Julie experience premature ovarian failure and was concerned about her fertility. Her fears came true when she realized she couldn't have a biological child. She turned her pain into a gift for others, through her series of children's books. Her books are designed to create new narratives for all types of families created through donation; heterosexual or same-sex couples, a family through a gestational carrier or an embryo adoption, her books are ground-breaking for the fertility field.

Sarah, a mom through egg donation, shares, "Infertility grief doesn't actually end with having a beautiful child. Now the work on what this means in relation to living in our world begins."

Jana, & Dr. Escobar, (fertility therapist and fertility doctor) met on zoom to talk about how the coronavirus is changing fertility treatments.

I sat down with Dr-Julian Escobar to talk about the uncertainty of healthcare during this coronavirus outbreak and how patients can cope with delayed fertility treatments.

Welcome back to Season 2! So much has changed since the end of season 1. This episode, recorded in December was prophetic in a way. Amira Posner @thefertilemind shares ways to tap into mindfulness.

In this episode, Jana Rupnow, LPC speaks with Allie P, sperm-donor conceived and raised by lesbian moms. Allie always knew she was donor conceived and called the anonymous donor, “the dude”, before she knew who he was.
Allie saw a commercial on TV and discovered approx 80 half-siblings through the donor sibling registry (DSR).
She told me what it’s like to have 80 siblings and the differences and similarities of their experiences. She also spoke about how hard it is to manage a relationship with that many people. . .
Allie was also able to identify and meet her donor in person.
She found herself following in his footsteps in ways throughout her life but isn’t sure how conscious this was.
Allie believes that telling the child from the start about donor conception is best and didn’t feel that anything was missing in her life by knowing.
Don’t miss this final Episode of season 1.

I was so excited to talk to Alex @pursuingfatherhood to hear a guy’s perspective and concerns about fatherhood.

Episode 19 of Three Makes Baby Podcast is 54 minutes that you won’t want to miss! Beth articulates her experience with donor conception in a way you likely haven’t heard yet. .
Beth and her wife used a sperm donor to have their daughter and a few years later she discovered she was donor conceived from the results of a DNA test.
Beth explains how her parents sat her down and the first thing her Dad said is, “We’ve been keeping a secret from you for 40 years.” Beth said she kept looking at her mom saying, “Is this real?”
It must have been so puzzling to her. She explained to me that she looks more like her father (with no genetic connection) than her biological father, who
she later connected with.  Beth also connected with her sister and explains how it all unfolded in this episode.

Cam bravely shares about a chromosomal disorder she was born with that causes female infertility, called Turner Syndrome.  This podcast episode is special for two reasons, Cam is the youngest guest to be on the podcast so far. As a member of Gen Z, she is proactively researching her options to grow a family long before she is ready to start one. Interviewing Cam made me realize how much our dialogue around infertility has change over the past decade and how proud I am to be part of this ongoing campaign. Cam was 8 years-old when I started doing this work. That fact and my looming birthday (tomorrow) are making me feel old. More importantly, I'm super proud that conversations like this continue to make a difference for others.

Don’t miss Episode 18 of Three Makes Baby Podcast, available on all the podcast platforms.

Eloise shares her story of how a chromosomal disorder, called Klinefelter's Syndrome, caused male-factor infertility for her husband. After an unsuccessful surgery to extract sperm from her husband, the couple moved on to use a sperm donor. Eloise, now with 3 children, shares how difficult the process was for her and her husband. The lack of resources and information left them feeling overwhelmed and without direction. She aims to change that for others.

Keeley found her love in her mid-thirties but after multiple fertility treatments and no official diagnosis, she concluded that her egg quality was low. Her story speaks to so many women that have a full life in their twenties before finding the partner they want to have a family with. Unfortunately, female fertility declines rapidly when women reach their mid-thirties. Keeley discusses the of loss of seeing both of them in their child. “My husband said a very sweet thing, 'But I married you'. The idealistic dream of having a child that looks like both of you.” Our conversation takes a path into so many different topics like, anonymity, finding the donor later in life and how she views genetics. 

We also talk adoption- the similarities and differences between adoption and donor conception.

Keeley brought up a new topic to the podcast. How to talk about donor conception with the younger generation, specifically, her friends and family member's children.

Keeley's empowering message is for women and men to be proactive about their fertility long before they plan to have a family.

Follow @janarupnowlpc for a dialogue more on this episode!

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