I Want to Put a Baby in You!

Cynthia has her Master's in Social Work and her MBA. She is an independent health and wellness coach, corporate presenter, and trainer. Her corporate presentations cover a variety of wellness topics including sleep strategies, the impact of alcohol on the body, menopause, meditation, stress management, healthy eating, resilience, and more. She also is certified in Infinite Possibilities and is a presenter and a coach. For the past four years she has worked at Organizational Wellness & Learning Systems delivering trainings on stress management, resilience, burn out, and other mental health topics faced by employees. Cynthia is an IVF Support Group Peer Leader. She has been a volunteer for the Worksite Wellness Council of Massachusetts for the past four years helping to set up presentation on employee wellness. Cynthia has two children born through infertility and her second child was brought into the world with the help of a Gestational Surrogate. Listen as Cynthia discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • After her first pregnancy through IVF, becoming pregnant naturally, but experiencing an emergency hysterectomy. • While still in the hospital, her husband suggesting surrogacy. Not quite being ready for that conversation. • Just shy of a year from the surgery, being ready and starting the search. • Finding the perfect match! • How her son feels about being carried by a surrogate • Become active as an advocate for others suffering from infertility. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about Health Coaching: www.cynthiahealthcoach.com Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Justine Witzke is the founder and CEO of Aligneage Fertility. Justine is an experienced strategist and operator having served in a variety of roles, including as head of clinical operations, at Weill Cornell Medicine's Center for Reproductive Medicine. She is particularly proud of her work developing their fertility preservation program, expanding services to LGBTQ communities, and managing the department's COVID-19 response, all of which required creative pragmatism. An expert generalist, Justine is passionate about sharing knowledge and information; she cares deeply about educating patients, colleagues, and the public. With interests in medical ethics, patient satisfaction, program development, and risk management, Justine is well-equipped to contribute as an advocate and thought leader in fertility. Additionally, she is a co-founder and the President of CP Extension, a non-profit organization aimed at supporting families of individuals with cerebral palsy. A graduate of the University of Florida, Justine received a Master's in Public Health from Hunter College with a focus on Community Health Education and a PhD in Clinical and Translational Research from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her dissertation was titled “Impact of Commercial Donor Sperm Preparation on Intrauterine Insemination Outcome.” Listen as Justine discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • How Justine found herself in the world of sperm and family building. • The interesting answer to the question, “When does washing sperm make sense?” • Is “facilitated known donation” the future of sperm donation? • Can previously ineligible potential donors (such as someone who lived in England for more than three months) become eligible? • What are donors paid? Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about Aligneage Fertility: https://www.aligneagefertility.com/ Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Episode 182: Men's Helpline – Daniel Landau and Steven Miller, MS by I Want to Put a Baby in You!

Elizabeth Horn is a health care communicator and the cofounder and codirector of The ART of Infertility, for which she has curated more than thirty exhibits since its inception in 2014. The ART of Infertility was the 2018 recipient of the Hope Award for Innovation given by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association for its work communicating patient experiences through arts programming. Horn lives with her family in Ann Arbor, MI. Maria Novotny is an Assistant Professor of English at UW-Milwaukee. Her research considers how reproductive health patients advocate for care. Invested in community issues related to infertility, she co-edited the anthology Infertilities, A Curation (published by WSUP) which puts into practice “story as theory” by featuring visual and written narratives from over 60 contributors – each of whom self-identify as infertile. Other scholarship related to her community-engaged research and teaching has been published in the Community Literacy Journal, Reflections, Rhetoric Review, Rhetoric of Health and Medicine, TCQ and more. For the last 10 years, she has co-directed The ART of Infertility. Robin Silbergleid is a poet and nonfiction writer; She is the author of several books that are centrally concerned with infertility and recurrent reproductive loss, as well as single motherhood. Her current research project is a monograph tentatively titled Queer Mother Memoirs: Experiments in Life/Narrative that offers a hybrid critical-creative analysis of contemporary memoirs by and about queer mothers. Born and raised in Illinois, she holds both a PhD in English and an MFA in Creative Writing from Indiana University. She is currently a professor of English and associate chair for undergraduate studies at Michigan State University. She lives in East Lansing, Michigan. Listen as Elizabeth, Maria, and Robin discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • Each of our guests experiencing different forms of infertility. • The work of the ART of Infertility as a national arts organization based in Michigan and Wisconsin. • Founded in 2014, Elizabeth, Maria, and Robin curate innovative and emotionally provoking art exhibits to portray the realities, pains, and joys of living with Infertility. • Forming a connection and creating a manuscript to be published. • Embodying their mission of breaking the silence around the experiences of infertility. • Offering art and storytelling as a therapeutic way to connect with others. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about Art of Infertility: www.artofinfertility.org Order your copy here: https://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/infertilities-curation Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Episode 180: Carrying Dreams – Emily Westerfield by I Want to Put a Baby in You!

Episode 179: Surrogacy in Uganda – Lisa Stark Hughes by I Want to Put a Baby in You!

Angela Rastegar is the founder and CEO of Sunfish Technologies founded in 2022, a financial platform focused on making parenthood affordable for all types of families. Sunfish's mission is to bring financial inclusion to the ART (assisted reproductive technologies) community via a full service financial planning toolkit including loans, guarantees, grants, and guidance. Sunfish works directly with numerous IVF clinics, surrogacy agencies, and egg banks. The leadership team has expertise in health tech, fintech, consumer lending, and assisted reproduction. Angela has spoken at several recent events on the state of the economy and how it impacts consumer affordability in fertility, and the landscape of innovation on financial tools for assisted reproduction. Angela was most recently a Director at Circle Surrogacy and Egg Donation, and she holds a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Listen as Angela discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • Having experience building other companies. • Seeing couples going through surrogacy and IVF shift in excitement when it comes to finances. • Recognizing the need for more financial assistance tools when it comes to family building. • Assisting families to find benefits through clinics or employers, grants, and other resources to help relieve financial stress. • Navigating and balancing patient-doctor care with the increasing prominence of AI. • Seeing hope that technology will reduce financial inflation. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about Sunfish: https://joinsunfish.com/ Checkout Sunfish on social media: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunfish/; https://www.facebook.com/joinsunfish Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Zach French is a bar certified attorney in the State of New York and currently serves as Vice President of SeedTrust. He provides oversight and support to the legal, sales and marketing departments. Zach's diverse background encompasses entrepreneurship, enterprise software sales, legal expertise, and most recently consulting in business development for emerging technologies including blockchain and AI. His wealth of experience is united by a core philosophy of building better connections within thriving ecosystems through education, sales, and strategy. With a high-level perspective, he identifies shared goals, develops effective communication strategies, and leverages technology to drive progress. Zach's connection to the ART world began when he and his wife, Alexandra, embarked on their own surrogacy journey, after Alexandra's battle with breast cancer. The tremendous mental and financial toll from their journey led them to establish the Gift of Surrogacy Foundation (GSF). Within just one year, GSF has raised $100,000 and has given away a grant for the full cost of surrogacy. Zach and Alexandra firmly believe in expanding the surrogacy ecosystem, and continue to grow GSF through education, emotional support, and financial assistance. At SeedTrust, we help families grow without the financial stress of the escrow process. We provide secure, transparent, affordable and reliable escrow services to intended parents, surrogates and egg donors throughout their collaborative reproductive arrangements allowing everyone involved the ability to focus on what matters most — building families. Listen as Zach discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • Falling quickly for his wife… and his adorable proposal! • While studying for the bar exam, his wife finding a lump and the two entering the world of Breast Cancer navigation. • An oncologist recommending an egg retrieval before proceeding with cancer treatments. • Learning about surrogacy from a movie. • Finding an agency and matching with an amazing surrogate. • Their faith guiding them to give back and start the Gift of Surrogacy Foundation. • Hitting their goal on the first night of the Surrogacy Soiree! Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about Zach and Alexandra's Foundation: https://www.giftofsurrogacyfoundation.org Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Amy Beckley has a PhD in pharmacology and has been a hormone scientist for 15+ years. Amy suffered 7 miscarriages. After 3 years of infertility, she successfully conceived. She took her experience and created a new type of fertility diagnostic to help couples navigate their fertility at home to increase their chances of pregnancy. Amy digs into the science of getting pregnant to help individuals and couples have better conversations with their medical team and potentially get pregnant faster. Listen as Dr. Beckley discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • After doing everything to prepare for a family, getting hit with unexplained infertility. • Experiencing multiple miscarriages and being told IVF was the next step. • Discovering that there was a lack of care and resources for those experiencing difficulty getting pregnant. • Sharing her story through RESOLVE and connecting with a shocking number of women suffering with infertility. • Using her scientific background and experience to create an at home urine test for women to track progesterone levels for a successful pregnancy. • Making this test a companion diagnostic to support ovulation and pregnancy. • Creating a Hers/His test to also run at home semen analysis! Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about the Proov: www.proovtest.com Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

David and James were united by love after meeting online in 2008. What began as a friendship slowly became a strong committed relationship that continues to grow. For the past six years they have been building a solid foundation for their future. As the years go by, they have created an amazing relationship that is unique and priceless by working together, sharing experiences with one another, mutual trust, understanding and love. While on their journey to parenthood, they experienced significant ups and downs, before finally bringing their beautiful Nia home. Listen as David and James discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • Finding out early on that they both had a strong desire to have a family. • A few different friends offering to carry for them as a surrogate, but none working out. • A smooth embryo creation process – the first time -- meeting a surrogate and having a successful transfer! • The ultrasound technician's demeaner changing. • Finding that their baby's brain was not developing and the doctor advising on termination • Matching with a new surrogate and transferring embryos 3 different times with no luck • Starting over with changing clinics, new embryos, and a different surrogate. • One last go, getting that positive test paired with a sense of calmness. • Honoring their first baby with her special name, and finally becoming parents! Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Mohsin Zaidi is an award-winning author and a criminal barrister. His coming-of-age memoir, “A Dutiful Boy,” explored growing up queer in a strict Muslim household in Britain. The memoir was named Book of the Year in The Guardian, GQ and New Statesman. Mohsin also won both the prestigious Lambda Literary Award and the Polari Prize in 2021. Mohsin is an advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights, BAME representation and social mobility. He sits on the board of Stonewall and is listed by The Financial Times as a top future LGBTQIA+ leader. Mohsin cannot wait to be a parent and for the chance to pretend he will do things entirely differently from his parents, before realizing they were right about more than he knew. Dalia Iskander is a Medical Anthropology Lecturer at UCL. Her specialist research areas include the body and emotion; childhood and gender; and health related decision making. She and her husband recently had a child, and this experience has made her think differently about pregnancy and parenthood. Dalia comes from a British-Egyptian-Christian background and lives in London with her family. Listen as Mohsin and Dalia discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • Mohsin growing up in a devout Muslim family where being gay was not accepted. • Meeting the love of his life, Matthew, and together wanting to be parents. • Mohsin's best friend, Dalia, offering to be a gestational surrogate for them, an offer they could hardly believe. • This journey sparked their podcast, Tiny Huge Decisions, following two best friends making this relationship-altering choice. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Listen to Tiny Huge Decisions: https://link.chtbl.com/TinyHugeDecisions Read Mohsin's award-winning book, A Dutiful Boy: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/a-dutiful-boy-a-memoir-of-secrets-lies-and-family-love-winner-of-the-lambda-2021-literary-award-for-best-gay-memoir-biography-mohsin-zaidi/5716247?ean=9781529112207 Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Kristin was born in Marlton, New Jersey and moved 9 times, including a stop in Denver where she discovered her love for performing at 11 years old. Creating shows in her driveway at a young age, she always knew she wanted to bring her creations to audiences everywhere. She was full of dreams and life and did everything in her power to make them come true. Kristin and her husband started a non-profit organization in honor of their daughter, London Quinn, who was stillborn at 39 weeks in July 2021 through surrogacy. Listen as Kristin discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • Being from Los Angeles, dancing for famous stars, and living a fast-paced life. • Moving to Oklahoma for her now-husband and experiencing a drastically different lifestyle. • Having the conversation of starting their family and taking over 7 years to get pregnant. • The heartbreak of their first ultrasound and the harshness of the medical staff. • Experiencing extreme pain and receiving a diagnosis of endometriosis. • Undergoing a hysterectomy, but still wanting a family. • Finding surrogacy and being matched. • Her surrogate's flawless pregnancy, • Feeling something wrong on delivery day. • The worst imaginable moment. • Through heartbreak, shock, and overwhelming pain, finding clarity and willingness to go on. • Starting “London is the Reason” to support those going through loss through surrogacy -- both the Intended Parents and Surrogates Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about London is the Reason: https://www.londonisthereason.org Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Jeremy Hodges has worked for the San Diego Zoo for 19 years. Much of this time was spent as an aviculturist in Hawaii where he managed a captive population of some of the most endangered birds on the planet. He currently works as the lead zookeeper for the veterinary hospital of the zoo. He throws exceptionally fancy and delicious dinner parties. He has introduced the family to raising chickens, bees, rabbits, and finches. Alan was raised in Colorado and earned his BS degree in Microbiology from Colorado State University and his MD degree from Harvard University. He completed residency in General Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. He enjoys working in both graduate medical education and as a psychiatrist specializing in treatment resistant depression and addiction medicine. He serves as the family handyman, plays guitar and piano, and collects antique stereoscopic viewing cards. Ian Jenkins earned his MD from the University of VA and completed residency in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of Harvard University. Since 2004 he's served as a hospital doctor and faculty at UC San Diego Health, where he leads patient safety initiatives and teaches a medical school course and clinical practice to students and resident physicians. He's been active in healthcare quality on a national scale with his professional society and has given over 100 invited talks around the country. He writes as a hobby and published a memoir on his unique family, "Three Dads and a Baby," which made the news, podcasts, and morning shows on five continents. He's currently working on a hospital medicine memoir, "How to Die," and a young-adult romance, "Romeo and Julian." His home- made pizza is excellent. Listen as Jeremy, Ian, and Alan discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • The beginning of their romance story, with Alan and Ian meeting on the job. • Jeremy entering the picture when he began dating Ian and Alan in a polyamorous relationship in 2012, the same year he officially came out to his parents. • Coming out and coming to terms with the idea that they may never have children. • Being approached by friends offering for them to adopt their remaining embryos to start a family, sparking the conversation about children! • When the embryo donation journey did not end as hoped, pivoting in a new direction with a friend offering to be their egg donor. • Pleading their case in court to each be legally recognized as parents of their child. • Successfully being granted an order that all three of their names be included on their child's birth certificate! • A few years later, having their second child through a much smoother process. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Check out their book Three Dads and a Baby: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Three-Dads-and-a-Baby/Ian-Jenkins-MD/9781627783101 Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Kayla Weidner, a six-time egg donor, currently works as the Egg Donor Coordinator at The Genesis Group. Since joining the Genesis team, she has had the opportunity to connect with many other young women, share personal experiences, and guide them through the process of being a donor. Kayla has a passion for helping the LGBTQ+ community and has exclusively donated to gay men. Her experience as an egg donor and her three years in the industry have changed her life. Kayla looks forward to continuing to help others grow their families. Listen as Kayla discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Her decision to become a donor; selection of an agency based on the rainbow on their website! • A flawless first donation leading to a second. • Serious overstimulation with her second donation, resulting in emergency surgery. • Enduring 12 surgical needle placements to remove fluid in her abdomen. • Despite everything she went though, still committed to helping others in this way. • Recognizing how difficult the journey is for intended parents. • Following her passion to work in the industry and help other donors and intended parents. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about Kayla and her donor support through The Genesis Group: https://www.genesissurrogacy.com/our-team/kayla-weidner Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Episode 170: Surrogate Breastfeeding – Ashley Mareko by I Want to Put a Baby in You!

Ralph Tsong has primarily practiced assisted reproductive technology law since 2016 when he started Tsong Law Group. Ralph is licensed in California, Illinois, Washington and Arizona. Prior to practicing ART law, Ralph was a labor and employment lawyer with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (now the California Civil Rights Department) and California Department of Industrial Relations. Ralph also was an attorney at Legal Aid Society of Los Angeles, the Asian Law Alliance, Wilson Sonsini and Littler. Liens are popping up in many insurance plans that cover surrogacy. What are liens? Do intended parents have to pay them? Could liens spread to other states? Listen as Ralph discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • His path to becoming a lawyer with a multi-state practice. • Going through fertility treatment and adoption and seeing the difficulties firsthand. • Shifted his practice to ART law and adoption. • What liens are and why they are an increasing problem in surrogacy arrangements. • Why these liens should be found discriminatory and illegal. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about Ralph's legal practice: https://www.tsonglaw.com/ Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Sunshine Hanson is a driven and pragmatic mama, 3x gestational surrogate, and co-founder of Surrogacy Is alongside her amazing husband, Kyle. (And, as you may have guessed, her story is just as unique as her ever-changing hair!) She was a high school English teacher when she embarked on her first surrogacy journey, and she soon discovered that what the experience was lacking was both advocacy and direction. After working for two very different agencies, she realized that every agency (like every surrogate!) is unique, but some agencies are decidedly better than others! That's where Surrogacy Is first began. Built on the foundations of intention and community, Sunshine and Kyle brought Surrogacy Is to life and soon partnered with Casey Bojorquez to create the team and mission that's thriving today. Sunshine currently lives in Georgia with her family. When she's not guiding surrogates and sharing pieces of her story online, she can be found floating in the pool with her daughter or trying a new spot for brunch in Savannah! Casey Bojorquez is a big-hearted wife, mama, two-time surrogate, and both Co-Owner and Vice President of Surrogacy Is… Which really means she's the go-to lady for anything and everything related to surrogate connection and community. Casey joined forces with Sunshine and Kyle at the end of 2020 with the goal of providing a more comprehensive surrogate outreach and community focus to the company. Since the start of the partnership, she's shifted the entire direction of Surrogacy Is and created a space where surrogates are truly advocated for and supported—every step of the way. When Casey's not making waves for surrogates, she can be found spending time with her family, at the beach, or trying a new hiking trail! Listen as Casey and Sunshine discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • Sunshine's lifechanging experience with surrogacy. • Casey starting her surrogacy journey searching for agencies and seeing some red flags, but ultimately finding the perfect agency and couple. • Sunshine and Casey finding that surrogates need more support than is often provided. • Supporting both surrogates and individuals that were not able to become surrogates. • Finding a mismatch at times with medical record and what a surrogate has knowledge of in her own medical history. • The expansion of Surrogacy Is from a matching service into an agency. • Recommendations for finding the right team along your surrogacy journey to have all of your needs met. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Get in touch with Surrogacy Is: https://surrogacy.is/ Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Judith Becerra is a Licensed Professional Counselor and the Manager of the Counseling Department and Director of the Gestational Carrier Program at CCRM. She has over 30 years' experience in the counseling field specializing in infertility, grief and loss, trauma, mood disorders and adoption. She received her undergraduate degree in Social Work at the University of Kansas and her master's degree in Psychology and Counseling at Pittsburg State University. Judy has published numerous articles on mental health issues, has been a national speaker on grief and loss as well as featured on television, documentaries and radio. Judy utilizes a holistic approach in counseling, believing in the connection of mind/body/spirit. Judy is a member of the Mental Health Professionals Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and a professional member of RESOLVE. Listen as Judy discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • Having immense pains with cramps all through her young life, then at 23 discovering she had endometriosis. • Almost calling off her wedding, but her fiancé was not going to let that happen. • Going through seven years of fertility treatments. • Judy's own experience being adopted and her positive feelings toward adoption. • Independently meeting an expectant mother who was 15 and being part of every step. • Looking to adopt a second child and experiencing several heartbreaks. • Her second child going through 11 chemo treatments and passing away before turning 4. • Finding a new career in mental health within IVF. • Finding professionals from ASRM to help locate the right treatment and care. • Get involved to help promote IVF care and receive grants or donations. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Dr. Julie Bindeman graduated from the George Washington University and is the co-owner of the practice Integrative Therapy of Greater Washington, a private psychotherapy practice located in Rockville, Maryland. As a result of her own reproductive story, she pursued post-graduate training in the field of Reproductive Psychology, where she actively writes, lectures, and presents on the topic. She has been on several committees for the Mental Health Professional Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine including serving as Chair of the Continuing Education Committee and a past chair for the Social Media committee, and a member of the Antiracism Task Force. Dr. Bindeman is a member of a variety of organizations that are focused on Maternal Mental Health. She was appointed by the Governor of Maryland to serve on the Maternal Mental Health Task Force representing psychologists in the state. In 2014, Dr. Bindeman was honored to receive both the Woman Who Dared Award conferred to her by the National Council of Jewish Women and the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Maryland Psychological Association. In 2021, she was honored to receive Division 31 of the American Psychological Association's Karl Heiser Award for advocacy. She authored a chapter in the book, “Psychological and Medical Perspectives on Fertility Care and Sexual Health” (Elsevier, 2021) as well as the book, “Prenatal and Preimplantation Diagnosis: The Burden of Choice” (Springer, 2015). Dr. Bindeman is the editor of a forthcoming book that will be published by Springer about Abortion. Dr. Bindeman is a Certified Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapist and received her training in 2017 from EMDR of Greater Washington. She retrained with the Institute for Creative Mindfulness and is an approved consultant who did her training under Dr. Mara Tesler-Stein. Dr. Bindeman became an approved consultant under Dr. Tesler-Stein as well. She knows EMDR to be a powerful modality that creates real and lasting change within people. Listen as Dr. Bindeman discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • Navigating the new laws and encouraging adequate discussion of abortion in surrogacy. • Considering with Intended Parents and Gestational Carriers the differences between first, second, and third trimester abortion scenarios. • The importance of location in the US. • Whether an abnormal ultrasound might not be disclosed depending on a care provider's views. • Embryo disposition options in the new environment. • Being recruited to write a book on religion and abortion. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Check out The Surrogacy Consultant here: https://thesurrogacyconsultant.com Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Dr. Sunday Crider started her infertility profession after finishing a PhD in Cell Biology and Biochemistry from Texas Tech University. She worked as an Embryologist at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, as well as New England Medical Center in Boston, before coming back home to Texas to build two IVF programs as Laboratory Director. She has also served as off- site Director for New Directions Fertility Center in Phoenix and Cryobank America in Dallas. Leaving the clinical environment in 2013, Dr. Crider began consulting in the surrogacy field as Chief Scientific Liaison, Case Manager, and co-owner of a surrogacy firm. Recognizing the need to offer a more personalized approach, she launched The Surrogacy Consultant in 2019. Between her IVF and Surrogacy years, she's been a part of building thousands of families. Ethics in the surrogacy community are one of Dr. Sunday's top priorities. She is a member of the Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy (SEEDS), where she has acted as Vice President since 2021. During that time, she has served on the Standards Committee, drafting, and implementing guidelines and standards for surrogacy and egg donation. Listen as Dr. Sunday Crider discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • How a trip to Belize, studying butterflies, introduced her to IVF. • Making the hard decision to leave work and a team she loved to move back to Texas to direct a lab. • Frequent travel making it difficult to spend the time she wanted with her young family. • Retiring as a full-time embryologist to start a surrogacy agency. • Consulting for the FDA, working on FDA lab audits. • Changing the surrogacy matching process to increase success. • How the new Texas laws have influenced her process. • FDA inspections and ensuring the health and safety of patients. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Check out The Surrogacy Consultant here: https://thesurrogacyconsultant.com Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Anne Judge, DNP, WHNP-BC, ARNP is a Nurse Practitioner at Seattle Reproductive Medicine (SRM). Anne has worked at SRM since 2007 and has both a personal and professional connection to the field of reproductive medicine. She has a Bachelor's degree in Human Biology from Stanford University, and a Bachelor's degree in Nursing from the University of Washington, where she completed an honors research project on paternal infant attachment. Passionate about women's health, Anne initially worked as a labor and delivery nurse, until her personal experiences with infertility inspired her to make a career change into reproductive medicine. Anne obtained her graduate degrees from Frontier Nursing University. She obtained a Master's and then Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees as a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner in 2016/2017, with a doctoral project on fertility care for patients with obesity. Her other professional interests include the psychological components of infertility and male factor infertility. Anne also supports outreach efforts to increase community awareness of fertility assessment and fertility preservation. She is one of the creators and co-hosts of The Whole Pineapple Podcast, which focuses on wellness and fertility. Ruby Booras is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner at Seattle Reproductive Medicine. She received her BSN from Montana State University and her DNP from the University of Washington. Ruby is a board-certified American College of Lifestyle Medicine Diplomat and is the creator/co-host of The Whole Pineapple podcast, which focuses on fertility and whole-person wellness. Listen as Ruby and Anne discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • Anne's own fertility story, finding both male factor fertility and ovulation struggles. • Collected 38 eggs, but then being told she needed to go through another retrieval cycle. • Becoming a Nurse Practitioner with Seattle Reproductive Medicine, where she works with Ruby. • Ruby's story, getting spontaneously pregnant with twins. • Experiencing an episode of bleeding while pregnant and the fear that came with it. • Losing one of the twins. • Learning how to emotionally navigate loss from her experience, and to give better care to her patients. • Ruby and Anne starting “The Whole Pineapple” podcast. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Listen to The Whole Pineapple Podcast here: https://thewholepineapple.com Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Check out The Whole Pineapple here: https://thewholepineapple.com

Stephanie is the Founder & President of Family Match Consulting–a world-renowned fertility consulting firm specializing in finding egg donors, sperm donors, and surrogates for clients. Stephanie, the first of her parent's three adopted children, long carried the desire to help other hopeful parents start their families; a call that intensified when she found herself in the throes of infertility. Ultimately, it was IVF that helped Stephanie achieve her dream of becoming a mother to two children. With more than 20 years of experience in the industry she's so passionate about, Stephanie has given the gift of family to more than 3,000 parents who were struggling with infertility themselves. Because of her personal background and decades-long experience working in the field, parents often ask Stephanie for guidance when talking to their children about their birth stories. Born from the desire to give parents the tools to talk to their children about the many ways families can be made, Stephanie teamed up with Alana Weiss, her best friend of almost 25 years and a mother through IVF, to co-author the children's book, “From the Start: A Book About Love and Making Families.” From the Start is an inclusive and heartfelt love letter to children born through the help of adoption or fertility treatments such as IVF, sperm/egg donation, or surrogacy. Through age-appropriate language and sweet rhyming prose, Levich and Weiss weave together themes of hope and gratitude to highlight the special roles fertility doctors, donors, surrogates, and adoption play in helping hopeful parents start or grow their families. Listen as Stephanie discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • When her mom was 13, an infection lead to a complete hysterectomy. • Her positive experience being adopted. • Going to school to be a theater major and finding her path to becoming a surrogacy expert. • Started her own agency and working with celebrities (cue some name-dropping!) • Finding genetic relatives. • Co-Authoring a book that speaks to all types of ways children can come into the world, “From the Start: A Book About Love and Making Families.” • The heartfelt thank you's from the families she works with. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about Family Match Consulting: https://www.familymatchconsulting.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Learn more about the book Stephanie wrote: https://www.amazon.com/Start-Book-About-Making-Families/dp/1632995336 Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Kathryn J. Go, PhD earned her doctoral degree from the University of Pennsylvania in molecular biology and has been the director of a laboratory for assisted reproductive technology since 1984. She has been on the faculties or an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, Medical College of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson Medical University, the Experimental College of Tufts University, the University of Massachusetts and is currently a teaching associate at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Go is the director of the In Vitro Fertilization Laboratory at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and is happy to be contributing to both patient care and the education of the next generations in clinical science in the company of a terrific team of embryologists, nurses, physicians, and administrators at the Brigham. Listen as Kathryn discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • How she unexpectedly found herself working in the world of fertility care. • A little history -- in 1984 it was routine and desirable to transfer 4 or more embryos at a time! • The changes in embryo storage and other technologies significantly improving implantation rates. • The massive leaps in genetic analysis and testing. • Three-parent IVF, what is it and why is it controversial? • Predictions about the future of fertility treatment – major advancement may be here sooner than you think! Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Lauren Makler is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cofertility. She previously founded Uber Health, a product that enables healthcare organizations to leverage Uber's massive driver network in improving healthcare outcomes through patient transportation and healthcare delivery. Under Lauren's leadership, the business helped millions of patients get to the care they needed. Prior to that, Lauren spent the early years at Uber launching the core business throughout the east coast and led the company's first experiment in healthcare, national on demand flu shot campaigns. Lauren's winding road of a fertility journey led her to believe that everyone should have the opportunity to freeze their eggs –and that there should be better access to egg donors. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their miracle baby girl. Listen as Lauren discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Experiencing ongoing pain and being diagnosed with an incredibly rare abdominal disease. • Being told she may never be able to have a biological child. • Defying the odds, but only after obtaining a deeper understanding of the broken and antiquated systems surrounding egg donation. • Joining with her Cofertility co-founders to build a company that gives women more power over their reproductive health. • Reshaping fertility preservation and third-party reproduction so it's more accessible, human and community-driven. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Cofertility here: https://www.cofertility.com

Jessica is the past Chair of the Walk of Hope in Colorado, a fundraiser for RESOLVE: the National Infertility Association, which raises awareness and provides support for those experiencing infertility. Jessica has personally walked that long road and shares an update regarding her journey to parenthood… five years after our initial podcast recording with her. Listen as Jessica discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Spending years on the waitlist for adoption. • Going from #46 to first in line, finally. • Getting case specifics and finally feeling excited. • The heartache of saying yes and then not being picked. • Being picked! And feeling in shock. • Waiting all weekend for news of the delivery... then dealing with complications. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Diana Thomas is the Founder and CEO of The World Egg and Sperm Bank. After having to find her own egg donor in the early 1990s, and successfully becoming pregnant, fertility specialists began approaching Diana asking for her help in finding egg donors for their own patients, at a time when only one other egg donor agency existed in the U.S. She quickly discovered that there was a desperate need for a company that understood empowering recipients with information about egg donors, and the emotional sensitivity to navigate through the process of involving another person in their reproductive life. Through her own personal experience, she created a company that catered to the needs of intended parents as well as brought the best quality of care to egg donors. For over 25 years, Diana's egg donor agency, that evolved into The World Egg and Sperm Bank, has matched thousands of donors and couples nationwide and internationally. In 2004, she was one of three partners to start the first “frozen” egg bank in the world. Since then, The World Egg and Sperm Bank has increased egg donor options by shipping vitrified (frozen) eggs and sperm to recipients' doctors around the globe, and as such, removed many geographic and emotional barriers for those who hope to one day have a child of their own. The World Egg and Sperm Bank is the only egg bank worldwide that focuses solely on egg and sperm donors, and the only bank that has full operational control in its own state of the art facility to manage all donor cycles, retrievals and egg and sperm freezing from one lab, and one location. This is a unique powerful benefit in managing quality control, and the data outcomes reflect the focus and efforts to continually improve pregnancy outcomes. Listen as Diana discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • After over 20 years of fertility treatments, working to find an egg donor on her own before egg donation was fully available. • Finding a potential donor, meeting her family, creating her own contract, and being in the room during the retrieval! • Finding out she only had a 12% chance of the embryo taking; transferring two and experiencing a disappearing twin. • How her son was one of the first 100 children born via egg donation. • Having triplets take, losing one, then delivering twins at 29 weeks. • How her second donor had complications getting pregnant and Diana was able to help her! • Finding ways to improve the egg donation process. • Being 100% open to allowing visitors to walk through their facility and see the process firsthand.

Meet Brian Rosenberg, founder of Gays With Kids and creator / head coach of GWK Academy, the only-one-of-its-kind App designed specifically to help gay and queer men become dads. Brian has more than 25 years of sales and marketing experience, but his real passion has been the creation of Gays With Kids, the one-stop destination for gay, bi and trans dads and dads-to-be. Brian and his husband Ferd became first-time dads in 2009, creating their family through adoption and surrogacy. At the time, there were few resources available to help queer men become dads, and even fewer for those who already were, so they launched GWK in March 2014. Together since 1993, the secret to this couple's longevity is Ferd's prowess in the kitchen and Brian's great appreciation for anything his husband cooks! Listen as Brian discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Living with HIV and meeting his husband. • Deciding after many years together that they wanted children. • Falling instantly in love with the first infant they met for adoption; but hitting obstacles. • Looking into surrogacy after birth mother changed her mind. • When sperm washing became an option, finding new hope that they could become genetic parents. • Signing up with a surrogacy agency, but then getting the call that a baby was available for adoption! • Finding a wonderful surrogate and transferred two embryos… both took! • How Brian and his husband experienced the public's view of two dads; frequently hearing “where's mom?” • Spreading awareness of their fatherhood journey. • Launched “Gays With Kids” to help create a community for dads! Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Gays With Kids here: https://gayswithkids.com

Episode 157: Empowerment Through Advocacy – Lisa Rosenthal and Ryan Ferrante by I Want to Put a Baby in You!

Adrienne Black is passionate about surrogacy and helping grow families in a heart-based, ethical, and exceptional way. Adrienne has been involved in surrogacy for over 20 years. Besides her original profession as a midwife, she has also been a surrogate (four times for three families, resulting in six babies!), a legal assistant in a surrogacy law firm, and the last 11 years as an agency owner. Adrienne founded and runs the largest online group for surrogacy professionals in the world, and is actively involved in the Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, and other local family-building organizations. Adrienne says her whole heart is with surrogacy. Listen to Adrienne discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • How Adrienne became interested in surrogacy. • Traditional surrogacy (and her preference not to use the term “genetic surrogacy”) versus gestational surrogacy. • Her experiences as a gestational surrogate. • Working as a legal assistant and starting her own surrogacy agency. • Her agency's support for both traditional surrogacy and gestational surrogacy. • Focusing on protecting the surrogate and intended parents throughout the process. • Offering education for surrogates to make an informed decision on what type of journey they want. • The preference of some international families for traditional surrogacy. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Heart To Hands Surrogacy: www.hthsurrogacy.com

Marna Gatlin is an egg donation and embryo donation industry professional, and a patient advocate with a specialty in open egg donation and open embryo donation. She works to educate, support, and empower individuals in forming or adding to their family. With over 20 years as an infertility and donation professional, many refer to her as the “go to” person regarding all things egg donation and embryo donation. Marna works with an amazing network of third-party experts. Her peers and professional colleagues would describe her as a creative-strategy problem solver and a detail-oriented team player with the proven ability to lead. “Facilitator” is her middle name! Regardless of whether you are an intended parent or an industry professional, she is always willing to roll up her sleeves and assist with the challenge at hand. Listen to Marna as to this Part 2 discussion with Ellen and Jenn about: • Being able to go into the next phase of her life, becoming a mother. • Being told by a priest that her child would not be accepted by the Catholic Church, because the child was conceived from IVF and egg donation. • Seeking out a different priest and finding comfort in their words. • Deciding not to baptize her child as an infant, allowing her child to choose for themselves. • How PVED came about. • PVED's mission to educate, support, and empower families and individuals at any stage of the process considering egg donation in family building. • The importance of telling children about their donor conception story and helping intended parents through that process. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Parents Via Egg Donation: https://www.pved.org/

Marna Gatlin is an egg donation and embryo donation industry professional, and a patient advocate with a specialty in open egg donation and open embryo donation. She works to educate, support, and empower individuals in forming or adding to their family. With over 20 years as an infertility and donation professional, many refer to her as the “go to” person regarding all things egg donation and embryo donation. Marna works with an amazing network of third-party experts. Her peers and professional colleagues would describe her as a creative-strategy problem solver and a detail-oriented team player with the proven ability to lead. “Facilitator” is her middle name! Regardless of whether you are an intended parent or an industry professional, she is always willing to roll up her sleeves and assist with the challenge at hand. Listen to Marna as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • The origination story of Parents Via Egg Donation. • Her hopes and dreams of becoming a mother, but nothing going as planned. • Meeting a parent who conceived through egg donation. • Getting her dream doctor by pure luck! • Having a difficult and scary pregnancy, but delivering a health boy at 39 weeks. • Her original expectations as to her donor. • Her son asking to meet the donor, and working to support his request. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Parents Via Egg Donation: https://www.pved.org/

Lila Newberry Bradley is a partner in the law firm of Claiborne|Fox|Bradley|Goldman, which focuses its practice on family building through adoption and assisted reproduction. Lila is a Fellow in American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and the Georgia Council of Adoption Lawyers. Lila attended the University of Georgia for both undergraduate and law school. Lila is the former director of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation's Children's Law Programs where she worked with volunteer lawyers to provide pro bono legal representation for children who were in foster care or were the subject of high-conflict custody disputes. Lila continues to have a special interest in the legal issues surrounding children in foster care, and she provides training to foster parents on how the law and the court process can ensure that children's rights and interests are protected. Listen to Lila as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Starting her legal career in corporate transactions. • Stepping away from work to focus on raising her family. • A chance meeting leading her to work in child welfare law and foster care. • 10 years working with foster care cases, including those that moved to adoption. • Why the question “Why don't you just adopt?” is so problematic. • A little history. How the Baby Boom impacted adoption and the “Baby Scoop” era. • The cost of adoption, ranging from $10,000 to over $75,000. • The multi-step, and frequently lengthy, adoption process. • Varying state adoption laws. • The risk and likelihood of a change of mind. • How the genetic father's involvement can affect the potential of adoption. • Open versus closed adoption and the historical shift. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Lila's law firm: www.gababylaw.com

Eric Mobley, 28, is donor conceived. He resides in Louisville, Kentucky with his husband, Jeremy, and 1 year old Yorkie, Ellie. Eric did not discover he was donor conceived until he was 26 years old and received a 23&Me kit for Christmas. Eric works in higher education admissions and loves anything Disney related. Listen to Eric as he discusses with Ellen and Jenn:  Eric has new 23&Me results!  Finding more siblings.  His relationship with his Donor taking an unexpected turn.  Working through the trauma.  Offering support for his new siblings.  Facing triggers, anxiety, and depression.  Becoming more accepting of his parents' decisions. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997- 1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about DNA results: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/blog/2021/9/14/episode-123- your-dna-guide-diahan-southard-and-jayne-ekins Learn about We Are Donor Conceived Magazine: https://www.wearedonorconceived.com/magazine/

Mark Mellinger handles all marketing and public relations functions for the NEDC and is also in charge of development efforts. His background consists of almost three decades in broadcast journalism. From 2011 to 2018, Mark served as a contributor to The Gospel Coalition, one of the world's largest Christian websites, where he helped start TGC's podcast operations. The National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) has facilitated more embryo donations, and births from embryo donation (nearly 1250), than any organization in the world. NEDC's mission is to protect the lives and dignity of human embryos by promoting, facilitating, and educating about embryo donation. Listen to Mark as he discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • NEDC's size and history. • The term “Embryo Adoption” instead “Embryo Donation” as NEDC's preferred language. • The NEDC's internal rules requiring of recipients that: o they be a heterosexual couple; o they have a home study by an accredited organization; and o the female recipient be 46 years or younger and able to carry a pregnancy. • If three cycles does not result in a child, recipients must return the embryos to the NEDC. • The consideration of who receives embryos and their proximity across the US. • Allowing selection and use of embryos with certain genetic markers or mosaicism. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about the NEDC here: https://www.embryodonation.org

Sasha became a mom at the age of 19 and a single mother at age 23 after leaving a toxic situation. She met the love of her life in 2018 and is now happily married. Sasha and her husband have been struggling to grow their family for a few years and her daughter is impatient, asking for a sibling. Their family of three humans and two dogs enjoy traveling, trying new restaurants, and spending time with family. Her fertility journey includes everything from teen pregnancy to egg donation, and now infertility. Listen to Sasha as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Giving her parents the news of her pregnancy at the age of 18. • Her father offering to adopt her child. • Coming across a Facebook ad to donate eggs. • Deciding to donate after watching her parents struggle with infertility. • Completing three total cycles, two for the same couple. • Experiencing a terrible third retrieval -- they counted 80+ eggs but only retrieved 33, leaving her to pass the rest. • Meeting her now husband and explaining how she could have children out there from her egg donations. • The inadvertent way her parents found out she was an egg donor. • Experiencing a miscarriage in early 2022 and waiting to get in with a specialist. • Colorado offering insurance-covered fertility access in large group market come January 1, 2023. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Born and raised in Texas, Nikki Wehmeir now lives in California -- though is very eager to move back closer to her family at some point! Nikki is an incredibly proud mother of two (an almost 22 year old daughter, Hayli, and a 13 year old son, Kaden). Nikki is completely obsessed with animals -- especially dogs. Her career has been built around the infertility field, specifically egg donation and surrogacy. She truly can't imagine doing anything else. Listen to Nikki as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Starting work with an egg donation and surrogacy agency with three people and helping it grow to over 20! • Managing the donor program, working on a personal level, and connecting with the families and donors one-on-one. • Considering being an egg donor herself, but not qualifying. • Considering becoming a surrogate. • Coming across a Facebook post from a friend who was donating her uterus. • Applying to donate her uterus! • Feeling so certain this was something she was supposed to do. • Her first match falling through. • Go through the entire process without meeting the recipient -- but sending her a care package the day of surgery. • 13 hours of surgery. • Fast-forward … her excitement meeting the recipient and the baby! • Connecting with young women who reach out to her after learning they do not have a uterus. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn about the uterus transplant program here: https://fertilitycenterofdallas.com/blog/12-live-births-from-uterus-transplants/

Episode 148: Surrogacy Changes Lives (and Careers) – Courtney Johnson by I Want to Put a Baby in You!

Emmy-winning host and TV personality Lilliana Vazquez is a trailblazing interviewer, style expert, and author. Capturing an audience's attention behind the microphone, the enterprising star has curated a career that began from a small blog to being seen by millions daily on numerous platforms. Liliana opens up about her fertility experience and the struggles through IVF while navigating work, life, family, and everything in between. After years of her life going towards fertility treatments, she achieved her dream of becoming a mother. Now she prioritizes moments with her son and continues to feed her audience and entrepreneurial spirit by collaborating with select media and brand partners. Listen to Liliana as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Moving across the country and her exciting career rise, including hosting E! News. • At 35, her doctor recommending a blood test for egg quantity “just to check.” • Receiving shocking results. • Seeking out the best fertility doctors in New York. • Shifting her focus from wanting to be pregnant to wanting to be a parent. • Not sharing her IVF process out of a desire to avoid anyone pitying her. • Keeping her job as her safe space • Telling her family and her mom's response being just was she needed. • Being sure to advocate for her mental health and seeking a therapist to navigate the new feelings and emotions throughout the different stages. • Learning about and advocating for a “Gentle C-section.” Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Liliana here: https://www.lillianavazquez.com

Episode 146: Surprise Siblings – Larry Bruck by I Want to Put a Baby in You!

Amy Klein is the author of The Trying Game: Get Through Infertility Treatment Without Losing Your Mind, based on her New York Times "Fertility Diary" column. It took her four years, ten doctors, nine rounds of IVF and three miscarriages to have their daughter. Don't feel bad about "baby envy," or more accurately, "pregnancy envy," that ugly green monster of jealousy that rears its ugly head every time you hear that another friend, frenemy, or family member is pregnant. Amy has gone to every baby shower, every baby naming party so that you don't have to. She discusses how to set boundaries with others and for yourself, and how not to feel bad about not feeling good for everyone else. Listen to Amy as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Her fertility treatment experience in New York City and lack of available care. • How she began writing about fertility. • Her appreciation for doctors that provide individualized patient care. • Limiting herself to three cycles per doctor and why. • Her advice for a D&C over other options for handling a miscarriage. • Advocating for your care and reminding listeners that the doctors work for you! Be that person. • How to protect yourself emotionally through fertility treatments. • How she felt when her sister was pregnant. • Going through secondary infertility and balancing the education of others while protecting herself. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Get the book The Trying Game here: www.thetryinggamebook.com Find Amy on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/thetryinggame_infertilitybook/

Megan's professional experience includes health care marketing and non-profit management. She left her most recent role with Baxter Healthcare to focus full-time on the Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Association (RPLA). She holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management. She blogs about her personal experience of recurrent miscarriage at MisbehavingUterus.com. Megan lives in Seattle with her husband and her daughter who was born via gestational surrogacy. RPLA is dedicated to eliminating recurrent pregnancy loss through the advancement of research into causes and treatments; to providing support and resources to those affected; and to increasing awareness of the impact of miscarriage and fertility challenges on women and families. Listen to Megan as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Getting pregnant very quickly, experiencing a missed-miscarriage and a D&C. • Experienced another miscarriage. • Trying for over a year to get pregnant. • Going through a medically managed miscarriage and her (strong) thoughts on that choice. • The feeling of betrayal from her body after the 5th miscarriage. • Exploring alternative family building options. • Once emotionally feeling stronger, reaching out to a surrogacy agency • Leaving her job and incorporating a non-profit while starting her surrogacy journey. • How the non-profit is helping those experiencing pregnancy loss. • Having her first experience in a delivery room with her child being born via surrogacy. • Her surrogate truly becoming family. • How to join and/or support the RPL community Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn about Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Association here: https://rplassociation.org Find support with Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Association here: https://rplassociation.org/events Check out Megan's Blog here: www.MisbehavingUterus.com

Episode 143: Infertile Blessings – Maureen Nowak by I Want to Put a Baby in You!

Dr. Feinberg is an Associate Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and serves as the REI Fellowship Program Director as well as the Medical Director for Northwestern Fertility and Reproductive Medicine. She is the Past-President of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and is an Editorial Editor for Fertility and Sterility and the creator and co-host of Fertility and Sterility On-Air podcast. Dr. Feinberg is a fierce advocate for women's health and reproductive choice and has written opinion pieces have been published in the Washington Post, STATnews, Rewire, The Hill and Time magazine and she sits on the National Medical Committee of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Dr Feinberg is the founder and president of the Chicago Coalition for Family Building, a not for profit that awards grants for fertility treatment and adoption. She is passionate about her Peloton, running, reading fiction, playing Wordle and finding joy. Listen to Dr. Feinberg as she discusses with Jenn: • Her path to Reproductive Endocrinology. • A look back on the COVID Task Force. • The vaccine decision-making challenges. • How access to care changed during the pandemic, for good. • The debate over access to reproductive healthcare and the implications for fertility care access. • The controversy on mosaic embryos and how practices are navigating potential transfers. • Whether PGT lives up to the hype. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn more about Dr. Feinberg's practice here: https://fertility.nm.org Learn more about the Chicago Coalition for Family Building here: www.coalitionforfamilybuilding.org

EM•POWER with Moxi is an organization dedicated to empowering choice and fostering understanding for all stakeholders involved in embryo donation. Maya is a California Licensed Clinical Social Worker and psychotherapist who specializes in supporting individuals and couples struggling to conceive or building their family in alternative ways. Additionally, her background in child welfare allows her to have a keen understanding of not only the needs of patients/parents but also the needs of children born through third party reproduction. Maya is also a documentary filmmaker and co-producer of One More Shot, a feature length film she produced with her husband documenting their tumultuous journey to parenthood. Gina has been a genetic counselor in the field of reproductive medicine for over 17 years. Her company, Advocate Genetics, provides genetic counseling for fertility patients and those connected to third-party reproduction. She had been working in the field of infertility for 6 years before her own 3-1/2 year fertility journey began. Her story involved multiple surgeries and a heartbreaking miscarriage, but also resulted in the birth of her two amazing children via IVF. After she felt her family was complete, she also had 16 remaining embryos and some big decisions to make. Years later, she has donated her remaining embryos to two families, one of whom now has a beautiful and spunky daughter. Jennifer is a Nationally Certified Counselor who founded Embryo Donation Support, a web-based community for embryo donors. Through facilitation of pre- and post-donation online support groups to women with frozen embryos, Jennifer has built a solid understanding of the questions, needs, fears, and challenges that patients face when considering embryo donation. Jennifer also advocates for embryo donation and donor support through podcasts, live events, social media outlets, and blog contributions. Jennifer is a proud mother of twins conceived through IVF, and proud donor of one embryo who is now a healthy boy. These three women created EM•POWER to support the various complex elements of embryo donation and simplify the process for both patients and clinics. They created an education platform and a community platform that includes Moxi Matching, a private space where embryo donors can connect and match. Listen to Maya, Gina, and Jen as they discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • Maya's film “One More Shot” documenting her up close and personal road to parenthood. • Jen's fertility journey and experience becoming a donor with only one embryo and strong feelings on what that arrangement should look like. • Gina's professional path leading her to the fertility world before experiencing her own difficult path to parenthood. • Considering the options and challenges involved in embryo disposition. • “Adoption” vs “donation” terminology for embryos. • How people choose a donor or recipient for embryos • Empower with Moxi, a hub for education and support for the embryo donation community. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn about Empower with Moxi here: https://www.empowerwithmoxi.com Find Embryo Donation support here: http://embryodonationsupport.com Watch One More Shot here: http://www.onemoreshotfilm.com Learn about Maya Grobel here: https://www.mayagrobel.com Find Empower with Moxi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/empowerwithmoxi/ Find Empower with Moxi on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/empowerwithmoxi Find Empower with Moxi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/empowerwithmoxi/

Where do Israeli intended parents go to for surrogacy? What specific hurdles do they have to overcome? Is surrogacy widely available within Israel? And what is so drastically different between the Israeli approach to genetic parentage -- whether through surrogacy or through reproduction technologies -- and the American one? Victoria Gelfand (born and raised in Moscow, immigrated to Israel in her teens, educated in Tel Aviv and admitted to the Israeli bar in 2003) was the first attorney to provide legal assistance to Israeli couples and singles with respect to surrogacy procedures abroad back in 2006. In 2007, she achieved first recognition of surrogacy procedures carried out in India by the Israeli Ministry of Internal Affairs, creating a process that has since been used for all – well over two thousand – babies born to Israeli intended parents via surrogacy abroad. In 2008 she started her own practice which specializes exclusively on family formation and fertility law, and has won various precedential cases related to foreign surrogacy for Israeli intended parents. Victoria Gelfand, Law Offices is the only law firm outside North America which is a member of all three major US-based professional groups and societies in the field: the ABA, the AAAA, and SEEDS. Listen to Victoria as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Her career path to law and transition to specializing in surrogacy and family formation. • Israeli law prohibiting same sex couples from building their family through surrogacy within the country. • Finding a loophole for same sex couples to become parents – through surrogacy outside the country. • The importance of genetic and biological connections in Israel. • Israeli's interesting post-mortem conception cases. • The prohibition against known sperm donors in Israel. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn about Victoria Gelfand's law firm here: https://familylawyer.co.il/home/english/

A year after getting married, Roxy Jenkins and her husband decided to grow their family. Little did they know, the next five years would be a bumpy, winding path navigating infertility. It took seven medicated cycles, two IUIs, three retrievals and fresh transfers, and one twin miscarriage until their little Coco finally made her way into the world. The quest for a sibling has proven to be as difficult. For the past two and a half years, they have endured two retrievals, three miscarriages, one ectopic pregnancy, uterine testing, both tubes being removed, a Lupron Depot flare, and three back-to-back cycles being cancelled. Add to that a exploratory laparotomy with a resulting endo diagnosis. They have one tested embryo left on ice and that's where their story pauses for now. Inspired by her own family's story and her love of art, Roxy decided to give color to a dark and painful journey. Each painting she does makes her feel less alone while navigating infertility. Every story shared of how each embryo came into existence is as unique as the embryo itself. All paths to parenthood are valid and worthy of sharing. Roxy feels honored that so many have entrusted the sweetest, most special part of their journey to her. Listen to Roxy as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • After a year of marriage, her and her spouse wanting to start a family. • Finding the right doctor and learning they had IVF coverage. • A rough road of being diagnosed with PCOS, going through IUI, IVF, egg retrievals and loss of a pregnancy. • Finally, a successful pregnancy and the arrival of their daughter. • Finding strength in carrying around her daughter's embryo portrait while pregnant. • Painting her daughter's embryo portrait and discovering a meaningful gift for others. • Starting her Etsy shop and finding her full-time passion. • Painting as her own infertility therapy. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Check out Roxy's artwork here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DearCocoDesign?ref=shop_sugg

Aden is founder of the Plan A podcast. Plan A follows Aden's journey into becoming an independent parent. She talks with experts about everything from choosing a donor and navigating insurance to whether you really need to take prenatal vitamins and the difference between IUI and IVF. Along the way Aden shares her actual experience from asking questions and preparing to, hopefully, pregnancy and beyond. She explores how choosing independent parenthood can be your Plan A. Listen to Aden as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • The process of starting a family independently, including the language she prefers and advocates for (not “single mother by choice”). • Changing employers for better fertility coverage and finding the perfect fit! • Her sperm selection process, including the importance to her of a non-prolific donor. • Deciding between fertility procedures and exploring the legal issues. • Her advice: don't wait, it's important to investigate early! • Starting the “Plan A” podcast: talking to others and documenting her journey. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Check out the Plan A podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/plan-a/id1611983736

MaryJane is a business professor and creator of The Biggest Ask, an educational website and blog dedicated to surrogacy. Listen to MJ as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Getting pregnant easily, but then things becoming very difficult very quickly. • Being hospitalized at 24 weeks and being told she would be there for the rest of the pregnancy. • Experiencing a pre-term birth and losing her child after twelve days. • Considering surrogacy to protect herself and future child. • Finding a potential surrogate and hope, then experience all the complex feelings when she became pregnant for herself. • Deciding to search for an agency and having mixed feelings about agency providers. • Matching with a surrogate and having a wonderful experience. • Creating “The Biggest Ask” and working to provide greater information and resources to others. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn about ART Compass here: www.artcompass.io Learn about The Biggest Ask here: https://thebiggestask.com

Dr. Julie Bindeman graduated from the George Washington University and is the co-owner of Integrative Therapy of Greater Washington in Rockville, Maryland. Her specialty is in the field of Reproductive Psychology, where she actively writes, lectures, and presents. She is a consultant in training in EMDR through EMDRIA. She has served on several committees within the Mental Health Professional Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and was recently elected to its Executive Committee. She served as a Board Member of the Maryland Psychological Association for over 10 years. Dr. Bindeman is a member of multiple organizations focused on Maternal and Reproductive Mental Health and was appointed by the Governor of Maryland to serve on its Maternal Mental Health Task Force. She was recently awarded the Karl Heiser Award for her legislative efforts on behalf of psychology. Dr. Bindeman has published several chapters and articles pertaining to Reproductive Psychology. Listen to Julie as she discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Embracing her secondary infertility story as an infertility story. • Receiving heartbreaking news at an ultrasound. • Struggling with the realities of a devastating diagnosis. • Finding comfort in her decision within her religion. • Getting pregnant quickly again. • Shockingly, receiving another devasting diagnosis. • Throwing an Elephant Shower! • Considering trying again, breaking the numbers down. • A genetic counselor sharing her opinion that a third child is “ecologically irresponsible”! Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Trystan Reese is a transgender parent and educator based out of Portland, Oregon. He is the author of How We Do Family: From Adoption to Trans Pregnancy, What We Learned about Love and LGBTQ Parenthood, as well as co-author of the children's book, The Light Of You. Listen to Trystan as he discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • The behind-the-scenes evolution of writing his first book. • Auditioning for the audio version of his own book! • Choosing where to go deep and where to hold back. • Dispelling myths of fertility and the ability to carry a pregnancy after being on testosterone for an extended period of time. • Writing about and reliving pregnancy loss. • Co-writing a children's book with his partner to share how transgender families are formed. • Realigning and prioritizing what's import in life. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Get Trystan's Book, How We Do Family: From Adoption to Trans Pregnancy, What We Learned about Love and LGBTQ Parenthood, here: https://www.powells.com/book/how-we-do-family-9781615197569 Get Trystan and Biff's Children's Book, The Light of You, here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-light-of-you-trystan-reese/1139767813

Steven J. Miller obtained bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology at Northern Michigan University and is currently in the part-time MSW program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He's been in social work since 2009, working with youth and families. Steven is an advocate for more discussion among social workers and other helping professionals about the impact of infertility on one's mental health. Steven and his wife struggled with infertility for seven years before being successful using IVF, resulting in now three-year-old twin boys. After his MSW, Steven plans to work in Reproductive Mental Health and continue advocacy for discussion about this topic in the classroom to help better prepare students and clinicians to support those coming to them for support. Listen to Steven as he discusses with Ellen and Jenn: • Male representation of infertility • 19 states and increasing for infertility insurance coverage • Trying to navigate time off for appointments • The feeling of trauma when seeing daily reminders of their infertility struggles Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/ Learn about Resolve and their support here: https://resolve.org Follow Steven at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sjmiller2024/