The Surrogacy Podcast Episode 96: Angela and Kirsty: surrogacy pregnancy during COVID. Ange is an intended mother in Queensland, and Kirsty is her surrogate. Kirsty is pregnant and due in just under two months. They met through the Australian Surrogacy Community on Facebook, and had an embryo transfer in February – just weeks before the COVID pandemic led to lockdowns and restrictions in hospitals. As the pregnancy has progressed, they’ve had difficulties planning the birth, attending hospital together for appointments, and negotiating with the hospital. Their hospital is a COVID hotspot, with several staff diagnosed with the virus. And Kirsty is a fast-birther, so choosing another hospital further away from home is out of the question.

Looking for a surrogate and not sure where to start? We Need a Surrogate – What’s Next? And if you have a surrogate or intended parents, you can get started on the surrogacy process

Unfortunately, Kirsty and Ange have had to deal with ‘one size fits all’ hospital policies that were going to prevent either of the intended parents attend hospital, leave Kirsty to birth without them, and require Kirsty to care for the baby in the hours and days after the birth. But, with a bit of pushing by them, advocating for themselves, and some advocating by their surrogacy lawyer (!) they’ve been able to get a better response from the hospital.

Hospitals and healthcare providers who are supporting a surrogacy pregnancy and birth need to develop a surrogacy policy, and need to recognise that the birthing person is not the parent, and does not generally wish to care for the baby once it is born. And the parents do want to provide care, and neither of them have given birth. It is in a child’s interests that they be cared for by their parents, and a surrogate cannot be forced to care for a child she birthed.

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

• You can find out more information about hospital management of a surrogacy pregnancy and birth, including a surrogacy policy already drafted for you.
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• Other information about a surrogacy pregnancy or birth during the time of COVID.
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• Birth planning for a surrogacy arrangement.
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• Planning an awesome fourth trimester.
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• If you’re considering becoming a surrogate, you can read more about it and book in for a free consult with me.
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• If you are interested in more resources for surrogacy birth planning, including the Information Pack I mention, you can get in touch.

I have published a book, More Than Just a Baby: A Guide to Surrogacy for Intended Parents and Surrogates, the only guide to surrogacy in Australia.

Sarah is the only lawyer in Australia practising exclusively in surrogacy and donor conception, or ‘family creation’ law. Sarah has been a surrogacy lawyer for many surrogacy arrangements in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Ipswich and North Lakes, Far North Queensland and across Queensland.

Sarah can assist with Parentage Order applications for Queensland surrogacy arrangements, and offers full service or do-it-yourself parentage order packages.

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, and check out the legal services I provide.