You may recognize the Dürt family: Matthew and his partner Elliot, from the headlines their family story made just a couple of years ago.

Elliot's sister Lea donated her eggs to the couple and Matt's 61-year-old mother, Cecile, carried and delivered their first baby (who is also her first granddaughter!) -- making her one of the oldest women in the world to give birth!

Matt and Elliot are now the proud parents of a little girl named Uma.

As if this wasn't already a very modern family story, the Dürt family is helping another queer family achieve their dreams of parenthood. Matt is the sperm donor for his childhood best friend, MB, and her partner August, who recently transitioned from female to a trans masculine non-binary person. 

Today, August and MB call Matt their 'Fairy Godfather', and all know how extraordinary and lucky they are to build their families, considering all of the personal, practical and societal challenges they faced to get there. 

On this episode, in honor of Pride 2021, these four friends - now connected for life - show what is possible when families are built from love. 

Thanks to episode sponsor, A Lifetime of Pride and Joy, which is customizing a free fertility journey, including IVF and surrogacy services up to $75,000, to a random winner in the LGBTQ+ community. No purchase necessary. To learn more, see the contest rules and apply, visit pridejoybaby.com in June 2021.

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Identical twin sisters Amy and Courtney, who jokingly refer to themselves as 'lefty' and 'righty', both knew that they'd have to pursue IVF in order to have children so they wouldn't pass down a rare genetic condition. They didn't imagine the years of fertility treatments, set-backs and losses they'd experience, or that they would become even more connected than they already were.

36 years after sharing their mother's uterus, the twins are sharing a pregnancy journey again -- this time through Courtney, who is acting as gestational surrogate for Amy and her husband's baby.

This is a story of preserving through challenges, building a family when the odds are stacked against you, and the deep love and connection shared by twin sisters.

This episode is supported by Marin Fertility Center, a National Center of fertility excellence located in Marin, CA with the highest quality medical care, a patient-centered approach and affordable effective treatment options.

Continue to follow Amy & Courtney’s journey on Instagram @twinfertility_sisters

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If you saw meditation and mindfulness expert Josephine Atluri with her family today, you may think she had no issues trying to conceive. She has 5 children and twins on the way!

But, Josephine’s path to parenthood was anything but straight or simple. Multiple IVF rounds, late term pregnancy loss, international adoption and surrogacy are all part of her family story. And each chapter of her family building journey, which is still unfolding now, has its own story with plenty of unexpected twists and turns, beautiful and unexpected surprises and life lessons.

This episode is not just about infertility - it's one that examines how to overcome adversity in the darkest and most unpredictable times in our lives.  

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This episode is supported by Beli, prenatal vitamins optimized for fertility, prenatal & post pregnancy health.

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"So Tell Me About the Last Time You Had Sex" is a question Ian Kerner often asks people in his sex therapy practice and it's the title of his new book.

In this interview, Ian and Andrea discuss the difference between procreative sex and recreational sex, and Ian shares why we may need to update our 'sex script' in order to stay connected through tough challenges like grief and infertility.

Ian s a licensed psychotherapist, best-selling author and nationally recognized sexuality counselor who specializes in sex therapy, couples therapy and working with individuals on a range of relational issues that often lead to distress. 

Whether or not you've experienced infertility and/or pregnancy losses, this episode is helpful for anyone who wants to keep intimacy alive in their lives as challenges arise.

This episode is presented by "This Is What Infertility Looks Like", a program produced by pregnantish with support from First Response Pregnancy. Visit pregnantish.com/infertilitylookslike for more

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When people look at entrepreneur Samantha Busch and her husband, NASCAR driver Kyle Busch, they may see a picture-perfect life and family, and have no idea how much this couple struggled behind the scenes to become parents. Both faced an infertility diagnosis that led them on a path they never expected while in the public eye, and one that resulted in their Bundle of Joy Fund. They developed this non-profit in an effort to advocate for infertility awareness and remove financial barriers by granting monetary awards to couples who require fertility treatments.

On "First Comes Loves, Then Comes Marriage, Then Comes...Infertility?!", Relationship Expert Andrea Syrtash, and Samantha Busch, author of the new book, "Fighting Infertility: Finding My Inner Warrior Through Trying to Conceive, IVF and Miscarriage" get real about how their lives and marriages have been affected by failed IVF transfers and pregnancy losses, and explore what it means to keep intimacy alive and marriages connected during the immense challenges that infertility can bring into relationships.

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If you came across Gregory Sdeo on Twitter, you may think his account is a joke. After all, his handle is "Balls Don't Work" and his name is listed as "Got No Sperm" -- but there's no joke here. 

Greg is one in the estimated 40-50% of men with an infertility diagnosis that's impacted his ability to start a family with his wife. 

This episode explores why we often frame infertility as a woman's issue, how Greg and his wife have navigated this diagnosis and how to support more men facing this medical reality. 

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Actress and Entertainer Athena Reich, who has been called one of the best Lady Gaga impersonators, created a show called #ARTBIRTH just around the time that birth was on her mind. 

When Athena was in her mid-30s, she did what she says, 'Any clock-ticking lesbian would do' and she picked a sperm donor with the goal of getting pregnant via IUI or IVF. 

What Athena didn't know at this time was that she'd embark on a painful infertility journey that eventually led her to embrace the other side of third party reproduction, egg donation.

Today, as a proud single lesbian mom of two and a fertility advocate, Athena has a lot to share about all the unexpected twists and turns her path to parenthood took, what straight people can learn from the LGBT world when it comes to building a family 'with help' and why she's used her voice consistently to talk about her double-donor conceived children.

This episode is brought to you by First Response™ Pregnancy, voted 'most trusted pregnancy test brand" by American shoppers based on the 2020 BrandSpark® American Trust Study. First Response Early Result Pregnancy Test can tell you 6 days sooner than your missed period. In laboratory testing, the Early Result Pregnancy Test detected pregnancy hormone levels in 76% of pregnant women 5 days before their expected period.  

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Jennifer Grobrecht never expected to be expecting. 

Born with MRKH, a condition in which a woman is born without a uterus, Jennifer didn't imagine she could or would ever carry a pregnancy. But, through the generosity of a family she didn't know, and a scientific breakthrough that allowed a uterus transplant to happen, Jennifer delivered a healthy baby.

Jennifer is just the third woman in the world, and the second in the US to deliver a baby from a uterus that was donated to her from a deceased donor. And, she's the first one to speak about it publicly.  

Her successful uterus transplant surgery happened because of a donation made from a grieving family, who were mourning the loss of 'the best mother (they) ever knew', who tragically died at just 29 years old.

On this episode, hear how Jennifer and her husband navigated family building when she thought she couldn't easily conceive, how she heard about this cutting-edge option and why she's sharing her powerful story.

This episode is brought to you by First Response Pregnancy. When you're asking yourself, "Am I pregnant? Am I really, really, really pregnant?" - sometimes you want to triple check. The First Response Triple Check Pregnancy test gives you results 3 different ways for added reassurance. First Response Early Result & Digital Tests let you know 6 days sooner* and First Response Rapid Result gives you results in 60 seconds from the day of your missed period. All of these tests are over 99% accurate**.

*Than your missed period. In laboratory testing, Early Result Pregnancy Test detected pregnancy hormone levels in 76% of pregnant women 5 days before their expected period. In laboratory testing, Digital Pregnancy Test detected pregnancy hormone levels in 60% of pregnant women 5 days before their expected period. See package for details about testing early. Excludes Rapid Result Pregnancy Test. 

**Over 99% accurate. For Early Result and Digital Pregnancy Tests: >99% accurate at detecting typical pregnancy hormone levels from the day of your expected period. For Rapid Result Pregnancy Test: >99% accurate at detecting typical pregnancy hormone levels from the day of your missed period. Note that hormone levels vary. See insert. 

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If you looked at good friends Abbey and Wendy, who met 8 years ago at a beach house on Fire Island, you'd have no idea that they share so much more than meets the eye.

These friends, who were single after divorce and relationships that weren't going anywhere, had dreams of motherhood and decided to build their families, instead of waiting for the right men to come along. 

After a series of failed IVF and IUI treatments due to Diminished Ovarian Reserve and other issues, Wendy pursued adoption - but still had frozen embryos that she had created, with the help of third party reproduction, years before.  Wendy decided to donate these embryos to her friend Abbey, who now has a baby thanks to Wendy's donation. And, Abbey donated the remaining embryo to her best friend in California, who is now expecting Abbey's daughter's genetic sibling. 

This is a story about being a single mom by choice and how girlfriends and single women today can build the family of their dreams.

This episode is brought to you by First Response, voted "most trusted pregnancy test brand" by American shoppers based on the 2020 BrandSpark® American Trust Study. First Response Early Result Pregnancy Test can tell you 6 days sooner than your missed period. In laboratory testing, the Early Result Pregnancy Test detected pregnancy hormone levels in 76% of pregnant women 5 days before their expected period.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we think of infertility and menopause, we don't generally picture someone who looks like Kelly McLay - who is a fit and youthful looking marathon runner. Kelly didn't think of herself this way, either, when she was diagnosed with menopause at 24 years old. 

Kelly became one of the one in the 1000 women who reach menopause before the age of 30. And yet, we don't hear these stories enough and many think infertility is almost always caused by a woman who just waited "too long" to start trying.

On this episode, Andrea sits down with Kelly to hear about this confusing diagnosis and the events that transpired after, including joining a group of 50-something year old women also navigating menopause, launching her passion for marathon running and embracing third-party reproduction.

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