Sally Obermeder couldn’t shake the feeling her family wasn’t complete.
Diagnosed with breast cancer the day before giving birth to her first child in 2011, and eventually recovering after gruelling treatment, doctors advised her not to attempt another pregnancy due to lingering risks.
So Sally focused on enjoying her renewed health and her daughter, Annabelle Grace.
Still, five years later, that urge to have another child hadn’t yet gone away. In fact if anything, it was even stronger.
“I wanted Annabelle to having a sibling. It was so strong.” She thought it was worth trying and even if it didn’t result in a sibling, she’d be at peace with the fact at least she tried.
That’s when the 43-year-old The Daily Edition host and her husband Marcus began discussing finding a surrogate.
It would prove to be easier for them than most. Having conceived Annabelle using IVF, the couple still had four frozen embryos in storage.
But there was a catch.
Due to Australia’s surrogacy laws, the couple needed to find a surrogate willing to do it altruistically, for free, out of the goodness of her heart.
Sally Obermeder spoke to Mia Freedman on the No Filter podcast about finding a surrogate. Article continues…
They contacted a surrogacy agency in the U.S. called Growing Generations that had been recommended to them and made their request, ending up with neo-natal nurse and mother-of-three, Rachel.
Top Comments
Like Sally we had to go to the USA to undertake surrogacy. It's very expensive and we were lucky that we had the financial resources to pay for it. We tried twice and on my last embryo we got pregnant and had a little baby girl who is currently sleeping beside me. Our surrogate is a wonderful woman who we keep in regular contact. there was a recent government enquiry into surrogacy in Australia but nothing will change. It would have been wonderful to have gone down this path in my home country.