Unfortunately, Hugo was diagnosed late in the [...]
The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 23 - Part 3. This is Part 3 of a 3-part episode with Rachel - make sure to listen to Part 1 and Part 2 before jumping to this episode. In Part 3, we hear [...]
Episode 43 of the Australian Surrogacy Podcast: Shannon. Shannon Garner has been a surrogate, not once but twice for a lovely gay couple in NSW. Shannon went on to write about her first surrogacy experience and is now a published [...]
This is episode 50 of the Surrogacy Podcast, another Khale series episode with Katrina Hale, and it makes sense that with celebrating episode 50 we discussed milestones and rituals in surrogacy. You might think a baby shower or birthday is [...]
The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 51 is with Michelle, doula, FIFO partner and mum from WA. Michelle enjoyed pregnancy and birth so much that she went back and did it again, for WA couple Kate and Kris. Kate has MRKH, [...]
Dr Lynn Burmeister of No. 1 Fertility. Dr Lynn was gracious enough to talk to me about fertility and infertility, and what we can expect from surrogacy fertility treatments. She also gave a few pointers for people trying to conceive, [...]
