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 environment and they love travelling, and their favourite destination is Japan. Ashlee has a chronic health condition that makes long-distance travel or carrying a baby risky for her. You can find out more about them in the Podcast!

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 to conceive with the help of a generous egg donor, but sadly endured a pregnancy loss and gave birth to her beloved son. She's since been advised that surrogacy is her best option for growing her family.

Pat is an active member of the Australian Surrogacy Community Facebook Group, as well as Egg Donation Australia where she found her egg donor. She is an excellent example of what commitment and energy that you put into the community is what you can hope to receive in return.

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 different ideas about the arrangement. It was almost two years after the birth that the legal process was finalised, granting Anne parental responsibility for her daughter.

Anne and I shared this story in the hope that we could educate intended parents and surrogates about the consequences of entering 'off-grid' arrangements, and the importance of following the processes so as to get the Parentage Order for the child. Anne was granted a court order, but it was not a Parentage Order, it was a Parenting Order. And the order she was granted came at great legal expense and a huge emotional toll for her and the birth parents.

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 recorded this interview, Madeline was at the end of the fourth trimester, so it was all fresh in her mind and she was able to talk candidly about her experiences of the pregnancy, birth and beyond.

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 excited to be expecting twins later this year. COVID-19 has thrown in some extra challenges, but Liz is the ultimate planner and organiser and if anyone's able to manage it, it's her.

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 75: Elyse.

Elyse and her partner went through many years and many rounds of fertility treatment before researching donor conception and international surrogacy. They eventually created embryos with an Australian donor with a Thai clinic, and went on to have twins via surrogacy in Thailand. The babies were born not long after the surrogacy situation in Thailand changed dramatically, with the Baby Gammy saga.

Several years later, when they were preparing for the twins to graduate from childcare to school, Elyse discovered she was pregnant - naturally! She went on to deliver her daughter in 2019. She's now one of 'those women' who conceived naturally after infertility - a unique and rather special place to be.

Elyse and I talked about her journey in Thailand,  and returning to Australia with the babies, and parenting after surrogacy. As Elyse says, 'if you’re gonna go through all of that, you definitely want a baby. These kids are going to be the most loved children in the entire world because their parents fought so hard to have them."

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 74: Tim. Tim is an intended parent, and with his husband Jason is pursuing surrogacy in Melbourne.

In this episode, we talked about the challenges and pitfalls of looking for a surrogate in Australia, using social media and local meet-ups. Not everyone likes social media, so when that is the primary medium for finding a surrogate or intended parents, it can be a daunting prospect.

In this episode, we talked about:

How to find a surrogate in Australia

The Australian Surrogacy Community Facebook group

The Surrogacy Handbook, which is free and downloadable - and Tim's favourite resource

Our mutual friend Amanda, who appeared on the Podcast in episode 18

The fun and support you can get at a local surrogacy catch-up

Why it's important to follow the rules of social media engagement.

Tim's advice, for surrogates and intended parents: "You can't leave a footprint if you don't step in the mud." But just as important, you have a responsibility to yourself and to the surrogacy community, to make sure that others have a positive experience of surrogacy.

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

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 73: Martin and Paul.

Martin and Paul are gay dads in Victoria and recently welcomed their son Zac through a surrogacy arrangement with a surrogate, Crystal, in Queensland. They found their egg donor and surrogate via online forums, notwithstanding the daunting prospect of pursuing surrogacy in Australia.

We talked about heaps of things in this episode, including:

The importance of Setting Expectations for our surrogacy journey and the document that Martin, Paul and Crystal used to get them on the same page.

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Their connection with other gay dads, including Carla's intended parents and gay dads Andrew and Simon, and the importance of community support.

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The wonder and importance of surrogacy birth photography.

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How they found an egg donor, and how they found a surrogate.

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The ways to support a surrogate, including practical ways to help when you don't live nearby.

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 72: Amber, Jake and Aaron.

This team broke new ground, becoming the first team to proceed with a surrogacy arrangement for gay intended dads in South Australia. You might be surprised that this was a new thing, but laws in South Australia only changed recently to allow same-sex male couples to engage in surrogacy in their own state.

To make it more interesting, Amber was a traditional surrogate for Jake and Aaron, and the team was told by IVF clinics and lawyers that it was not legal in South Australia. Why is that? Well, many people believe that traditional surrogacy is illegal - the only place where it is not legal is in the ACT. They also think that traditional surrogates WON'T GIVE UP THE BABY (guess what? they do!)

Amber, Jake and Aaron met on the Australian Surrogacy Community and now have a lifelong friendship. As they reach the end of the fourth trimester, they're experiencing the perpetual journey that is a surrogacy relationship.

The Australian Surrogacy Podcast Episode 71: Ric. Ric is a West Australian single man pursuing surrogacy to grow his family. Unfortunately, the surrogacy laws in Western Australia prohibit single men and same sex male couples from pursuing surrogacy within their own State, forcing people to move interstate or pursuing international surrogacy.

Whilst there are changes afoot, they're taking too long, and in the meantime Ric is looking at other avenues. We also talked about the legacy left behind by his loving and very much loved wife Susannah, and the work he's been doing to effect law reform in WA.