Growing Families have been working around the clock in recent months to assist parents from Australia, USA, UK, mainland Europe and Asia to travel to births. It has meant countless hours assisting with airline protocols, paperwork, embassies, visa, ground transport and that most precious commodity – love and understanding.We are sharing feedback below from just […]

Nearly one in five Australian couples venturing abroad choose Canada as their special place to create family (one in three if you only consider gay couples). Eleven couples I know are expecting babies via Canadian surrogacy over the coming five months. They are not alone. Intended parents from dozens of countries, including France, the UK, […]

Surrogacy is an exciting journey and an ideal option when you are unable to conceive on your own. However the current Covid-19 pandemic brings added stress to both surrogates and intended parents, particularly when working at a great distance from each other. So during surrogacy arrangements now more than ever, a relaxed mind is essential […]

Surrogacy is one of the most trending topics of the recent times. But it is not only high-end celebs like Jay Z, Beyonce, and Kim Kardashian who pursued surrogacy to realize their parenthood dreams. Even though surrogacy is more accepted as a means of building family, many people are still unaware of the whole concept. […]

First Fertility is a global IVF and surrogacy provider with hubs in South-East Asia and Russia.Their surrogacy programs drastically reduce the costs of family-building by utilising IVF and surrogacy procedures in countries with lower professional salaries. Countries such as Russia offer significant savings on all aspects of the process . First Fertility offers Fixed cost […]

Ukraine airspace is closed to most flights until at least 12 May 2020 Approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is required for entry. This can only be done via your own embassy. If your country of residence requires you to apply for special permission to travel, do this now Ukraine E-Visa applications are closed. […]

The priority of most nations in response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been to close their borders to foreigners while getting their own citizens ‘back home’. Many countries have shut down government departments, closed visa applications – some have introduced night-time curfews. This repatriation focus on nationality over need has had a terrible impact on […]

The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed it will be possible to provide permission for foreign citizens to enter Georgia during travel ban provided that their embassy contacts MFA Georgia with the following information: Intended Parents full name, Passport Number and copies of their passports. Name and registration number of the IVF clinic (for New Life […]

If your surrogate is due to give birth prior to 30 July in a country with travel restrictions, please contact your surrogacy agency for advice. The following ‘source’ countries have set up channels of communication with governments in respect to emergency travel and fast-tracked document processing. If you are from one of these countries, email […]

Many intended parents need to travel abroad in the coming weeks and months for the birth of their child(ren) via cross-border surrogacy. Chinese healthcare authorities now have the best understanding of Co-Vid-19, how it spreads and how to prevent this. Note that animals cannot spread the virus. If you are travelling to a high risk […]

______________________________________________________________________________ Preliminary studies from China show no evidence that if a surrogate was infected with Co-Vid-19 she would pass it on to the child she births. Additional Time Off Work for Your Surrogate Some intended parents may want their surrogate to take additional time off work or work from home. The former may incur significant […]

In this difficult time, Growing Families is providing an update on current travel restrictions which will impact intended parents travelling internationally for embryo creation or the birth of children. OVERSEAS TRAVEL FOR BIRTHS (updated as at 9.00am 27 May AEST) You need to consider Whether your local authorities will allow you to leave your home […]

For many couples who have experienced medical complications in pregnancy, including the heartbreak of late miscarriage or still-birth, working with a surrogate to create their family becomes the best way forward. However surrogacy arrangements can be complicated emotionally and logistically. Our information days profile surrogates, egg donors and parents who have gone down this route. […]

Gay dad Rodney Cruise is something of an expert on setting expectations in co-parenting arrangements. Over the last 14 years Rodney and his Taiwanese partner Jeff have between them fathered a child via surrogacy, four via co-parenting with two lesbian couples and five further children via ‘identity-release’ sperm donation. For many busy professionals, co-parenting seems […]

Planned single parenting used to be a trend only seen amongst single women using donor sperm. But in recent years, with the increasing popularity of surrogacy in Australia and abroad, more and more gay males are opting to bring up children on their own. Surrogacy programs in countries without any surrogacy law have emerged recently […]