Last week, CNN posted a very inflammatory article on its website: it's title: "Surrogate Offered $10,000 to Abort Baby."  There are so many things that I want to clear up about this article, but I'll stick to one aspect that was lacking in it’s reporting: where was the mental health professional in this case?

The American Society of Reproductive Medicine (…

Like a lot of you, I'm just now catching my breath after the busy holidays. Along with the usual tasks and festivities, I did a lot of hand-holding this season. That's part of my job that I love. And it's something you should inquire about, whether you're a carrier or IP.

How much hand-holding do you need? Unless you've been through a surrogacy journey before, you might not have any idea how to answer that question.

The term “hand-holding” might sound…

It's been a remarkably stressful few months, personally and professionally. This year is finally coming to a close, and for me, that's a really good thing. It's been a year of tragedy with the preterm loss of our daughter and tragedy of trying to find the answers as to why it went down this horrible path. But out of this tragedy came a lot of amazing perspective and hope, drive and validation that I want to continue to help others dealing with infertility and loss and raise…

Considering surrogacy to create your family? There are many issues and topics to think about as you embark on the route to baby via a gestational carrier. Things you wouldn't normally have to think about months and even a year in advance of conception.

Maybe one of the hottest topics for discussion when considering surrogacy is selective…

The relationship between Intended Parents, IP’s, and a Surrogate has the potential to be very stressful, and if the match of the IP’s and the Surrogate is not good, there is the potential for a very antagonistic relationship with the person who is carrying your baby. Once you have chosen a surrogate, and she becomes pregnant, it is a relationship that you must sustain until the baby is born.



From the surrogate’s perspective, many surrogates choose to work only through an…

Our infertility roller-coaster took a drastic turn this year. We were on the steady up and down, stomach dropping in a consistent rhythm until BAM! The ride took us to a dark place, lights out, upside down, screaming. We lost our baby we were so close to having home. Our baby via a gestational carrier after years of infertility due to Asherman's…

If you are considering looking into finding a gestational carrier to carry a child for you there are several issues that should be addressed upfront before you share any personal information. This will help address the main issues that may make or break your match without investing too much time and emotional…

Guiliana Rancic and her husband Bill are currently in Denver waiting on the arrival of their first child, a son via gestational surrogacy. I am beyond excited to hear the news that their son has arrived and that they are FINALLY parents. Something they have been hoping for for so long after so much.

As…

Recent blog posts by sociologist and Huffpost blogger Christine Carter inspired me to think about willpower and its role in trying to conceive.



For those who have struggled with infertility, including…

BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a calculation based on a person's height and weight that indicates how much body fat they have. An increase in body fat can not only effect a woman's overall health but also cause more difficulty for doctors who perform IVF retrievals as well as cause difficulty with ultrasound visibility when performing embryo transfers to the mother or gestational carrier.

Most fertility clinics require a BMI of at least 18 and no higher than 30. They…

In a utopian world, we wouldn't need egg donors, sperm donors, or surrogates because no one would have a use for them. But our reality is not utopia. Donation and surrogacy are methods that allow for family building no matter what your circumstances are. Through technology, same sex couples can have a biologically related offspring, rather than only have the sole choice of adoption. People who have found love later in life can have a family too. Or people who had the…

This is the best way to describe how I have been feeling lately. It feels as if my heart was ripped out of me and broken in to tiny bits and pieces that look impossible to put back together.

Our journey dealing with infertility has been comprised of years of struggles. Dealing with surgeries to attempt to carry a child again on my own and then finally making the plunge into surrogacy to find someone willing to sacrifice their time and body to bring our child into the…

This post is not a positive blog post like I want all my posts to be but the reality of infertility and surrogacy is that it isn't always a pretty picture and a perfect story-book ending.

On May 17th, our daughter was born at a mere 1.6 pounds, 11 inches long at 25 weeks and 6 days gestation. My husband got a call from our surrogate that she had been admitted to the hospital. When I arrived home my husband broke the news to me gently, "don't freak out, but she's in…

Took a road trip with grandma-to-be, my mom, to go to the 24 week ultrasound for our baby who is being gestated nicely within our wonderful gestational carrier. It was about a 2 hour drive and for the first time, since my husband didn't attend this ultrasound, I drove. I'm usually the one in the passenger seat feeling anxious while hubby takes over the wheel to all our appointments and visits.

It was exciting to have my mom with me this time. So I'm full of anticipation hoping…

Are you or someone you know trying to have A Family of their Own? Family Forward Surrogacy and Bridge To Baby are proud to be participating at the upcoming Family of My Own Fertility & Adoption Conference on Saturday, May 12 at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner in McLean, VA.



Join us from 8:00am – 2:30pm for…

We are 22 weeks along now! Amazing to finally be over the hump. We are more weeks into the pregnancy with 18 weeks to go. While it's an exciting milestone, the second trimester can feel like a slower time period. The pregnancy has gone from a very fast and exciting and nerve racking first trimester to an exciting yet slower progressing second trimester. I think things will pick up again once we reach the third trimester when the due date will be slowing approaching.…

NPR recently posted an interview with intended parents and their surrogate discussing aspects of their surrogacy arrangement and the birth of twins. Ties That Bind: When Surrogate Meets Mom-To-Be by Jennifer Ludden

I can honestly say that this audio clip…

Took about 4 months of convincing my husband that we should find out the sex with this baby. We kept it a surprise with our first son but given the very unique situation with having a child via surrogacy, I really felt like I wanted to take one other element of surprise out of the equation.

For me I felt like I would benefit from knowing the sex so I could spiritually bond more with the pregnancy and baby if I knew what the gender was. Even when I didn't care what the sex is.…

We just went to the 20 week ultrasound for our biological baby, via my egg and my husband's sperm, who is growing inside our surrogate. For the most part everything went very smoothly. I hadn't seen our GS, gestational surrogate, in about 7 weeks; the last time was at the 13 week checkup. It was really good to see her and know our baby was very close to us. It is still mind-boggling to know our baby is growing is someone else!

It is a nerve-racking experience going…

An overall family building plan should be developed as soon as a couple learns of the infertility diagnosis. All too often we see couples who have spent all of their savings on IVF treatments before considering surrogacy or donor egg. It is important to set a limit of how many IVF cycles will be performed before pursuing third party reproduction options such

as donor egg and/or surrogacy.

IVF Costs:

In order to keep IVF costs down,…