Surrogacy Australia Conversations

This webinar episode is an example of a surrogacy story that didn't end with a baby. Intended Parents (IPs), Kate and her husband James, were already parents to Harriet, whom Kate was able to carry. However, due to an emergency hysterectomy after Harriet’s birth, they needed a surrogate for a sibling. James' sister, Jess, offered to be their surrogate. They went through the counselling, legals and...

Rin gave birth to little Jack as a surrogate in March 2026. Jack's two dads, Dan and Stu, originally from the UK but living in Sydney, were initially strangers. Rin and her partner Aeron live with their two children near Wollongong. They have been a SASS supported, self matched team for their journey. Despite Jack arriving early and some post birth complications, their team and friendship is s...

There are many ways for IPs (Intended Parents) to support their surrogate (and her family) and they will depend on the different stages of your journey, her wants/needs, how far away from you she lives, did you know each other before surrogacy and the communication style of all team members.  In Australia we do altruistic surrogacy. So the payment for a surrogate is not a financial one made with t...

Alex and Carlo became dads to their daughters, Elodie in December 2024 and Arabelle in June 2026. Their surrogate, Em, previously a stranger was initially their egg donor, but became their traditional surrogate (meaning it was also her egg). They all live near each other on the Sunshine Coast. They are also long term attendees of this webinar series, on over 30 occasions and twice having co-hosted...

Kate and Col became parents to their daughter (Alison) in June 2020. Alison was carried by their surrogate Jodie who already had a friendship with Kate before surrogacy. They navigated COVID towards the end of their pregnancy, so it was quite a journey! Both Kate and Jodie have been my SASS mentors over in Perth, and they have helped many new IPs, and surrogates at the start of their journey.  You...

Jodie birthed as a surrogate in Perth, WA in June 2020 for her friends, Kate and Col, that she knew prior to surrogacy. They had a little girl, Alison, and they maintain their beautiful friendship but with an extra special status of Aunty Jodie. Both Kate and Jodie have been my SASS mentors over in Perth, and they have helped many new IPs, and surrogates at the start of their journey.  You can hea...

Melissa, from Brisbane, has birthed as a surrogate twice, each time for IPs who were previously unknown to her. In 2022, she birthed a little girl for two Intended Fathers after 6 embryo transfers. She had a VBA2C and expressed milk for 3 months. As well as surrogacy, she has donated her eggs 7 times so she's clearly a giving woman! These podcasts were recorded as part of the free webinar seri...

This series of episodes springs from my work with SASS (Surrogacy Australia’s Support Service). When Intended Parents (IPs) have completed their profile and are in the pool of IPs waiting to connect with a surrogate, I do monthly check-ins to make sure they’re still active and waiting. I like to give some guidance and support along the way because the waiting game can be hard. This series of episo...

Laura and her husband who live in Canberra, but were in Sydney for the surrogacy journey, became parents to their daughter (Harriet) in October 2023. Harriet was carried by surrogate Joh, Laura's sister, and is fondly referred to as Aunty Joey. They moved to be near Joh in Bundaberg a month before the birth and Laura was able to induce lactation and exclusively breastfeed Harriet for 15 months...

Rachel birthed a little girl, Daisy, as a surrogate in Adelaide in May 2022 for Kelli and Ben. Rachel and Ben had known each other since childhood but it was actually Kelli's introduction post in the South Australian Surrogacy facebook group in late 2020 that sparked Rachel's attention when she was looking to be a surrogate. Kelli has MRKH, meaning she was born without a uterus, which is t...

3 Counsellors guide us through what to expect for Intended Parents and Surrogates when planning for birth as a surrogacy team. If you’d like to arrange your own session with Narelle, Ellie or Elise, you can find them on their website, Lotus Health and Psychology in Brisbane. These podcasts were recorded as part of the free webinar series run by Surrogacy Australia. If you would like to attend one,...

These steps assume you have found a surrogate. If you haven’t found a surrogate, and want to hear more about that, join me in a regular, free, Wednesday night webinar . Your options are finding a known surrogate, by telling family and friends about your need for one, or finding an unknown surrogate which would mean joining online groups or SASS , which stands for Surrogacy Australia’s Support Serv...

Surrogacy Legal issues with lawyer Kate Cherry. Kate has a passion for family law, having worked almost exclusively in the area since entering the legal profession in 2000 and thereafter to the High Court of Australia. If you’d like to arrange your own session with Kate, you can find her on her firm’s website,   cherrylaw.com.au These podcasts were recorded as part of the free webinar series run b...

Sarah and her partner Matthew, from Canberra, became parents to their daughter (Summer) in November 2022. Summer was carried by Kathryn, who was a friend of a friend, and was also created using the eggs from Sarah's sister. It was a very long journey to parenthood with 22 failed embryo transfers all up and 3 years trying to get pregnant with their surrogate Kathryn over 8 transfers. These podc...

Jess and husband, Scott, live in South West Sydney with their 2 daughters and she has birthed 2 girls as a surrogate, Firth in April 2022 and Logan in September 2025. The two dads, Ryan and Adam, who live in the Blue Mountains, used eggs from Ryan's sister Rhiannon. It is through Rhiannon that this connection was made, as she and Jess went to school together. In terms of being a surrogate, Jes...

Alannah and husband Jayden from regional Victoria, became parents to their daughter (Phoenix) in December 2022. Phoenix was carried by surrogate Tara, Alannah's best friend, and was also created using donor eggs from Alannah's sister, Angela. It was a very long journey to parenthood due to a rare form of non-HVP cervical cancer. Tara had both hyperemesis gravidarum and pelvic instability i...

The current process is the surrogate, and her partner if she has one, goes down on the first birth certificate as birth parent(s). The reason for this is so the parentage can be transferred from her to the IPs, the Intended Parents who are now parents. Check out the full episode show notes: https://www.surrogacyaustralia.org/podcast/episode-155-are-your-names-on-the-birth-certificate Looking to fi...

Aaron and Jake from Adelaide became parents to baby boy Xavier in December 2019 when their surrogate, and now life long friend, Amber, birthed as a Traditional Surrogate (her egg). Aaron is passionate about sharing their journey as 2 dads, supporting others who are the beginning of their surrogacy journey, and was also a Parent Mentor for SASS. They now live in Brisbane.  These podcasts were recor...

Marlena and her wife, Merrin, live in Newcastle with their 2 young sons and she birthed little boy, Ezra, as a surrogate in August 2025. She met her IPs (Intended Parents) Jamie and Kody through our Surrogacy Australia Monthly Zoom Catch Ups, of which they are all regulars. Marlena was initially dating some IPs prior to the ones she carried for, so it took around 3 years from when she went looking...

This series of episodes springs from my work with SASS (Surrogacy Australia’s Support Service). When Intended Parents (IPs) have completed their profile and are in the pool of IPs waiting to connect with a surrogate, I do monthly check-ins to make sure they’re still active and waiting. I like to give some guidance and support along the way because the waiting game can be hard. This series of episo...

Kody and his husband Jamie from Melbourne, became dads to their son Ezra in August 2025. Their surrogate, Marlena, lives with her wife and two sons in Newcastle. Their team connected through our Surrogacy Australia Monthly Zoom Catch Ups - so surrogacy with strangers really does happen. Their egg donor, Shannon, was also previously a stranger that they met through Egg Donation Australia. Kody and...

Felicity from Canberra became mum to Jackson in June 2017 and then Harper in April 2020. They were carried by their now life long friend Kristy via gestational surrogacy arrangements in the USA. Felicity suffered from infertility, miscarriage and the loss of her baby daughter Lily, before eventually needing surrogacy. Flick, as most of us know her by, has been active in the Australian surrogacy co...

Hear from Dr Glenn Sterling (IVF Specialist and founder of Life Fertility) when he was co-host on our webinar series. ❤️ How are the eggs collected from my donor? 🧡 How are the embryos made and genetically tested? 💛 What tests will the surrogate need? 💚 How is a surrogate's menstrual cycle tracked prior to embryo transfer? 💙 Can a surrogate have a natural cycle instead of medicated? 💜 Wha...

Brie birthed as a surrogate in Brisbane in February 2025 for her brother Brendan and his wife Laura. They had a little boy, Mason, and the journey was a long distance one with the IPs living in Penrith, NSW. Brie lives with her husband and 3 children and she has connected with many other surrogates through in person catch ups and the online communities. These podcasts were recorded as part of the...

This question is relevant for both IPs (Intended Parents) and surrogates.  For IPs - basically you need to not have a uterus (be a same sex male couple, or a single man, or were born without a uterus, or have had a hysterectomy), or have confirmation from a specialist that carrying a pregnancy is too great a risk to yourself or the baby.  For surrogates - basically you need to be fit and healthy e...