Carrying The Conversation: A Surrogacy Podcast

Before the Match: Nina's Story — Three Kids, Two Dogs, and (Almost) Her Third Surrogacy Journey

Season 1, episode 3. In this episode, Kayla and Gabby talk with Nina, a mom of three about to begin her third surrogacy journey — and her first with Reproductive Options. Nina traces her calling all the way back to childhood: at nine years old, she watched her uncle and his husband ask her own mother to be their surrogate, and even though her mom said no, something clicked for Nina in that moment. It would take over two decades, and a chance conversation with a nurse she met through her work in healthcare, before she finally found her way in.

Nina opens up about her second journey — carrying triplets for two dads after a double embryo transfer led to an unexpected split, a discovery so surprising her ultrasound tech had to double-check what she was seeing. She walks through the gestational diabetes, a nearly two-month hospital stay, and a rough reaction to a magnesium sulfate drip, and explains why, even after all of that, a C-section is the one thing that might eventually make her stop — but hasn't yet.

The conversation also captures what makes surrogacy stick for repeat surrogates: Nina's kids have grown up around her journeys, forming real bonds with past intended parents who still check in, send gifts, and visit. She shares the whirlwind of her current match — a couple who flew in the weekend after their match call just to spend a few hours with her family — and what it felt like to be chosen not because she topped a priority list, but because the fit was simply right.

In this episode:

• How a childhood moment planted the seed for Nina's surrogacy calling, decades before she acted on it
• The story behind her triplet pregnancy, and why Reproductive Options no longer does double embryo transfers
• What kept her coming back for a third journey after a difficult delivery
• How her kids have become part of the journey, and the lasting relationships that form with intended parents
• A candid detour into the postpartum care conversation nobody has with new moms — pelvic floor health and recovery

Nina is nearing legal clearance now, with a transfer hopefully on the calendar for late February. Stay tuned.

Before the Match: Linsay's Story — 37 Weeks and Counting

Season 1, episode 2. In this episode, Kayla sits down with Linsay, a first-time surrogate now 37 weeks pregnant, just hours after an OB appointment with her intended parents by her side. Lindsay opens up about the two-plus-year road that led her here: a lifelong pull toward unconventional family-building (she was adopted and has worked with foster children), a "why not now" moment that turned a someday dream into action, and a rocky first six months where agency after agency told her she "wasn't matchable" because of her medical history.

She and Kayla dig into what that rejection really means — how many large agencies quietly filter out candidates who don't fit a narrow set of criteria to protect their bottom line, rather than evaluating each surrogate's case individually — and how Linsay finally found her match with Reproductive Options after posting her full medical history publicly as something close to a last resort.

The conversation also gets candid about the less-talked-about parts of the journey: navigating a language barrier and time-zone gap with her international intended parents, being turned away by an in-network provider once they learned she was a surrogate, and the surprisingly better care she found after switching insurance late in pregnancy. Linsay and Kayla also talk about what comes after delivery — including why Linsay is grateful her intended parents asked her to pump, giving her a gradual, gentler transition instead of an abrupt end to the process.

In this episode:

• What finally pushed Linsay from "someday" to "why not now" on surrogacy
• The difference between "we don't have a match for you" and "you're not matchable" — and why that distinction matters
• Real talk on insurance pushback and finding better care mid-pregnancy
• How postpartum pumping can ease the emotional transition out of a surrogacy journey
• A heartwarming moment from Linsay's OB appointment with her intended father

Linsay is 37 weeks and counting — stay tuned for the delivery update.

Welcome to Carrying the Conversation

Season 1, episode 1. Welcome to the very first episode of Carrying the Conversation, a Reproductive Options podcast hosted by real surrogacy experience. In this launch episode, RO founder Kayla and co-host Gabby introduce the show and kick off their first series, Before the Match — an honest look at why women choose to become surrogates, and why some decide it isn't for them.

Kayla opens up about how she stumbled into the fertility field almost by accident: a newspaper ad her mom cut out led her to become an egg donor at 21, and from there she went on to complete 11 donor cycles, work as a donor coordinator, co-own an agency, carry as a gestational surrogate herself, and eventually found Reproductive Options in 2020. Gabby, RO's creative director and the only host who hasn't personally gone through surrogacy, brings the listener's point of view to the conversation, asking the questions many in the audience are probably wondering too — starting with the basics, like what actually happens biologically during an egg retrieval and how many embryos typically make it through testing.

In this episode:

• -How a newspaper ad set Kayla's entire career in motion
• What a donor cycle really looks like, from retrieval numbers to embryo testing
• -Kayla's path from donor coordinator to agency co-owner to founding Reproductive Options
• -A first look at the Before the Match series — the personal, financial, and emotional reasons people choose (or don't choose) surrogacy
• What's coming up: Episode 2 with surrogates Nina and Lindsay, and Episode 3's candid conversation about the financial side of surrogacy with Heather and Danielle

No strings attached, no pressure — just an open, honest conversation.

Subscribe to follow along as we explore surrogacy one story at a time.