All Things Conceivable: A Surrogacy Podcast with Nazca Fontes

Finding the Right Surrogacy Match

Finding the right surrogate match is essential to a surrogacy journey.

Surrogate, Emma, and Mom, Amber, share their surrogacy story, how they matched together and how they built their relationship.

 

Learn more about becoming a surrogate.

Ready to take the next step? Find out if you qualify to be a surrogate.

Join the Surrogacy Learning Center to connect with people in the surrogacy world.

Listen to more Surrogacy Podcasts!

Is The Infant Formula Shortage Over?

Learn more about the baby formula shortage with Lindsay Groff, executive director of HMBANA.

Most shelves have infant formula, but is the baby formula shortage really over? Market research conducted in late October showed the shortage improved with 87% of store shelves having baby formula back in stock, almost 20% more than the low of 69% at the peak of the shortage.  Yet some families are still struggling to find formula.

 

Linsday Groff first learned about becoming a milk donor from a nurse while her baby daughter was in the NICU. Lindsay decided then she would donate her surplus of breastmilk for a year to help other babies like hers. Her full circle moment came years later when she took over the helm as Executive Director  of The Human Milk Banking Association of North America that believes in a world where all infants have access to human milk through support of breastfeeding and use of pasteurized donor human milk. Lindsay joined Nazca Fontes on All Things Conceivable: A Surrogacy Podcast to talk about the infant formula shortage, where are we now and how you can help milk banks on #GivingTuesday and everyday.

Inspired by their surrogates giving nature, ConceiveAbilities launched the #MilkBankChallenge in response to the infant formula shortage. Over 350,000 ounces of donor milk has already been donated to milk banks nationwide. Their #GivingTuesday goal is to reach 500,000 ounces by the end of the year. To put that in perspective one ounce of milk can feed one baby for an entire day-- that means their goal would be able to feed half a million infants for an entire day. That's a profound impact.

 

Here are three ways to join the #MilkBankChallenge:

 

1. Become a milk donor. Surrogates and other lactating moms are in a unique position to be able to donate their milk…a priceless gift to a family in need. To express our gratitude for the much needed donations, ConceiveAbilities is offering a one-time $250 gift card to milk donors. 
2. Make a financial donation. Milk banks are in need of supplies and labor to help meet the increased demand for donor milk. ConceiveAbilities will make a one-time match of your monetary donation to a non-profit milk bank of up to $250.
3. Share this podcast and the #MilkBankChallenge. Spread our mission to help milk banks with your community

Learn more about joining the #MilkBankChallenge

Learn more about HMBANA

Learn more about GivingTuesday

What is a Surrogate?

A surrogate is a woman who carries a child for someone who cannot. Listen and learn more about what a surrogate is and the surrogacy process with a panel of pregnancy and surrogacy experts, an experienced three time surrogate and an intended mother who used surrogacy to build her family.

Learn more about becoming a surrogate.

Ready to take the next step? Find out if you qualify to be a surrogate.

Join the Surrogacy Learning Center to connect with people in the surrogacy world.

Listen to more Surrogacy Podcasts!

 

Becoming a TikTok Surrogacy Influencer with @wearedanandsam

Sam Mathews from @wearedanandsam shares her surrogacy journey and what it is like becoming a surrogate influencer.

When Sam and her husband Dan decided becoming a surrogate was the right journey for their family, they naturally shared everything from the beginning of the surrogacy process through delivery and fourth trimester recovery. Listen to Sam share what she learned throughout her surrogacy journey!

Inspired by Sam's journey? Learn more about becoming a surrogate.

Ready to take the next step? Find out if you qualify to be a surrogate.

Join the Surrogacy Learning Center to connect with people in the surrogacy world.

Listen to more Surrogacy Podcasts!

 

National Infertility Awareness Week with Fertility Expert Dr. Joshua Stewart

In honor of ConceiveAbilities 25th anniversary and National Infertility Awareness Week, New York Reproductive Endocrinologist Dr. Joshua Stewart talks infertility, the future of third party reproduction and shares his own surrogacy journey.

 

Learn more about surrogacy at ConceiveAbilities

Why I Chose Surrogacy to Build My Family with Arsiak Vartenian

Entrepreneur and Intended Mother, Arsiak Vartenian shares her surrogacy journey with Nazca Fontes. From choosing surrogacy to finding the right surrogate partner to finding the right agency, Arsiak gives an intimate look into her and her husband's surrogacy journey.

Learn more about surrogacy: https://www.conceiveabilities.com/

Find out how you can become a surrogate and help people like Arsiak: https://www.conceiveabilities.com/surrogates/become-a-surrogate-mother/

Join the Surrogacy Learning Center: https://surrogacylearningcenter.conceiveabilities.com/

Hear more about Arsiak: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmMYWFl7InPTFTbRXNTqNIg

Understanding Surrogacy Rates With Dr. Brian Kaplan

According to the CDC, surrogacy has the highest rate of success of any fertility treatment. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported IVF with a donor egg has a success rate of 52%, which is the highest of any fertility treatment. Higher still is the rate of success with a surrogate. IVF clinics in the US have a surrogacy success rate of about 75%, and that number can increase as high as 95% for a birth once the gestational carrier is pregnant.

 

Dr. Brian Kaplan with Fertility Centers of Illinois has been passionately leading the way in infertility for nearly three decades in IVF, egg donation, gestational surrogacy and more. Dr. Kaplan joined our All Things Conceivable: A Podcast with Nazca Fontes to  explain what this statistic means for intended parents and surrogates embarking on a surrogacy journey.

 

Build your family with ConceiveAbilities: https://www.conceiveabilities.com/app/parents/register

Learn more about becoming a surrogate mother with ConceiveAbilities Surrogacy Agency: https://www.conceiveabilities.com/surrogates/become-a-surrogate-mother/

Join the Surrogacy Learning Center: https://surrogacylearningcenter.conceiveabilities.com/

Find out if you qualify to become a surrogate: https://www.conceiveabilities.com/app/surrogates/register

 

Inspired To Build Families: Infertility and Surrogacy with Dr. Ashley Tiegs

Since the inception of ConceiveAbilities 25 years ago, there have been incredible advances in third party reproduction, especially in surrogacy. More and more families are turning to surrogacy to build their families and with good reason. Not only are people more open about how surrogacy has allowed them to fulfill their dream of building a family, more women are becoming surrogates.

 

 

Dr. Ashley Tiegs with the Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine and winner of the ASRM 2021 Investigator Achievement award shared her own fertility journey, what inspired her to become a Reproductive Endocrinologist and how surrogacy has helped her patients build their families on our podcast All Things Conceivable: A Surrogacy Podcast with Nazca Fontes.

 

Read our Full Blog on Medium.com

Learn how to become a surrogate with ConceiveAbilities Surrogacy Agency: https://conceiveabilities.com/surrogates/become-a-surrogate-mother/

Join The Surrogacy Learning Center to connect with others: https://surrogacylearningcenter.conceiveabilities.com/

Take this short survey to see if you qualify to Become a Surrogate: https://www.conceiveabilities.com/app/surrogates/register

Pregnant and Hungry: What to Eat (And Not To Eat) While You Are Pregnant

If you have been or are planning on becoming pregnant, you know that how you eat is important for a happy and healthy pregnancy. Our All In Surrogate Care & Compensation Package includes partum care from the beginning all the way through your fourth trimester, including information on how you fuel your body. Nutrition is just as important for you, as it is for the baby you are carrying.

Kendra Aronson, founder of the newly launched Pregnant and Hungry, a subscription-based website with pregnancy-safe recipes, created a one-stop resource for everything you need to know about what to eat, and what not to eat, during your surrogacy journey.  Listen to her perspective, with Nazca Fontes, CEO of ConceiveAbilities.

Subscribe today and get your first month subscription free for ConceiveAbilities’ surrogacy community. Use the code SURROGATE at checkout for your free trial.

Learn more about becoming a surrogate and our All-In Surrogate Compensation and Care Package that extends all the way through the fourth trimester. 

Ready to begin your surrogacy journey? See if you qualify to become a surrogate.

COVID-19 Vaccine and Pregnancy

COVID-19 Vaccine and Pregnancy: What Surrogates and Women Who Want to Be Pregnant Need to Know Now with Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron

Pregnancy and the COVID-19 vaccination is a hot topic in our fertility world today. The US Food and Drug Administration has granted full approval to the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for people age 16 and older. The CDC encourages all pregnant people or people who are thinking about becoming pregnant and those breastfeeding to get vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19. And the American Society for Reproductive Medicine says while all women should be strongly encouraged to receive COVID-19 vaccination when pregnant or attempting pregnancy, clinics should strongly consider requiring vaccination for gestational carriers and advise intended parents to include the requirement of vaccination of gestational carriers in their contracts.

How do you take all of that information and apply it to pregnancy and surrogacy? As we navigate the pandemic and new variants, we've been hearing a lot about the questions and concerns from all parties regarding how that impacts surrogates and our intended parents. Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron is board certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility with Fertility Centers of Illinois answered our questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and surrogacy on our podcast All Things Conceivable: A Surrogacy Podcast with Nazca Fontes.

 

Learn more about how to become a surrogate with ConceiveAbilities here.

Take this survey to see if you qualify to be a surrogate.