Fertility Cafe

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...

Episode Summary  Fertility care is ever-involving. For many, medical treatments are not covered by their insurance. Coverage for infertility and fertility preservation can currently be disallowed by insurance companies. Many insurance companies have fertility coverage classified as cosmetic or elective.   On this episode of Fertility Cafe, Eloise gets to talk to Mollie Walker and Chelsea Caldwell....

Episode Summary  On this episode of Fertility Cafe, Eloise dives into the complicated question: what’s happening with supply and demand in the world of third-party reproduction? COVID-19 has certainly had a drastic effect on the availability of surrogates, egg donors, and sperm donors, yet at the same time, the demand for these crucial pieces to the third-party reproduction puzzle has only increas...

Dr. Lori Marshall is the medical director and a founding partner of Pacific Northwest Fertility in Seattle as well as Clinical Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at University of Washington School of Medicine.  She serves as the director of the Pacific NW Fertility Center for Collaborative Reproduction, overseeing its donor egg bank, and donor egg, gestational carrier, and donor embryo progr...

Following her own very personal experience as a parent through gestational surrogacy in 1990, Darlene first served as a contract coordinator in a reproductive law firm. She learned about the legal aspects of egg donation and surrogacy while coordinating documentation for intended parents, donors, and surrogates during the legal contract stages. Darlene started to successfully connect high-profile...

Richard Vaughn is a parent via surrogacy and egg donation and is the founding principal of International Fertility Law Group, a law practice focused exclusively on assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Links for more resources Rate, Review, and Subscribe!  We would be honored if you took the time to rate and review our podcast! And of course, don’t forget to hit that Subscribe button to have n...

This episode is about surrogate partner involvement. The husband, wife, or committed boyfriend or girlfriend of a would-be surrogate has an important role to play which cannot be overlooked. In this episode, we talk all about how surrogacy is a shared experience and what partners should expect when the lady in their life becomes a gestational surrogate.  We Discuss Topics Such As: Despite this epi...

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with….Maya Grogel, Jennifer Vesbit and Gina Davis of Empower Donation. These are three women united, on a mission to normalize embryo donation as a family building option.  Together they have founded Empower Donation, an education company dedicated to increasing awareness, empowering choice and fostering understanding for everyone involved in embryo donation....

More and more Americans seem to be struggling with infertility these days. Is this a matter of increased awareness? Certainly, more people are talking openly about their struggles than ever before. But can the numbers really be chalked up to less stigma around the conversation of infertility. On this week’s episode, host Eloise Drane dives into what the science says about the increase in fertility...

Our guest today is Chiquita Lockley, Executive Producer and Director of Eggs Over Easy. Eggs Over Easy: Black Women & Fertility is a documentary film about black women fertility, family building choices, and maternity care.   Links for more resources Blog: Why Many Black Women are Silent About Their Struggle with Infertility

In today’s episode, host Eloise Drane gives her insight into the ins and outs of choosing an IVF clinic. With over two decades of experience in the infertility industry, Eloise has seen it all! From state-of-the-art clinics to single practitioners who offer highly personalized service, she’ll discuss what to look for, what to avoid, and how to evaluate success rates when shopping for a fertility c...

Sasha Ottey is Founder and Executive Director of PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association. Serving 55,000 members, PCOS Challenge is the leading patient support and advocacy organization for people with PCOS. Sasha started PCOS Challenge after she was diagnosed with PCOS and experienced great dissatisfaction with the availability of support resources for women with the co...

Everything you never knew you needed to know about surrogacy! On this week’s episode, we’re spilling the tea on all the strange facts, surprising details, and interesting tidbits about surrogacy. We asked our surrogates, past and present, our staff, and our buddies in the field to share what they wish they knew before beginning a surrogacy journey. From what not to do during the application proces...

Erin is a freelance writer and a donor conceived rights advocate. At age 35, she found out from her parents that she was conceived using donated sperm. It was all a shocking experience and it inspired her to create the community and resource “We Are Donor Conceived”. Erin wanted other donor-conceived people to benefit from the resources she had amassed in her own search. Links for more resources R...