Welcome to Conversations, the podcast with Surrogacy Australia.
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Join Anna McKie in conversation with surrogates and parents who have navigated Australian altruistic surrogacy. Anna is a gestational surrogate, high school Math teacher and surrogacy educator working with Surrogacy Australia and running SASS (Surrogacy Australia’s Support Service).
These podcasts were recorded as part of our free, fortnightly webinar series. If you would like to attend one, check out our dates and registration links. The recordings can also be found on our YouTube channel so you can see the photos that are described in the recordings.
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Recent episodes
Episode 164 – Melissa – surrogate
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, Blake, 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!
Episode 163 – Education – Ideas for IPs (Intended Parents) in waiting
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.
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!
Episode 161 – Rachel – surrogate
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 the same condition that Rachel’s sister has, so she felt an extra connection due to that.
Episode 160 – Preparing for Birth – 3 Counsellors
On the topic of: Preparing for Birth
Guests: Narelle, Ellie, Elise
3 Counsellors guide us through what to expect for Intended Parents and Surrogates when planning for birth.
If you’d like to arrange your own session with Narelle, Ellie or Elise, you can find them at Lotus Health and Psychology.
Episode 159 – Education – Order of steps for surrogacy
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 Service.
Eligible for surrogacy
Spend time forming your Surroship
IVF clinic
Counselling and Legals
Pregnancy and Birth
Transfer of parentage
Support the child to understand their story
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.