Ms Sharon O'Shea:

Regarding safeguarding myself or Marie on my journey, I never had to do that because she is my sister. It was an easy journey in that way. Every clinic I went to, Marie and I were together. We were close that way. When it came to carrying Marie's baby, it was always Marie's baby. Marie had a clinic, Marie and an appointment, Marie had a scan. It was never Sharon's scan or clinic because it was not my baby.

When the time came for delivery, I was lucky that the team at the hospital was amazing. My husband was supporting me and was outside the room. I went in, in my head, to have a procedure done because I was having a C-section. We were screened off from each other. I remember Lucy being born. I remember that cry and a tear came down my eye. With a sigh of relief, the baby was born. Marie, John and Lucy left the room. The nurses and doctors were amazing to me and I came back to the ward and met my niece for the first time, as I should. Had it been a normal situation, I would have met my niece on the ward just like that and that is how it was. I was not really safeguarding myself.

Carrying a child who is not your own is very different. Me carrying my own baby is different from me carrying Marie's Lucy for her. It is special, but the bond for me to Marie was very special and I very much felt as though I was babysitting and caring for little Lucy. Other people might look at things differently, but for me it was very straightforward. I felt when she was born that the job I had promised to do many moons previously, when Marie was a teenager, was now done.

Unfortunately, the legal side is now holding up things somewhat. Please God, that will change in time. I long for the day when Marie can be noted as "Mammy", as she so deserves, not Sharon the auntie. Imagine if there was another day when we had to go to the courts. I had to sign over guardianship to Lucy's mammy, yet I am the aunt. It would be amazing if the legal side of things was rectified and, please God, before Lucy turns 18, things will be made right. Even if Marie out here needed to be cared for, Lucy is her daughter and she needs to be able to do that but she cannot at the moment because she has no legal rights to her mammy either. I cannot say any of this was about me; it is about Marie and Lucy. I am good and strong and healthy and well, and we were very open as a family. That is the way to be with this. To anybody who undertakes surrogacy, I have to say, it is a proud day when you can help your sister.