Reproductive & Family-Building Law · Nigeria

Protecting Your Journey to Parenthood with Compassionate Legal Guidance

Whether you’re considering IVF, surrogacy, adoption, fertility preservation, or donor arrangements, I help individuals and families navigate every legal step with clarity, confidence, and compassion.

Meet Fifunwa Ikobayo

Legal Protection for One of Life's Most Personal Journeys

I’m Fifunwa Ikobayo, Nigeria’s Fertility Lawyer.

I help couples, individuals, fertility clinics, intended parents, donors, and surrogates navigate the legal complexities surrounding assisted reproduction and family building.

From IVF and surrogacy to adoption and reproductive rights, my role is to ensure every decision is legally protected, ethically sound, and made with confidence.

Because building a family deserves more than hope, it deserves legal certainty.

Our Services

Legal support across the family-building journey.

Surrogacy Agreements

Gestational carrier agreements drafted and reviewed to protect intended parents and surrogates alike.

IVF Legal Advice

Navigate fertility treatments with legal confidence.

Egg, Sperm & Embryo Donation

Contracts that make donor rights and intentions clear, before treatment ever begins.

Parentage Orders

Securing pre-birth and post-birth parentage and where that’s the only current path, post-birth adoption.

Adoption

Guidance through Child’s Rights Act adoption pathways, state by state.

Fertility Preservation

Legal guidance for egg and sperm freezing, including for cancer patients and posthumous reproduction.

International & Diaspora Surrogacy

Cross-border arrangements, citizenship questions, and support for Nigerians abroad building family at home.

Embryo Disputes

Ownership and disposition disputes, including those arising after divorce.

Clinic & Agency Compliance

Advising fertility clinics, agencies, and cryobanks on documentation, consent, and regulatory compliance.

Reproductive Rights Advocacy

Protecting your rights throughout your fertility journey.

Vision

To create a future and society where couples facing infertility in Nigeria have access to informed, ethical and legally protected support, so that faith, family and the law work together not against each other on their pathways to parenthood.

Mission

To bridge the gap between reproductive medicine through law, help and faith-centered education. We would equip couples to make informed decisions about their fertility journey before contracts are signed, before hope turns to confusion, and before silence turns to isolation.

Who Needs A Fertility Lawyer

If you’re part of this journey, this practice is for you.

What Guides This Practice

Core Values

Empathy

We listen without judgment, show genuine compassion, and walk alongside every couple with understanding, respect, and care throughout their fertility journey.

Community

We foster a safe, supportive, and faith-filled environment where couples can connect, encourage one another, and find strength through shared experiences.

Excellence

We are committed to delivering high-quality, Christ-centered support through integrity, professionalism, continuous learning, and a genuine desire to serve with excellence.

Legislative Literacy

Actively tracking the Surrogacy Regulation Bill and National Health Act amendments not general family law guesswork.

Anti Exploitation Advocacy

An explicit, visible stand against baby factory style exploitation. Stated, never assumed.

Cultural Fluency

Navigating the real tension between Nigeria's Christian and Islamic traditions and the practice of assisted reproduction.

Cross-Border competence

Nigeria is West Africa's most active surrogacy destination. I serve diaspora clients and inbound fertility tourism families alike.

Discretion & Confidentiality

Privacy is paramount, at every stage of a process that is already deeply personal.

Precision & Integrity

Contracts that are airtight given the stakes, balancing the interests of every party at the table.

Your family's path deserves clarity.

Fertility and family-building decisions can involve complex legal questions, important agreements, and deeply personal circumstances. Whether you are considering egg, sperm, or embryo donation, pursuing surrogacy, preserving your fertility, or navigating decisions around stored embryos, having the right legal guidance can help you move forward with confidence.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What does a fertility lawyer do?

A fertility lawyer helps individuals, couples, intended parents, surrogates, donors, clinics, and agencies understand and manage the legal issues connected with fertility treatment and alternative family-building arrangements.

This may include:

IVF and IUI agreements.
Informed consent.
Surrogacy.
Donor conception.
Embryo storage.
Fertility preservation.
Adoption.
Confidentiality.
Parentage.
Clinic complaints.
Dispute prevention.
Mediation.
Cross-border treatment.
Estate and birth planning.

2. Why do I need a fertility lawyer if I already have a fertility doctor?

A fertility doctor addresses the medical aspects of treatment. A fertility lawyer addresses legal rights, agreements, consent, confidentiality, parentage, financial obligations, disputes, and documentation.

Both professionals may be important because a successful medical procedure does not automatically resolve legal questions.

3. When should I speak to a fertility lawyer?

Ideally, before you:

Sign an IVF agreement.
Pay a fertility agency.
Enter a surrogacy arrangement.
Use donor sperm, eggs, or embryos.
Create or store embryos.
Travel abroad for treatment.
Begin an adoption process.
Disclose sensitive information.
Become involved in a fertility dispute.

4. Can you guarantee that I will have a baby?

No. A fertility lawyer cannot guarantee conception, a successful IVF cycle, a live birth, a successful surrogacy arrangement, or a court outcome.
A lawyer can help you understand legal risks, review documents, protect your interests, and make informed decisions.

5. Do I need a lawyer even if everyone involved is a family member?

Yes, family relationships do not eliminate the need for clarity.

Disputes may still arise over:

Money.
Consent.
Pregnancy decisions.
Parentage.
Confidentiality.
Handover.
Post-birth contact.
Family interference.
Death or separation.

A written arrangement and independent advice can protect relationships rather than signal distrust.

6. Should I have an IVF agreement reviewed before signing?

Yes, particularly if the agreement contains terms concerning:

Costs.
Refunds.
Cancellation.
Embryo storage.
Embryo disposition.
Donor material.
Confidentiality.
Withdrawal of consent.
Separation.
Death or incapacity.
Dispute resolution.

7. What should I check in an IVF consent form?

Ask whether the form clearly explains:

The proposed procedure.
Risks and benefits.
Alternatives.
Medication.
Possible complications.
Costs.
Storage.
Future use of embryos.
Disposal or donation.
Data and confidentiality.
Consent withdrawal.
What happens if treatment fails.

8. Can one spouse consent to IVF without the other?

This depends on the procedure, the clinic’s requirements, the parties’ roles, and the specific legal and medical circumstances. A clinic should not assume that one spouse’s consent covers every decision involving the other spouse’s body, genetic material, or reproductive material.

Obtain individual advice where:

Donor material is involved.
Embryos are created or stored.
One partner is not participating.
There is disagreement.
The relationship has broken down.

9. What happens if the surrogate miscarries?

The agreement should clarify medical care, expenses, counselling, compensation where appropriate, future treatment, and whether the arrangement continues.

10. What happens after the baby is born?

Plan for:

Birth registration.
Parentage documentation.
Hospital discharge.
Medical records.
Handover.
Travel.
Confidentiality.
Post-birth contact.
Any court or administrative steps.