Meet the Aussie mum who's 'renting' out her womb


An Aussie mum who advertised her womb for ‘rent’ is now expecting for the first time as a surrogate, telling her kids the baby “is not ours to keep”.

Michelle Griffin, 26, shares Leilani, four, and Isaac, three, with her hubby Trent, but is now 13 weeks along with a bub for a couple who have struggled with fertility problems.

The professional birthing coach from Perth told Yahoo Lifestyle she has always been ‘honest’ with her kids, who are just as excited as she is about helping another family.

Michelle has been honest with her two kids about her current pregnancy, telling them the baby “is not ours to keep”. Source: Supplied/MichelleGriffin
Michelle has been honest with her two kids about her current pregnancy, telling them the baby “is not ours to keep”. Source: Supplied/MichelleGriffin

“We’ve always been really honest with the kids and have simply explained that a doctor has put a baby in my tummy for our friends,” she said.

“They’re very excited for them and like to check how big the baby in my belly is getting every day. They know it’s not ours to keep and are very happy for our friends.”

Michelle was inundated with messages from hopeful parents two years ago after sharing her desire to become a surrogate on Instagram.

Now her dream to carry someone else’s baby has finally come true, but it has been a very lengthy process.

View this post on Instagram

I've thought long and hard about sharing this, but I know I want to document this experience and so here I am, sharing the very beginning of my Surrogacy Journey. So, a lot of you may know that I have a strong desire to become a Surrogate. A little fire ignited in me after having my own children. I am now so completely happy with my two wonderful children but I still crave being pregnant. After doing my Birth Doula training, that little fire turned into a great big flame. Surrogacy is on my mind pretty much all of the time so we've decided to take action! With the incredible support of my husband, we are now at the very beginnings of searching for IP's (Intended Parents). Becoming a mother was the greatest gift I could ever receive, and being lucky enough to give such a gift to another couple would be the most amazing thing I could ever do. You all know that I love to share so this journey will be no different! Be prepared for Surrogacy spam! This is going to be a long road and will probably push my patience to breaking points but I'm so very excited to become someone's "tummy mummy". I've joined a few surrogacy support groups on Facebook and there is so much information I am slowly gathering, but every day I grow in anticipation. Anyway, enough of my rambling. If anyone knows of a couple in Perth looking for a Gestational Surrogate to carry their first child, send them my way, I would love to hear their story! 💕

A post shared by Michelle Griffin (@michellegriffindoula) on Jun 8, 2016 at 9:24pm PDT

“It’s been two years, countless hours of counselling, psych assessments, fertility appointments, two egg retrievals and three embryo transfers,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle.

“But we are due early April 2019 and are so excited. I’m over the moon.”

Michelle found her couple six months after posting an powerful advert that stated her womb was for ‘rent’.

“I had a lot of people reach out to me and it was difficult to read so many heartbreaking stories and to see how many people are affected by infertility,” she said.

“But I’m glad it eventually lead me to my current ‘Intended Parents’ and I’m so happy to finally be helping a couple become a family.”

Michelle — a mum of two — is now 13 weeks along with her first surrogate baby. Source: Supplied/MichelleGriffin
Michelle — a mum of two — is now 13 weeks along with her first surrogate baby. Source: Supplied/MichelleGriffin

The young mum fell in love with being pregnant when expecting her eldest. After giving birth to her second she realised her family was complete, but still felt a “strong desire” to carry another child.

“Becoming a mother was the greatest gift I could ever receive,” she said.

“Being lucky enough to give such a gift to another couple is the most amazing thing I could ever do.”

When the baby is born next year, Michelle plans on taking an ‘aunty’ type role in the baby’s life and said she’s good friends with the parents.

“We are now all really good friends,” she explained. “We have no set in stone ‘rules’ about how often we will see or talk to each other but like any of our other friends, I’m sure we’ll stay in touch quite regularly.”

Source: Supplied/MichelleGriffin
Source: Supplied/MichelleGriffin

In Australia, it is illegal for a woman to financially benefit from a surrogate pregnancy, but the donor parents are can cover the medical costs in an ‘altruistic agreement’.

“I had a lot of people question my intentions with the wording of the “womb for rent” photo, but I am definitely in no way gaining financially from this,” Michelle said.

The excited first time surrogate said the response to her news has been amazing, after telling the world she was pregnant in an adorable Instagram post captioned: “Their bun, my oven.”

“It’s been amazing to see all of their family and friends so excited,” she said. “It’s incredible how many people are affected by this and how much love there is for this baby already.”

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