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 parents and (old) surrogate. Almost three years later, with a toddler running around and the benefit of hindsight and reflection, we got to chat about our relationships with each other, with Darcey and my children, and what we've learned in the past three years. We also got to chat about Mike and Nate's experience of parenting post-surrogacy, in a two-dad family.

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 her guest blog post she wrote about parenting with a chronic illness.

We are celebrating 100 episodes of the Podcast in the coming weeks! This episode reflects on the last 98 episodes, and on the perpetual journey of surrogacy.

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 gamer kid, and Cameron's sous-chef. Cameron can speak Japanese and has worked as a garbologist!

Yvette has a long history of infertility and pregnancy losses, and has adenomyosis. Their specialist has recommended that they consider surrogacy in South Australia to grow their family.

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, and a mad-dash across the world before borders shut, and then two families in lockdown before a baby arrives - and we've got quite the epic tale of surrogacy!

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.

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.

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 heavily involved in car clubs. Cherie is into trashy reality television (I reckon she should be ON Gogglebox!).

Cherie has recently started her own cooking blog on Instagram, cooking up a storm of recipes from her family and Alex's family. You can follow her on Instagram @cookingwith_cherie. Cherie and Alex are both on Facebook and happy to connect with the surrogacy community, and have been on the community Zoom calls. Hopefully social distancing restrictions will lift so we can have some face to face catch ups in Melbourne.

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 parents in Brisbane. We talked about her first journey, and how quickly she made the decision to carry a baby for people she had met online. Having learned some valuable lessons from her first journey, Susan was a surrogate again for another Brisbane couple and gave birth earlier this year to Arlo. The birth was just on the cusp of the COVID restrictions, and at the time of our conversation Susan was still dealing with some health challenges arising from Arlo's birth. We also talked about the frustrating symptoms of pregnancy, including post-partum hair loss, which can feel more challenging when we don't have a baby to show for it!

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're favourite holiday destination country is England, although they have to be careful with their language when they're abroad.

You can find Scott in the Australian Surrogacy Community on Facebook. That's also where you'll find details of the ASC Zoom meet ups which Scott and Phillipa have been running to keep us socially connected since COVID kept us all physically distant. You can also follow Scott and Sean's Instagram account @two_bears2014.

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 she became a mum when her cousin delivered her baby girl, Imara, in 2019. Her cousin's offer was on standby for 8 years before they decided to go ahead. Hannah had a few legal hurdles stood in their way because surrogacy was not an option for single parents in South Australia at the time.

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 surrogacy in Canada and met their surrogate Toya in record time. Baby Louis arrived earlier this year at the cusp of the pandemic and airport shutdowns, but they were able to return to Australia before things got too hairy.