The Surrogacy Podcast Episode 100: Mike, Nate and Sarah. We made it to 100 episodes of the Podcast! And it seems only fitting that we revisit the earlier episodes, and in particular my interview with my intended parents, Mike and Nate. When we recorded those first episodes, we were very early in the fourth trimester and and finding our feet as new …

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 99: Reflections on surrogacy with Sarah Jefford. I was lucky enough to sit down with Miranda Crowther-Jones, writer, and mother through egg donation and surrogacy, and talk about the last 3 years and my book, More Than Just a Baby. You might remember Miranda from her own episode on the Podcast, and also from…

The Surrogacy Podcast Episode 98: Yvette and Cam. Yvette and Cameron are intended parents in South Australia and have shared their story for the Surrogacy Podcast.Yvette is a primary school teacher, and teaches drama and dance in French. She can speak four languages! Cameron considers himself the family chauffeur and chef. Yvette's son Xavier is a …

The Surrogacy Podcast Episode 97: Katie. Katie is a surrogate in New Zealand, who carried for her sister and birthed a few months ago. Katie is originally from Ireland, and so is her sister - so their surrogacy journey crossed Irish and New Zealand borders and two different legal frameworks. Add in a global pandemic part-way through a pregnancy, an…

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 pande…

The Surrogacy Podcast Episode 95: Cherie and Alex. Cherie is a cancer survivor, and she and her partner Alex live with their gorgeous pups in Melbourne. They've recently managed to freeze embryos, and Cherie is taking time out to concentrate on her health after the cancer diagnosis. Cherie is an accomplished pianist and violinist, and Alex is heavi…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 94: Susan. Susan was a Brisbane surrogate, not once but twice, for two different couples. Susan's partner, Loz, was on the Podcast in Episode 47. Susan and Loz have three adult children of their own and live in Brisbane. Susan decided to become a surrogate after having her own children, and met intended pare…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 93: Scott and Sean. This is a Stories Series episode with Scott and Sean, sharing their surrogacy story for the Podcast. Scott and Sean live in Melbourne and are a gay couple with a menagerie of animals named after famous people and food. Sean is a psychiatric nurse, and Scott works as a retail manager. They…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 92: Hannah. Hannah lives in South Australia was diagnosed with MRKH in her early 20's. she's long-known that she would need a surrogate to carry a baby for her. MRKH, or Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome, is a disorder that often results in an absent or underdeveloped uterus. Hannah is a single mum and…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 91: Rob. Rob and his husband Mark recently returned to Australia with their son Louis, who was born through altruistic surrogacy in Canada. They explored egg donation and surrogacy within Australia before considering options overseas. They created embryos with a donor in the USA, and finally landed on surrog…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 90: Francine and Ian. Francine came to Australia for a 'gap year' - and is still here, many years later! Francine was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 31, and is lucky enough to now be cancer-free, 5 years on. They've had a lovely offer of an egg donor and are hoping to create embryos in the comin…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 89: Emma and Alex. Emma and Alex are intended parents in Canberra, hoping to grow their family through surrogacy. They have one child, Felix, and after Emma was treated for cervical cancer they are hoping to grow their family through surrogacy. Emma has been doing IVF (and more IVF) with ovarian grafting tre…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 88: Hayley. Hayley is a donor conceived person in Victoria, and her parents shared with her that she was donor conceived when she was 12 years old. When she was older, Hayley did a DNA test with consumer-DNA sites (like Ancestry and 23andme), and worked out who her biological father was, and connected with s…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 87: Anthony and Patrick. Anthony and Patrick are gay dads in Sydney, and they became dads through surrogacy when their daughter was born in 2017. Their surrogate, Bree, was on Episode 42 of the Podcast, and she and her family live in Victoria. The team progressed with a gestational surrogacy arrangement to h…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 86: Adelle. Adelle became a mother almost two years ago when she gave birth to her son, Lincoln. The birth was smooth, but the aftermath was anything but. Adelle suffered a significant injury arising from the birth, which resulted in her having an ileostomy, which ultimately saved her life. Part of her journ…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 85: Emma-Lee. Emma-Lee is an egg donor, and is also a genetic genealogist - she researches genetic histories as a hobby. This means she can find out all sorts of information about someone, based on them, or their genetic relatives, having uploaded their DNA to a consumer site, such as Ancestry.com.…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 84: Crystal. Crystal was a surrogate for friends Martin and Paul, whom she met through the online surrogacy community. You might like to listen to Martin and Paul's episode 73 as well, as this team has some great advice from all their perspectives.Crystal and I recorded this interview during the COVID pandem…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 83: Sarah-Jayne. Sarah-Jayne is a Perinatal and Family Psychologist, who provides counselling for surrogacy and fertility and parenting. We talked about the importance of managing our mental health and accessing support on the way to parenthood (and when we get there!) and how the team can support each other…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 82: Ben and Matt are intended parents and are sharing their story as part of the Stories Series of the Podcast. What we know about Ben is that he’s a magician and entertainer! And Matt likes Paul Jennings books! They live in Point Cook, Victoria, and are the Fun Uncles in their family. They’re well-travelled…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 81: Helder and Mark. Helder and Mark live in NSW and love travelling and experiencing other cultures.They're now settled in Sydney, NSW and hoping to grow their family through surrogacy. Helder is an agriculturalist, originally from Portugal, and he speaks three languages. He can dream in Spanish, English an…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 80: Ashlee and Chris are intended parents living in Brisbane, Queensland and they’re sharing their story as part of the Stories Series of the Surrogacy Podcast. Ashlee and Chris consider themselves ‘crazy cat people’ and have a cat, Tigger who is 19! They’re home bodies interested in human rights and the env…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 79: Pat.This episode of the Podcast is part of the Stories Series, which recognises the power of storytelling and sharing our experiences that brought us to surrogacy. Pat recorded this self-interview for the Podcast, to share her story of trying to grow her family. Pat experienced infertility and was able t…

Anne (not her real name) became a mother through an unconventional arrangement with her neighbours. It was similar to surrogacy - and similar to adoption. The team didn't know anything about surrogacy laws and processes before the baby was on the way. Unfortunately, as they came to discover, the child protection system and the legal system had some…

Madeline was a gestational surrogate in NSW, for intended dads who lived a few hours away. Madeline had a rollercoaster journey - including a false start with different intended parents, new intended parents, positive pregnancy tests, surprise twin pregnancy, then subsequent pregnancy loss. The team recovered and went on to have baby Micah. When we…

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 76: Liz. Liz and her partner have been wanting and trying to grow their family for many years, and eventually it led them down the surrogacy path. They researched many options, and finally landed on surrogacy in Tbilisi, Georgia.It's been a long and hard journey to get where they are, but now they're quietly…