The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 63: Raya

Raya is an intended mother in Melbourne and is due to meet her new baby in the next week! Her lovely sister-in-law, her husband’s sister, Lara, is due to give birth any day now. I’ll be interviewing Lara in a later episode. Raya and I talked about her journey of trying to conceive with her husband, and suffering with infertility and then going through IVF to try and have a baby. Sadly, Raya developed Ashmeran’s Syndrome, which left her unable to carry a child. Lara and her partner offered to carry a baby for Raya long before they knew that surrogacy was going to be their only option.

There are particular dynamics in a surrogacy arrangement with family members involved. How do they navigate existing relationships when surrogacy is thrown into the mix? How does Raya’s husband feel about seeing his little sister carrying his child? We also talked about the surrogacy process, and Raya’s sadness at not being able to carry her own child. Raya was able to get support from other women suffering with infertility, who understood what she was going through.

You might like to have a look at these resources, which we talked about in this episode:

You can find out more information about some of the things we discussed, including:

Sarah is a surrogacy lawyer in Melbourne and has published a book, More Than Just a Baby: A Guide to Surrogacy for Intended Parents and Surrogates, the only guide to surrogacy in Australia.

You can find more information in the free Surrogacy Handbook, reading articles in the Blog, by listening to more episodes of the Surrogacy Podcast. You can also book in for a consult with me below.

Sarah can assist with Surrogacy Parentage Order applications for Victorian surrogacy arrangements. Sarah offers an affordable DIY Parentage Order package to transfer parentage from the birth parents to the intended parents.

Sarah can assist with surrogacy arrangements across all States, including Victoria and cross-border arrangements. You can contact me here. All consults are conducted over Zoom and email. You can book in for a consult with me below, and check out the legal services I provide.

Hi! I’m Sarah Jefford (she/her). I’m a family creation lawyer, practising in surrogacy and donor conception arrangements. I’m an IVF mum, an egg donor and a traditional surrogate, and I delivered a baby for two dads in 2018

I advocate for positive, best practice surrogacy arrangements within Australia, and provide support and education to help intended parents make informed decisions when pursuing overseas surrogacy.

more than just a baby

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