In 2009, Susan was seen offering to become a surrogate for her daughter Libby. Following a fight with the hospital board, Susan became pregnant. However, this causes friction with her son-in-law. Following a fall, Susan loses the baby. Woodburne called the scenes "difficult" to film. Alan Fletcher said the storyline "could have been dreadful in the wrong hands", but he was pleased at the way the scenes were handled. He added "The notion of a mother being a surrogate for their daughter is something you can't pretend is not controversial. The writers embraced that and showed how Susan's decision divided the community, and has potential to divide the family". Neighbours' timeslot presented difficulties for the storyline. The writers were forced to tone the plot down to comply with guidelines. Woodburne said "Because of the time of day that our show is on—it's on at 6.30 here and day time in the UK—obviously doing something as controversial as surrogacy at that time slot we would be so restricted by censorship". The storyline received mixed reactions from viewers. Woodburne said that people believe Susan is "such a good mother and it's awesome she's prepared to do this for Libby and Dan". Other viewers have said that Susan should not have got involved and that the storyline was ridiculous as Susan is too old. Neighbours executive producer Susan Bower also spoke out about the storyline and said "I've had quite a few letters from people in England who'd heard about it before it was even in the papers in Australia saying they disagree and think it's shocking".
