We have spoken before about how we, Sara and Tracey, launched IVF babble because we wanted to create something we wish we’d had when we were going through our own fertility journeys
We wanted to build something that would guide, educate, and help people TTC make informed decisions. We wanted to bring together a community of people who could all support each other. We wanted to share our experiences and hindsight and ensure nobody ever feels like they are having to do this alone. We are so passionate about everything we do for the women and men struggling to conceive, because we have been there.
But fertility treatment isn’t just for heterosexual couples struggling with infertility. It is also a path to parenthood for all those in same sex relationships and single men and women
It’s so important to us that the guidance we offer is from trusted experts and the support from those who understand and who have been there
When we met Michael and Wes, the founders of TwoDads.UK, and fathers of children through surrogacy, we were over the moon when they wanted to help us support our LGBTQ readers. Their first hand experience of surrogacy combined with their passion to support others is simply invaluable. (They are also really lovely!!)
We have had some brilliant and exciting conversations about future joint campaigns and collaborations that we’ll share with you very soon, but for now, let us tell you a bit more about these brilliant men and some of the incredible advocacy work they are doing in the surrogacy world.
Introducing Michael and Wes
Michael and Wes met in the Summer of 2012. After just six months together they got engaged and married two years later in August 2014.
Wes already had a daughter from a previous marriage, but having children together was high on Michael’s wish list. As soon as growing their family was on the cards, Michael began researching surrogacy and four years later TwoDads.U.K was born.
TwoDads.U.K began life as a Facebook and Instagram page to document their surrogacy journey
It started by sharing the highs and lows of their daughter Talulah, born via gestational surrogacy in the UK in 2016. Since Talulah’s birth, their social media following and blog has been growing in popularity across the world, which Michael and Wes put down to their beautiful daughter – check her out!)TwoDads.U.K soon became an entertaining platform to not only help normalise same sex parenting, but also to help de-stigmatise surrogacy
TwoDads.U.K provides much needed support to Intended Parents going through IVF treatment
Michael and Wes understand how traumatising the route to parenthood can be, as they have been there and have experienced loss and treatment failure along the way
They are so passionate about putting the spotlight on the surrogacy process and have been working to educate healthcare professionals about UK Surrogacy, and have been instrumental in the latest Law Commissioners proposal – Building Families Through Surrogacy – A New Law.
As active campaigners for change in UK Surrogacy Laws, they have even spent time at the Houses of Parliament providing accounts of their parenting journey
Michael has also been very active in working to update NHS Policy teams to ensure Government guidelines, issued in 2018 with regards to Surrogacy pregnancies, are implemented correctly. Over the coming months, we will get to hear more about this as well as other incredible projects they are working on!
As Michael and Wes say “Definitely no time to rest for us, did we mention we’re Dads too?!”
The Dads have appeared at numerous events with the mission to educate and inform the public about modern UK family building. They have also had fun in the spotlight collaborating with brands such as Audi, Sainsburys, Vodafone, Save The Children and have appeared in a number of TV documentaries, including a recent Channel 4 production with Kieron Richardson from Hollyoaks. They have so many more initiatives launching this year, including educational and emotive projects that are all so relevant to the TTC community along with a campaign with Ferring Pharmaceuticals and their #FertilityAwks project.
In 2019 they began developing their support services to Fertility Clinics such as CRGH and Care Fertility with active Surrogacy programmes
These services are especially for Intended Fathers although they do also support heterosexual couples too, despite the name of their company. They are proving to be incredibly popular, especially when combined with their Surrogacy Information Events which they run each quarter. These fantastic events teach Intended Parents all about UK Surrogacy, the options available, routes to parenthood and busting all the myths in the process.
In the Summer of 2019 Michael was awarded Surrogacy Professional of the Year during National Surrogacy Week for his work to supporting the Surrogacy community.
So you can see why we are so excited to be working together! Look out for announcements on both our social media platforms for our joint ventures, starting next week with an instagram takeover!
https://www.ivfbabble.com/2020/01/love-respect-support-ian-h-watkins/
