SurroTales

I’m currently soaking up every moment of maternity leave, but I couldn’t wait any longer to share the story of how our sweet Lila Madeline Lehman came into the world. And who better to join me than the incredible woman who carried her—our gestational carrier (and my sister-in-law!), Maddy. In this episode, Maddy and I relive Lila’s birth story—from the days leading up to delivery after Trav and I...

In this episode, I chat with Dominique as she shares her deeply personal journey through infertility. From enduring multiple rounds of IVF in both New Zealand and the USA to navigating devastating miscarriages, Dominique takes us through the emotional and physical toll of her experience. After years of trying, her doctor eventually encouraged her to explore surrogacy—an idea she initially struggle...

In this inspiring episode, I sit down with Victoria, who shares her remarkable journey of navigating life with a Type 1 diabetes diagnosis—one that came unexpectedly as an adult during her medical training. We dive into how this life-changing event influenced many aspects of her life, including her career, her fertility and her family planning decisions...ultimately leading her to pursue surrogacy...

In this episode, I chat to Margaret Casey KC, a leading barrister specializing in surrogacy and reproductive law based in Auckland, New Zealand. Margaret shares her inspiring journey into this field, shaped in part by her own personal fertility story. She offers a detailed look at how New Zealand's surrogacy laws were developed, the legal processes currently in place, and the specific steps intend...

In this heartfelt episode, I chat with Tessa, an intended mother in the midst of her surrogacy journey. Tessa shares her extraordinary story, from the joy of welcoming her first son to the devastating discovery of a rare cancer during delivery, which ultimately led to a hysterectomy. Despite this, Tessa held onto hope, knowing her ovaries and eggs could make surrogacy an option when the time was r...

In this episode, I’m joined by New Zealand fertility specialist, Dr. Elizabeth Glanville, for an in-depth discussion on the world of IVF and surrogacy. Dr. Glanville guides us through every stage of the process, from preparation to transfer, and explore what happens afterward. Dr. Glanville shares expert insights on the differences between natural and manufactured cycles, the role ECART (Ethics Co...

Natalie is the embodiment of resilience and strength, which is no surprise considering she is a competitive triathlete! She is the step mom of three boys, and now, the proud mom of an almost two-year-old girl, Bella, via an extraordinary surrogacy journey. In this heartfelt episode, Natalie shares her inspiring story of partnering with Jess, a surrogate she met through the Love Makes a Family netw...

Lydia is the CEO of Fertility New Zealand (FNZ), a national charity dedicated to supporting, advocating for, and educating individuals facing infertility at all stages of their journey and beyond. In this episode, Lydia highlights the wide range of services FNZ offers, including in-person and online support groups, webinars, a helpline, accessible resources, and a strong community within the infer...

The time has finally come to interview a very special VIP guest...our surrogate, Maddy, who happens to be my sister-in-law! Best of all, she might have some very exciting news to share... Spoiler alert, she is 22 weeks pregnant with our baby girl (at the time we recorded this)!!! In this episode, Maddy shares her experience with being our surrogate so far. From making the most generous offer we co...

Andy's story proves just how global surrogacy can be. Andy lives in Australia and has had two children via surrogacy...each in a different country! First, he shares his experience with having his son via surrogacy in Canada, followed by the story of bringing his daughter into the world through surrogacy in Argentina. He shares the many twists and turns his story took, the differences in navigating...

When Jen and her husband decided it was time to start a family, she went in for what she thought would be a routine cervical smear. Instead, she was faced with an unexpected cervical cancer diagnosis in her mid-thirties, leading her straight into chemoradiotherapy. Thankfully, with the support of a dedicated medical team, she was encouraged to explore fertility preservation before beginning treatm...

Get ready for a fun twist in this surrogate episode! I've already spoken with the intended parent, and now it’s time to hear the surrogate’s side of the story. Meet the amazing Nat, who shares her journey of bringing the adorable Lulu into the world—daughter of Christian Newman, featured in a previous episode and founder of Love Makes a Family! In this episode, Nat opens up about her experienc...

Samantha really juggles it all...! While recording this episode, she was just 10 days away from welcoming her twin boys into the world via surrogacy in the U.S. and also managing her thriving organization, Surrogacy Compass. Samantha opens up about her surrogacy journey as an intended parent and how she’s preparing to become a mom of two in just a few short days. Most importantly, Samantha shares...

This is a special mini-episode with Sam Everingham, a proud dad to twin girls via surrogacy and founder of Growing Families—an incredible organization that provides education, guidance and support on surrogacy and egg donation globally. They are based in Australia, but offer support related to international (and domestic) surrogacy and host a series of in-person and virtual events around the world...

Kiriana (Kiri) speaks so eloquently and honestly about her surrogacy journey, and the path that led her and her partner down that road. Her story is full of heartbreaking challenges and setbacks, but the power of perseverance, medicine, hope and family (especially one amazing sister-in-law!) resulted in their miracle baby boy, who is incredibly loved by their entire surrogacy "village."...

Laura has done so much for the surrogacy community in New Zealand and is passionate about creating safe and informative groups for surrogates and intended parents to turn to. Laura is a busy working single mother of two and the first double donor surrogate in New Zealand. She shares the beautiful story of helping bring baby Beau into the world for strangers turned friends, and provides so much ins...

I'm mixing it up this episode, and instead of interviewing an Intended Parent or Surrogate, I'm highlighting a very important part of the surrogacy process...fertility counselling. This episode features Andy Leggat, a Fertility Counsellor and the Psychology Director at Fertility Associates in Auckland, New Zealand (who we were lucky enough to have as our counsellor when we were going throu...

Laura has quite the amazing story and I was so incredibly grateful she took the time to share it on SurroTales! After facing several heartbreaking miscarriages and medical challenges, Laura and her husband turned to surrogacy to start their beautiful family. Then, a couple months later, she found out she was also pregnant! Fast forward to now, she is the proud mom of two beautiful boys who are onl...

Lacey shares her incredible and fulfilling experience being a surrogate for her longtime friend and his husband. She talks through the many magical moments that came with this journey, along with the challenges that she faced along the way...particularly when it was all "over" once the baby was born. It's important to highlight the ups and downs that come with the surrogacy process,...

Jenni was the very first person I ever met in New Zealand who had a child via surrogacy. And best of all, I got to meet her adorable daughter when she was only a few months old. Jenni shares her experience as an Intended Parent in New Zealand, including what it was like going through the process during Covid. ---- Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@surrotales⁠⁠⁠ Email: surrotales@gmail.com

This episode was extra fun to record because this amazing surrogate, Clare, is currently pregnant with her intended parents' baby girl! She talks through her experience (so far!) with being a surrogate and shares a ton of useful advice that will benefit anyone navigating the surrogacy world...especially other incredible women that might be interested in becoming a surrogate one day!

Penny has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to international surrogacy. She is originally from the UK, lives in New Zealand and went through surrogacy as an Intended Parent via the States. She provides a ton of helpful tips and tricks when it comes to navigating surrogacy abroad and shares her beautiful story of welcoming her son into the world with the help of her incredible surrogacy village....

Samantha was the very first person I ever met in New Zealand who had experience with surrogacy...which is the perfect example of how generous she is with her time and how open and eager she is to help others navigating the surrogacy process. Sam was a surrogate a few years ago in NZ and has a wealth of knowledge to share about her incredible experience. ---- Instagram: ⁠⁠@surrotales⁠⁠ Email: surro...

I really wanted to kick this podcast off with a bang...and Christian was the perfect person to help me do that! He is a huge advocate for the surrogacy community in New Zealand and has made a tremendous impact on normalizing this beautiful way of creating a family. Christian is the creator of Love Makes a Family—a platform that helps intended parents, surrogates and donors connect—as well as the p...

I thought it was only fair to put myself and my husband, Travis, in the hot seat before I had others spill their surrogacy stories. Trav and I dive into our wild and bumpy surrogacy ride as intended parents so far and all the good, bad and ugly that have come along with it. ---- Instagram: ⁠@surrotales⁠ Email: surrotales@gmail.com