Surrogacy Australia Conversations

Hear from 3 midwives who have supported surrogacy teams Guests: Julie, Rachel and Ashlee PREGNANCY * When assigned a surrogacy team, what were your initial thoughts / concerns? * Is the schedule of appointments the same/different? * The woman who births a child is usually also the parent - but these roles are separated in surrogacy. How do you plan for that?  * What are the emotional and physical...

Sylva and husband Kim from Tweed heads became parents to their daughter (Delilah) in July 2024. Delilah was carried by surrogate Micaela, from Sydney, who was previously a stranger and now a lifelong friend. Sylva had previously birthed her angel baby, son Roman, in 2021 before needing a hysterectomy. This was Micaela's second time as a surrogate, and also the second surrogate for Sylva as her...

SASS = Surrogacy Australia's Support Service. Since 2019, we are the first agency for surrogacy in Australia. We support Intended Parents (IPs) and surrogates who are looking for a match and also teams who are self matched.  Still have questions? We have a recorded webinar to take you through the whole SASS process and a flow chart of Stage 1 and 2.  Check out the full episode show notes: http...

Marnie birthed as a surrogate in Sydney in August 2018 for a couple who were initially strangers and are now life long friends. They had a little girl, Sienna, whose parents are Kristy and Ben. Marnie was one of our original SASS Surrogate Mentors, has been an admin for the surrogates facebook group where together we created and ran a Buddy program for years, and she has helped many at the beginni...

Kristy and Ben from Canberra became parents when their surrogate, and now life long friend Marnie, birthed their daughter Sienna in August 2018. Kristy was one of our original SASS Parent Mentors and has helped many IPs at the beginning of their journey. These podcasts were recorded as part of the free webinar series run by Surrogacy Australia. If you would like to attend one, head to our website...

Fraser and David, from Sydney, became dads to their son (Harry) in June 2024. Harry was carried by their surrogate Rachel who is David's sister. It was traditional surrogacy, meaning Rachel was the surrogate and egg donor. They went through IVF (as opposed to home inseminations) and were successful first go.   These podcasts were recorded as part of the free webinar series run by Surrogacy Aus...

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...

Hear the simple yet meaningful technique that Psychologist Katrina Hale has developed to help you develop the unique birth story narrative for your child.  Katrina and covers questions such as: ❤️ How do I tell my child their birth story? 🧡 When to tell them? 💛 Why is it important? 💚 How much information do I share? 💙 What language do I use? 💜 How often should I tell them? 🤎 How formal/infor...

SJ birthed as a surrogate in Brisbane in March 2025 for a couple who were initially strangers and are now life long friends. They had a little girl, Blake, and her parents are Emma and Steve who also live nearby on the Gold Coast. SJ is a member of the Surrogacy Australia Board, a regular on our Zoom monthly catch ups and advocates for surrogacy at every chance she gets! These podcasts were record...

Laura and husband Brendan from Penrith, became parents to their son (Mason) in February 2025. Mason was carried by surrogate Brie, who is Brendan's sister, and was also created using donor eggs from Laura's niece, Tiger. It was a very long journey to parenthood with endometriosis, adenomyosis, a full hysterectomy and low AMH levels (meaning low egg reserves). So Mason was nearly a 10 year journey...

It's very normal to be nervous about surrogacy, both as an Intended Parent (IPs) and as a potential surrogate. There are others who have gone before you, as well as experienced counsellors who can help you to navigate through those feelings.  Check out the full episode show notes: https://www.surrogacyaustralia.org/podcast/episode-110-im-nervous-about-surrogacy Looking to find a surrogate in A...

Kristen birthed as a surrogate in April 2019 for a couple who also live in QLD. The husbands worked together prior to surrogacy, as well as Kristen and the Intended Mother (which we abbreviate to IM), and they welcomed a little girl into the world. Unfortunately the Surroship dissolved in the later stages of pregnancy and post birth. Kristen has had time to reflect on her journey and has some teac...

Erinna birthed as a surrogate on the Gold Coast in January 2017 for a couple who were initially strangers. They had a little boy, named Sidney, for his mum and dad Alison and Pearce. Unfortunately, when Sid was nearly 2 years old, Alison passed away from ongoing health issues (health was part of her reason for needing a surrogate initially).  These podcasts were recorded as part of the free webina...

Dane and his husband Wes from Sydney, became dads to their son Theo (Teddy) in January 2025. Their surrogate, Storme, who is a single mum living locally to them, connected with them in one of the national surrogacy facebook groups in January 2023 and now they're friends for life. This is a full circle webinar as Dane and Wes joined one of these webinars in June 2021, and now 4 years later they...

Charmaine has been in the surrogacy community for 12 years since 2013. Originally from New Zealand, she is 41 and lives in Brisbane. She’s a mum to 5 children herself, one who is an angel baby, and she’s also Nanna to a 5 year old. In her time in the surrogacy community she has done the whole surrogacy paperwork journey with 5 sets of IPs, had 11 embryo transfers, 4 of which resulted in losses, an...

Many surrogates often feel called to surrogacy and know that it's something they can do.  Are you interested in being a surrogate? Head to our website and follow the links to SASS - Surrogacy Australia’s Support Service . As mentioned in the episode, there is a great video to watch which can be found on YouTube “ Interview with a Surrogate Tyson Smith ” Check out the full episode show notes: https...

Jessie and Andrew became parents through surrogacy in March 2020. Their son, Arlo, was carried and birthed by Susan, who was previously a stranger and is now a lifelong friend. Jessie is a SASS Parent Mentor and has helped many IPs at the beginning of their journey. These podcasts were recorded as part of the free webinar series run by Surrogacy Australia. If you would like to attend one, head to...

Billie and husband Rob, from Western Sydney, became parents to their daughter Westyn in December 2023. Westyn was carried by her sister, Shannen, as Billie has MRKH - meaning she was born without a uterus. You may have seen their team featured on channel 9's show Big Miracles.  If you’d like to watch their story, be sure to check it out on 9Now, Big Miracles, Season 3 , episodes 4 and 5.   You...

Shannen, from the Central Coast, birthed as a surrogate in Sydney in December 2023 for her sister and brother-in-law, Billie and Rob. They had a little girl, Westyn, and she also has four children of her own. You may have seen their team featured on channel 9's show Big Miracles.  If you’d like to watch their story, be sure to check it out on 9Now, Big Miracles, Season 3 , episodes 4 and 5.   You...

Hear from 3 mothers whose daughters have been surrogates in Australia. Guests: Tammy, Karina and Patti * What were your first thoughts when she brought up the idea of being a surrogate? Were you worried, and why? * How did you explain this to your extended family and how did they react? * Did you meet the IPs? * What was your involvement in the journey/pregnancy? * What were some of the challengin...

This episode was recorded in May 2024 to celebrate me (Anna) having hosted 100 free webinars since April 2021. My friend and fellow surrogate, Danni, took the reins and interviewed me about my own journey.  I've been in the surrogacy community since August 2016, have been an egg donor 3 times, and birthed as a surrogate in September 2020 for two dads (Brendan and Matt) who were previously stranger...

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...

Leah and James are parents through surrogacy - TWICE! Their first daughter, Alyza, was carried and birthed by Leah's cousin, Belinda. Their second daughter, Ottilie (Lottie), was carried and birthed by Julie, who was previously a stranger. They met through the online communities and are now life long friends.  You can hear from her surrogate, Julie, in episode 92 . These podcasts were recorded...

Rachel birthed as a surrogate in Brisbane in November 2024. They had a little girl, Lenny, for dads Caleb and James and she knew Caleb's brother in law from school. Their first pregnancy was ectopic and needed a fallopian tube removal and the second was a miscarriage just before 8 weeks, requiring medication and two D&Cs. Rachel expressed milk for 7 weeks before going back to work and Uni 2 mo...

James and his partner Caleb from Brisbane, became dads to their daughter, Lenny, in November 2024. Their surrogate, Rachel, who lives locally, was known to them as a school friend of Caleb's sister's partner. Their egg donor is James' sister, so the whole family was involved in this journey. Their first pregnancy was ectopic and needed a fallopian tube removal and the second was a misc...