Local surrogate mother fulfills Irish couple’s wish
As seen in the September 16 edition of The Weekly Review
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Meghan Schiewe fulfilled an Irish couple’s dream of having their very own baby by becoming a surrogate. In the process, she also realized a dream of her own.
Megan gave birth to a baby boy in Viking on Sept. 4. Elliot Holden Tierney came into the world at 7:51 p.m. at the Viking Health Centre. New parents, Molly and Niall Tierney, named the child Elliott Holden Tierney, with the middle name a sign of their gratitude to Meghan and the village.
It had been a long journey spanning three years before this treasured wish came true. It started with Meghan deciding she wanted to become a surrogate after having her and husband Travis’ own two children, daughter Sadie, now 7, and Daxton, 3.
“I knew that infertility is heartbreaking, cruel, and unfair,” she said. “I had the power to change someone’s story.”
She decided, “If I can, I will.” The decision was aided by the nagging thought that if she didn’t do this, she would live to regret it when she got older in life.
But getting to that stage took a few years after she saw a Canadian Fertility Consulting (CFC) ad on Facebook. She learned that there were rules in Canada around becoming a surrogate, such as being under 35 to be eligible to sign up. “It’s very strictly regulated,” she said, and illegal to do for monetary gain.
She was 32 when she had her son, and made the decision to do the surrogacy. “I signed up as a surrogate in 2017.”
“I decided to go with CFC,” she said, after being impressed by its CEO Leia Swanberg, herself a past surrogate with headquarters on Vancouver Island. “I really loved their story and how she wanted to help others.”
Through the CFC, there was medical and psychological screening done for Meghan, and psychological and blood screening for Travis. Then the surrogate couple moved on to the contract phase where they had to agree to do the surrogacy for altruistic reasons, receive no financial compensation and give the baby only to the “intended parents.”
Molly and Niall Tierney had been through a heartbreaking journey in their attempts to have a child on their own. But their heartbreak turned to joy after the birth of their son Sept. 4, and Molly Tierney wrote a touching Facebook comment.
“After 20 IVFs, 10 incredibly difficult miscarriages, and a surrogacy journey that took five (embryo) transfers, we can hardly believe that this baby managed to make it earth side…but here he is…”
Meghan’s attempts to get pregnant on the couple’s behalf took her to two different cities and five attempts at transplanting the Tierney’s embryo inside her body. At Toronto’s Create Fertility Clinic three embryo transfers failed. Then it was on to the San Diego Fertility Centre (SDFC) where two transfers were done.
After a two week waiting period, Meghan tested positive for pregnancy hormone after transferring the fifth and final embryo on Dec. 16, 2019.
“The fifth one stuck,” said Meghan. “This was the intended parents’ 20th IVF (in vitro fertilization) cycle.
“When we found out the embryo transplant was a success, we celebrated in Holden,” she said. “There were yells and screaming.”
Meghan never felt that the baby was hers, completely giving it over to the intended parents from the start. It was the Tierney’s embryo that was injected into her womb, after all.
“It was their bun and it was my oven,” she said, likening the experience to “extreme babysitting for nine months.”
She added: “My family was very supportive and that was awesome.”
Meghan’s physician for her own son’s birth was Dr. Potgieter so she chose him for her surrogacy birth as well.
“I remember when I told him I wanted to be a surrogate,” she said. Once she got pregnant, he said that this was the first surrogate he had been involved with. It was also the first surrogate birth that had ever taken place in Viking.
The Tierneys came from their home in Delbourne, Ireland a month before the birth and had to quarantine for two weeks due to COVID-19 restrictions. They did so at a rental in Sherwood Park.
“Then we got to meet them in person for the first time,” said Meghan. “And they were just amazing, so appreciative, so kind, it meant everything to them.”
There was time to get to know each other and have some “Canadian” experiences, said Travis, who showed them how to shoot guns, ride quads and go ATV’ing. They also had dinners at Meghan’s parent’s place.
After 40 weeks and two days the baby had not arrived yet so labour was induced on the given day at 7:30 a.m. Just over 12 hours later, the baby entered the world at 7:51 p.m.
“It went really well, it couldn’t have gone better,” Meghan said, adding there was just “58 seconds of pushing” to get him out. “A couple of pushes and he was done.”
She added: “I was so impressed with how the nursing team worked together.”
The baby was 7 lb. 11 oz. at birth. The Tierneys were right there waiting for the birth of their son. “When that baby was born, we all just basked in their reaction,” said Meghan.
“It was really like a full circle motion, it was epic, I was so glad,” she said. “It was emotional and beautiful, there were a few tears shed.”
She said her connection with the child felt more like an aunt or a cousin, without the maternal feelings. “You are going into this knowing full well this isn’t your baby,” she said.
Molly was given the baby immediately so they could share that “skin to skin” contact that helps with bonding. The couple is now in Sherwood Park getting to know the small bundle of joy.
“It’s going really well, they are adorable to watch,” said Meghan. “They have an awesome and supportive family back home who are excited and they can’t wait to meet this baby when the couple and baby head home on Sept. 20.”
Meghan is very grateful to husband Travis for helping her fulfill this dream for the couple.
“My husband’s been absolutely amazing, he’s been on this journey with me,” she said. “He was wonderful,” shooting photos and video for the Tierneys, taking her to medical appointments, watching the kids and accompanying her on three embryo transfer trips.
“He was there for the big one that worked,” she said, going with her twice to San Diego.
For his part, Travis thinks he has “an amazing woman.” The couples have become friends and forged a bond that cannot be broken. There is the possibility of a trip to Ireland sometime in the future.
Travis chuckles about these two new parents learning to cope with a brand new baby. “They’re learning what sleepless nights are,” he said. “I gave them some advice. Take shifts or both of you will have no sleep.”
In the meantime, he is thinking of taking Niall, who works at a tech company in Ireland, out to visit places in the area and give him the grand tour before they head for home.
“He’s got very keen observations, he’s an interesting fellow,” Travis said. Molly works as a Deputy Principal at a school and Meghan said she “loves children.”
The Tierneys expressed a great deal of gratitude after the birth of their boy, thanking Dr. Potgieter for his “extraordinary care” and the “astonishing nursing team at Viking Health Centre.”
They were also grateful to Dr. Daneshmand in San Diego who “never gave up on us when so many others did.”
But their last and best praise was for their “awe-inspiring” surrogate mother.
“You have put your life on pause and stuck with us for over three years to help change our lives in the most incredible way. There are no words for the gift of life you have given us.
“You are a selfless hero and an absolute inspiration. You and Travis are well and truly stuck with us now! Our mega star.”
Patricia Harcourt, Editor
