Ms Meredith Baldwin:

On whether the more old fashioned straight surrogacy is good or bad, I do not think either of those terms apply. My mum is still my mum, whether I was created with her egg or not does not really make any difference. Yes, the technology has advanced but as to whether it would make any difference to me personally or would I feel closer to her if we shared genetics, I do not think so. To me, the parents are the people who bring you up. It is wonderful for those who think that their child needs to be genetically made from them; that is what they need but not everyone needs that and then what if it is not available? That would not have worked for my mum anyway because she had a lot of complications so straight surrogacy was the only way for her. Her eggs were not not viable and she could not carry. For me, I do not think it would make any difference.

On half-siblings, I have a very good relationship with my half-brother but not so much my half-sisters because they lead quite a different lifestyle from me. I do find it odd sometimes. We see each other at weddings or big events. I watch things they post on Facebook. There are a few pictures taken of my older half-sister from the side and I think "oh yes, that looks a bit like me". That is a bit of an odd feeling but I feel as though I know them as much as I need to know them and I am lucky that I am able to have that. As I said at the beginning, it is just part of my life story. I do not particularly feel the need to change anything. I do not think that I need to have more or less involvement with my birth mum or my half-siblings. I am lucky that I am very happy with what I have got.