In this episode, we are honored to sit down with Dr. Graham Theisen, a reproductive endocrinologist at PREG (Piedmont Reproductive Endocrinology Group) and a father of two via surrogacy. 🤗

Dr. Theisen blends his professional expertise with his personal experience, sharing how his own journey as an intended father shapes the empathetic care he provides to his patients every day.

In this episode, we chat about:

👨‍⚕️ Dr. Theisen’s Dual Advice — What he’s learned as both a doctor and an intended parent

🏠 Logistics To Consider — Like why moving your embryos to your surrogate’s local clinic might make more sense than flying her to your clinic

🧬 Important Things to Keep in Mind When Using a Donor — Questions you’ll want to ask yourself before your journey begins

🚩 Red Flags to Watch For — How to "shop around" for clinics and agencies that prioritize transparency over speed

🤝 The Art of the Match — Why changing your criteria (like looking for an experienced mom!) can lead to a smoother process

If you’re an intended parent feeling the weight of all your “to-dos," Dr. Theisen’s unique perspective is the reassurance you need to keep moving forward with confidence!

Connect with Dr. Theisen:

To learn more about his work at the Piedmont Reproductive Endocrinology Group, visit PREG online (www.pregonline.com) or follow @pregonline on Instagram. 

Also, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and review Surrogacy Is A Podcast!

Do surrogates get a say in their pregnancy and delivery? 

Spoiler alert: The answer might surprise you! 😱

In this episode of our Misconception Series, Sunshine and Casey tackle one of the most persistent and emotionally loaded myths in surrogacy—whether or not surrogates get a choice in their prenatal care.

We’re breaking down how decisions around labor support, hospital choice, delivery preferences, pain management, and postpartum recovery actually work in ethical, agency-led journeys. From who can be in the room to how intended parents prepare to be involved, this episode offers clarity, reassurance, and a look behind the scenes at how collaborative (and flexible!) these conversations really are.

Dive in with us as we chat about:

✅ Why it’s important to discuss labor preferences early in matching🚪 Whose decision is it on who gets to be in the delivery room—and how to honor everyone’s experience in the moment 

💉 How pain management preferences can be honored and supported🔄 How plans can shift during birth — and why flexibility protects the surrogate🛏️ As a surrogate, things you can do to prepare for post-delivery

If you’re a surrogate curious about how to handle delivery day, this episode is a must-listen! 🤗

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and review Surrogacy Is A Podcast!

✨We’re so excited to spotlight Dr. Sadaf, Founder of Embra Health, in this episode. ✨

If you don’t know Dr. Sadaf yet—she’s a mental health expert for those in the surrogacy world. She has been supporting our community through monthly group sessions and is available for mental health support for all our agency’s surrogates and intended parents. 

 In today’s episode, we chat about the emotional side of the surrogacy journey—as well as the practical tools and gentle reminders for any surrogate who’s ever felt stretched thin. 💜Here’s what we’re unpacking: 🫣 The real-life challenges surrogates juggle behind the scenes 🛑 Early signs of overwhelm — and how to respond 💬 How honest communication builds healthier relationships with IPs 💛 Tools to stay grounded, confident, and connected 🤝 Why community support matters (and how our monthly support calls help)

We want to invite every surrogate to follow Dr. Sadaf at @embrahealth

As well as check out our monthly GC Empower Hour Calls 📞

These calls are open to all surrogates to connect in a supportive space with other surrogates and get helpful advice on exactly where you are in your journey. These calls are held every 2nd Wednesday of the month. Follow us at @surrogacyis to make sure you don’t miss them. surro.is/empower

For many surrogates, the IVF portion of the journey can bring up some big feelings. Usually uncertainty and nervousness over the dreaded shots. 💉But surrogates should never feel like they have to tackle it alone!

In this episode, we’re joined by Maryam Lowry, RN and founder of Blossom Fertility Concierge. Maryam shares how her 1:1 approach helps surrogates feel calm and reassured to understand their medical calendar. (She even offers guidance for intended parents who want to be supportive during the process!) 

In this episode, we chat about:

✅ Why injections feel intimidating at first — and why that’s totally normal

💉 How proper technique reduces pain, bruising, and anxiety

🧡 Why emotional support is just as important as the medical side

🔄 How to navigate needle anxiety, overwhelm, or medication fatigue

🚫 Common mistakes and how to avoid them

✨ Why the medical process is so important and why proper support and make all the difference in your confidence 

If you’re a surrogate (or intended parent!) approaching the IVF process of your journey, this episode is a must-listen! 

If you’re looking for more information on Blossom Fertility Concierge, make sure to follow Maryam here: @blossomfertilityconcierge

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and review Surrogacy Is A Podcast!

In this powerful and deeply affirming episode, we’re joined by Regina Townsend, a leading voice in fertility advocacy for Black women and families. She’s also the founder of The Broken Brown Egg, author of Make IF Make Sense, and creator of the ShellShocked support group. 🖤✨

After nearly a decade navigating infertility, Regina and her husband welcomed their son, Judah, through IVF. Her personal journey sparked a movement — one that boldly challenges silence, stigma, and the lack of visible Black stories in fertility spaces. As a librarian and writer, Regina uses storytelling as both resistance and restoration, creating space for honest conversations that many have long felt excluded from. 

Listen to hear: 🧡 Regina’s personal infertility journey and what led her to create The Broken Brown Egg 📣 Why representation in fertility spaces truly matters 🧱 The harmful stereotypes Black women still face in reproductive health 📖 What Regina hopes readers gain from her book Make IF Make Sense ✍🏽 How storytelling helps people reclaim power in their fertility journeys 💬 Encouraging words for anyone feeling alone in their struggle ✨ Regina’s vision for the future of fertility advocacy and community growth

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt like they were walking the infertility journey alone—and how, together as a community, we should always support one another. 

Please subscribe, rate, and review our Podcast!

In a surrogacy journey, how much say does a surrogate have? Does she have any legal rights during her journey? 

In this episode of our Misconception Series, Sunshine and Casey tackle one of the most emotionally charged myths in surrogacy—and why surrogates should absolutely feel empowered and protected within their journeys.

🎧Listen as we unpack:

 📃What legal protections actually look like and ways to stay informed

 🗣️How autonomy and consent are safeguarded every step of the way

✨Answers to common concerns (like, “Can IPs change their minds?” “What if something happens to them?” “Can they decide if I get an epidural?”).

And more! 

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who’s heard “but what if you decide you want to keep the baby?” or “don’t you have to do whatever the IPs say?” and wants to set the record straight. 💪✨

Surrogacy requirements are something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. 🙅‍♀️

And in this Surrogacy Diaries episode, we’re talking to the ladies who know the requirements in and out— our incredible Outreach Team (Haleigh, Cherish, and Christine). 💜

Together, we have a casual yet impactful conversation about…

✨Their own personal surrogacy experiences 

✨The different qualifications of being a surrogate, including the ones you may be able to control and the ones you simply can’t

✨The important reasons why BMI, income, and age can be such a factor for a surrogacy journey 

✨Why hearing “no” can be hard, and the things to consider if you find yourself in that spot

✨Why the Surrogacy Is team feels like “Your Big Surro Sister” and why they always have a woman’s best interest at heart (compared to what some agencies do to cut corners)

✨The words in the surrogacy industry that have started to lose their meaning (these might surprise you!) 

✨And lots more!

This episode is a must-listen for anyone considering surrogacy or who is part of our surrogacy community 🎧

Please make sure to subscribe, rate, and review our Podcast!

#SurrogacyIs #SurrogacyIsAgency #SurrogacyIsAPodcast #SurrogacyIsLove #SurrogacyIsTeam #SurrogacyOutreach #SurrogacyPodcast #SurrogacyRequirements

Do surrogates do surrogacy just for the money? 💵

No. Not just. But it does help! 🤗

In this misconception episode, Sunshine and Casey break down the common assumption that all surrogates do surrogacy just for the money—and how polarizing it can be to make surrogates feel guilty about their compensation.  

🎧Listen as …

✨Sunshine shares the raw and truthful motivation for why she first looked into surrogacy—and how the compensation absolutely changed her life.

✨How surrogacy helped both Casey and Sunshine feel a greater sense of self-worth, and whether or not the compensation factored into that feeling. 

✨They outline the compensation or agency promises you want to be mindful of—especially around compensation and how they might not have your best interest at heart.

✨The truth about altruistic surrogacy journeys, and the things you might not have even realized about them. 

✨Plus so much more!

This episode might get you thinking about surrogacy compensation in a new light. 💡 We encourage you to find us on social media and let us know your thoughts! 

If you’re a Mark Surrogacy Surrogate, we want to help you on your healing journey. 

Along with Joey Guzman-Kuffel, LMFT, from Counseling with Joey & Associates, Surrogacy Is is sponsoring up to 3 counseling sessions for any incredible women who were affected by this unethical agency and now need a safe space to express and process their feelings so they can move forward towards healing.

In these sessions, you will be met exactly where you’re at, so you can get exactly what you need out of your healing sessions. Whether that’s identifying your complex feelings over the situation, wanting to regain control of your surrogacy story, or rebuilding your sense of trust.  

These confidential sessions are a judgment-free zone offered at no cost to provide comfort and loving community to those who didn’t deserve to have Mark Surrogacy taint their surrogacy experience in this way. 

If you are interested in our sponsored sessions, please fill out an interest form here:​​ https://surrogacyis.typeform.com/surrosupport

***If you know a surrogate who would benefit from these sessions, please share this information with them. 

#SurrogacyIs #SurrogacyIsAgency #SurrogacySupport #MarkSurrogacy #MarkSurrogacyScandal #MarkSurrogacySurrogates #SurrogateCoumseling

The IVF process is incredible, but complex to understand—especially for kids. So how do you share that magic with your kiddos? 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♂️

Today’s podcast guest, Dawn McCahon, couldn’t find anything to help her explain IVF to her kids—so she created it herself—and the children’s book, “Pretty as a Petri” was born. 👶📖

🎧Listen and hear about…

💜Dawn’s IVF story and how isolating she felt it was back then

💜The beautiful, 28-year process it took for her to bring this book to life—including how when she started, people told her there wasn’t a place for it, and how she never gave up on the dream to share this story with others

💜The incredible impact this book has on families today and how it can help celebrate IVF journeys, surrogacy journeys, and donor conception journeys.

👉Hear all about it in this podcast episode—then make sure to get your hands on this wonderful book for yourself. You can find “Pretty as a Petri” at www.prettyasapetribook.com or on Amazon. 

#SurrogacyIs #SurrogacyIsLove #SurrogacyIsAgency #SurrogacyIsAPodcast #SurrogacyPodcast #IVFFamilies #IVFBabies #IVFChildrensBooks #PrettyAsAPetri