Fertility Cafe

What is it really like for egg donors? What are their motivations for donating? What is their experience? How do they feel about known versus anonymous donations? We talked to one egg donor about her take on these questions. Guest Bio Rai Hyde Rai is a 6-time egg donor. Despite struggling with long-term health complications due to her donations, she is proud to be an egg donor and looks back on th...

What happens years after a child has been born from an egg donation process? In this episode, we answer this question along with others like what happens if the child has health issues and the IPs opted for an anonymous donation? What do IPs need to consider early in their IVF journey that may affect their child's health 10, 20, and more years down the road?                      Host Bio I’m Elois...

We would like to think of the fertility journey as all happiness, love, and bringing beautiful new life into this world. But the fact is that there is a dark side of legal issues, persistent medical effects, and emotional distress that many donors and surrogates don't know about before agreeing to donate or carry for IPs. In this episode, we talked to Diane Tober, Medical Anthropologist and Resear...

We've done a lot of episodes on financing, insurance, etc., but not so much on the budgeting/cost-cutting side. This episode takes us through the Surrogacy Roadmap and explains the areas where you don't want to skimp (i.e., No DIY GSAs off of the internet!) and where you can realistically cut costs. Host Bio I’m Eloise Drane, Founder of Family Inceptions, the first surrogacy and egg donation agenc...

With the emergence of the Donor Sibling Registry, 23&Me, and Ancestry.com, it's nearly impossible to be an "anonymous" donor for long nowadays. Now, federal legislators are considering requiring background checks for both egg and sperm donors, which would completely eliminate any anonymity outside of an agency arrangement. In this episode, we'll talk about whether or not it is still possible t...

Postpartum depression is, unfortunately, quite common in women. However, the way society, mental health professionals, and medical professionals react to postpartum depression is vastly different for surrogates than mothers who birth their own children. In this episode, we normalize postpartum depression, talk about the unique challenges surrogates face with the condition, and offer ideas and reso...

We often think of terminating a pregnancy as an issue parents have to face. But in the world of third-party reproduction, we also have to consider the impact on the surrogate. In this episode, we answer questions like, what happens if the IPs and surrogate disagree? What factors are most important and should be triaged accordingly? And, how can IPs and surrogates move forward to try again after te...

As a six-time donor and three-time surrogate, I've helped many families become whole. But only once have I had the opportunity to meet one of the children born from my multiple egg donation cycles. In this episode, I share what the experience of meeting my egg donation baby was like, what she has shared with me about how she feels about being born of assisted reproduction, and what donors need to...

How does Roe v Wade affect the Fertility industry? How does it impact egg donation and freezing eggs? How does it affect freezing embryos? There is so much more detail that seems to have been missed when making the decision to overturn Roe v Wade. In this episode of Fertility Cafe, we cover these questions and more about how Roe v Wade affects the different situations that people face when choosin...

As the first episode of the season, we dive into a high-level discussion of this season's theme, including: In the episode, host Eloise Drane discusses the emotional burden, physical ramifications, and an overview of the commonly overlooked issues donors and surrogates need to be aware of. Host Bio I’m Eloise Drane, Founder of Family Inceptions, the first surrogacy and egg donation agency in the s...

Ep.  60 | Carrot Fertility: Employer Provider Benefits with Brooke Bartholomay Quinn   Episode Summary  In this episode of Fertility Café, Eloise gets to talk with Brooke Quinn of Carrot Fertility about the inclusion of employee benefits that offer fertility care and family building support such as adoption and surrogacy. It's important for both employers and employees to understand the advantages...

Ep. 59 | Advocacy Groups: Highlighting Important Organizations   There are so many charitable organizations out there, it can be hard to know which ones to turn to in times of need, or in times of abundance when you are looking to share your generosity. On today’s episode, Eloise highlights 12 non-profit organizations that are changing lives in the infertility, reproductive health, and trying-to-c...

Episode Summary  On this episode of Fertility Café, Eloise gets to talk to Anna Flores Locke about her experience with embryo donation and her journey of infertility as a Latina woman. Anna struggled for years with infertility in isolation and heartbreak, not knowing where to turn. Since her experience, thankfully, many changes have been made to provide women with counseling and support to assist...

Ep. 57| Unique Populations of Intended Parents   Families come in all shapes and sizes these days. The notion of a “traditional” family makeup with a mom, dad, and 2.2 children is becoming the exception rather than the rule. In today’s episode, host Eloise Drane takes a look at what it takes to navigate fertility when you don’t quite fit the mold of what society thinks a traditional family should...

Ep. 54 | Disparities in Fertility Care for Minority Populations with Dr. Tia Jackson-Bey   Episode Summary  In this episode of Fertility Café, Eloise gets to talk with Dr. Tia Jackson-Bey to discuss disparities in fertility care in minority populations.  There are particular barriers to caring for and noticeably poor treatment outcomes for black and brown women. We're highlighting health dispariti...

Ep.  53 | Aftermath of Infertility (PTSD)   Episode Summary  In this episode of Fertility Café, Eloise focuses on infertility, pregnancy loss, and mental health issues like PTSD, anxiety, and postpartum depression. If you feel that any of these topics would contribute to negative feelings or upset, go ahead and skip this one. I know it’s a heavy topic right around the holidays, but I also feel str...

Ep.  52 | Fertility Journeys for Women with Demanding Careers with Dr. Hala Sabry  Episode Summary  In this episode of Fertility Café, we get to talk about a topic with a very special guest: fertility journeys for women with demanding careers. Every fertility journey is a process of getting to know ourselves. A process where new fears, doubts, and unknowns pop up that we didn't know we had until n...

Ep. 50 | Fertility Insurance with Jason Smith   Episode Summary  In this episode of Fertility Café, Eloise gets to talk with Jason Smith, the Founder and President of International Fertility Insurance. He and his team now provide hopeful parents, as well as agencies, with the solutions required—with unparalleled service. We dive into what surrogates and intended parents should look out for with in...

Ep.  49 | Social Surrogacy   Episode Summary  Today we're going to dive into the nitty-gritty of the topic: what is social surrogacy? Who could this be right for? If anyone. And what are the real ethical concerns about the topic?   On this episode of Fertility Café, Eloise talks about a subject that she’s never really spoken about, social surrogacy. Gestational surrogacy is an amazing opportunity...

Ep.  48 | Kellee Stewart   Episode Summary    In this episode of Fertility Café, Eloise gets to talk with Kellee Stewart about proactive fertility, egg freezing, and the importance of checking your fertility status. Kellee will also be discussing the unknowns and the remaining challenges to a fully claimed proactive family-building experience. With the advent of egg freezing and more widely availa...

Ep. 47 | Paying for Fertility Care Episode Summary  Join host Eloise Drane for an honest look at the financial side of fertility. It’s not always easy having a baby. Millions of people struggle with their fertility for a variety of reasons, and while technology and medicine have advanced to make parenthood possible for nearly anyone, it still remains inaccessible to a lot of intended parents becau...

Ep. 46 | Military Family Building with Ellen Gustafson & Katy Bell Hendrickson   Episode Summary  Today on the Fertility Café podcast, Eloise gets to talk with Ellen Gustafson & Katy Bell Hendrickson about fertility for military families. They share their journey that led them to be activists for change to help military service members and their spouse receive the fertility services they n...

Ep.  45 | When Third Party Reproduction Goes Wrong   In today’s episode, host Eloise Drane tells several tales of third-party reproduction gone wrong. With over two decades of experience in the infertility industry, Eloise often feels like she’s seen it all! And yet, every once in awhile stories come across her news feed that have the power to surprise her.  Eloise looks at a variety of situations...

Episode Summary  On this episode of Fertility Cafe, Eloise gets to talk to Lori Metz who is a licensed Clinical Social Work/Therapist and certified case manager. She works with individuals, couples, and families and specializes in relationships and fertility.  She is the creator of  I Dreamed of You: The Story of an Egg Donor Baby a children's book about egg donation written for a young audience t...

Episode Summary  On this episode of Fertility Cafe, Eloise dives into the topic of bodily autonomy in surrogacy and egg donation arrangements. Much of the opposition to surrogacy as a practice stems from a misunderstanding of what it means to be a surrogate today in America. Modern gestational surrogacy involves a mutually agreed-upon relationship with clear boundaries and complete respect and aut...