Episoder
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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/ -
Manglende episoder?
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Episode 182: Men’s Helpline – Daniel Landau and Steven Miller, MS by I Want to Put a Baby in You!
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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 the author of several books that address becoming a single parent through assisted reproductive technology, including "The Baby Book: Poems" and the memoir "Texas Girl." Since 2014, she has collaborated with The ART of Infertility on writing workshops focused on reproductive loss and health. With Maria Novotny and Elizabeth Horn, she is co-editor of "Infertilities, A Curation." She is professor of English at MIchigan State University.
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!
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Episode 179: Surrogacy in Uganda – Lisa Stark Hughes by I Want to Put a Baby in You!
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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!
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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/
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