Katie’s Surrogacy Journey

Perinatal Wellbeing - The Podcast about Prenatal, Pregnancy & Postpartum Health

Content Warning: Fertility challenges

Today’s guest is Katie Lamport, RSSW. Katie is a counsellor in private practice in the Barrie, Ontario area. I first met Katie when I started a new job as an addictions counsellor. Katie was fully pregnant and went on maternity leave a few days later. Katie was the first person I had met that was a gestational carrier and I thought WOW what an amazing person! On today’s episode Katie shares her story of being a gestational carrier, what all the preparation was like and how the pregnancy went for her. Katie shares her story in such an authentic way that I had to keep asking her questions! So Katie’s story is in 2 parts.

Highlights:

3:08 – How Katie decided to become a surrogate

7:00 – Gestational carrier vs Surrogate

8:25 – Telling the kids

10:15 – Meeting the couple

11:28 – How Katie and Dave made the decision to move ahead

16:55 – Mental health screening

18:05 – Questions about Surrogacy legal issues

20:28 – Transfer day

27:28 – Positive test

32:00 – Intersection of gender stereotypes and gestational carrying

35:48 – Pregnancy sickness

39:27 – How the surrogacy changed Katie and Dave’s relationship

40:45 – How did the pregnancy impact Katie’s work

42:35 – How did the kids feel about it?

45:00 – Navigating client questions around surrogacy

46:00 – Being pregnant as a way of honouring this job

47:04 – Felt like an abrupt ending after delivery
Resources:

You can find Katie on Instagram @katielamportcounselling at https://www.mainstreamtherapy.com and

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/therapists/katie-lamport-barrie-on/960500?preview=1&return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmember.psychologytoday.com%2Fca%2Fhome&_ga=2.157527610.1247068831.1649346645-1756219686.1648751043

You can find us at www.perinatalwellbeing.ca on Instagram @perinatalwellbeing_ontario or by email [e-mail]

Support the Show.