Australia surrogacy: Brisbane mother tells of PTSD from pandemic surrogacy drama

A Brisbane mother has revealed that she suffered PTSD after an arduous mission to meet her dream baby boy born via surrogate in Poland.

A Brisbane baby at the centre of a pandemic surrogacy drama is turning one.

Little Liam, born via a $100,000 surrogacy deal in the Ukraine, is loved beyond words by his parents Sophie Labaune Parkinson and her husband Julian who went to hell and back in an arduous mission during COVID-19 travel bans to meet their dream boy in Kiev.

Mum Sophie was smuggled across international borders by a “fixer” in the race to be at the birth. The high-stress operation and quarantining with a newborn while sick on her return to Brisbane sparked PTSD.

Sophie and Julian Parkinson with son Liam. Picture: Annette Dew

Sophie has told of the stress they endured. Picture: Annette Dew

“Now when I look at Liam life seems so normal and we are enjoying every minute with him. I understand why couples have gone through overseas surrogacy through the pandemic, it’s the yearning to have a child that drives you and every step is worth it,” she said.

Hundreds of Australian couples have travelled to international countries like Greece and the Ukraine since COVID-19 hit, some have contracted the virus and many have endured quarantine.

Too old to sit out the pandemic or simply not prepared to wait, couples continue to battle for permission to travel and fight for the documentation to return home.

Sam Everingham, global director of Growing Families, a consumer-based non-profit organisation that educates intended parents told The Courier-Mail that in Australia only altruistic surrogacy is allowed and the number of surrogates remain hopelessly inadequate in meeting demand.

“Australian IVF clinics are reporting massive increases in requests to export sperm and embryos so singles and couples can have a chance at creating family elsewhere. Many older women cannot afford to wait out the pandemic and are also travelling to access egg donors in countries such as Greece and the US,” he said.

Ukraine has liberal surrogacy laws and the surrogate mother has no legal right to the child which is an attraction for Australian couples.

Machelle Daley, from Toowoomba is a surrogate on an online community who carried a baby for an Australian couple she had never met.

“It’s not an easy experience but the reward is amazing. I went through five rounds of IVF to get pregnant but the day I gave birth to a little boy that was caught by his mum was unforgettable. My husband and I are thinking of doing it again,” the mum of two said.

“There is so much drama and stress in overseas surrogacy especially in these days of a pandemic. I would love to see more surrogates available in Australia. It breaks my heart when I hear what some couples go through,” she said.

Australia’s 10th national consumer conference on donor and surrogacy issues at the Brisbane Hilton on June 19 and 20 will grapple with the implications of Covid-19 on infertile couples dreams of creating family. It will discuss the solutions available like importing eggs, exporting sperm and programs that bring fertilised embryos back into Australia. There will be many extraordinary stories from surrogates, donors and parents who have navigated arduous family formation journeys during Covid-19.