SurroTales

Welcome to SurroTales! I'm your host, Emma Lehman, an American living in New Zealand and an aspiring mom on the wild ride that is surrogacy. SurroTales is a platform for intended parents and surrogates to share their stories and advice they’ve learned along the way. Whether you're deep into surrogacy, have already been through it, just starting out, feeling lost, or simply curious about the process, this podcast is for you.

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 right.

That time came when Tessa and her husband were introduced to Kelly, a mom of three, through mutual friends. Inspired by her own struggles with fertility and a desire to pay it forward, Kelly was eager to help. The two instantly connected, embarking on a surrogacy journey built on trust, gratitude, and shared vision.

At the time of this recording, Kelly was 23 weeks pregnant with Tessa and her husband’s baby boy, who has since been born healthy and thriving! Tessa reflects on her IVF experience, navigating ECART processes in New Zealand, coordinating across cities, and maintaining open communication. She also shares her deep emotional and spiritual connection to her baby, as well as their plans for the birth—letting Kelly take the lead in the delivery room.

This is a beautiful story of resilience, community, and the profound ways we can help each other grow our families.

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Episode Info:

Toni Street's Book: Lost and Found

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Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@surrotales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: [email protected]

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 surrogacy in both countries and the amazing surrogacy community he's built along the way. He also shares helpful advice for intended parents who might be interested in going down an international surrogacy route. After such a positive experience with the agency he chose for his daughter’s surrogacy, Andy now works as a Parent Intake Coordinator for Global Surrogacy Agency, guiding others as they embark on their own surrogacy journeys.

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Episode Info:

Global Surrogacy Consulting

Andy's Email: [email protected]

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Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@surrotales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: [email protected]

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. This episode is packed with knowledge and insight related to surrogacy processes from around the world and explains how Growing Families can help you on your journey.

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Episode Info:

⁠Growing Families⁠

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Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@surrotales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: [email protected]

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!