The Eggsplanation

We've all heard about "Test Tube" babies!  And we know that in reality, they are actually created in a "Petri Dish"!  Now we have a wonderful children's book entitled, "Petri Dish Princess" which brings to life the story of Elizabeth Carr.  Elizabeth was the very first baby born from IVF in the United States.  Ali Prato, journalist and author has collaborated Elizabeth to tell the story of beginning life in a....Petri Dish!  Author, Ali Prato, will tell her own story of secondary infertility and how she started her company, www.infertileafgroup.com
Ali says she is on a mission to normalize infertility and help people feel supported throughout their journey.  In addition to the soon to be released "Petri Dish Princess", Ali has published 3 other children's book about different journey's to parenthood.

On today's episode of The Eggplanation, we have a sit-down with Marna Gatlin, the founder of PVED or Parents via Egg Donation.  A non-profit started by Marna as a way to provide education, support, referrals and a host of other much needed assistance in the world of Egg Donation.  Today, Marna tells us about the challenges and great moments she has experienced in her 20+ year career in helping people become parents.  Now, she is onto a new challenge but the fate of PVED remains a bit unknown.  You can visit the website at:  www.pved.org

After a brief hiatus to venture to Asia to see the sights, Mary is BACK and starts a discussion about ethical issues in egg donation and Third Party Reproduction with her own COO, Julia French Blockhus.  Julia joined The Donor Solution in 2014 and has her own perspective on some of the ethical issues facing Third Party Parenting in 2026.  
We delve into a couple of case histories and Julia offers her own perspective on the intricacies in the balancing act known as Reproductive Autonomy for prospective parents and Justice for the resulting children.
A graduate of Lake Forest College, Julia began her career in Los Angeles in the Film Industry before landing in Reproductive Medicine.

The ongoing Ethics Scandals in the Surrogacy and Egg Donor world has shaken not only Intended Parents trust in the system but all the stakeholders in helping Parents realize their dream of family. In PART 2 of our series on Escrow Scandals in the Third Party Parenting world, we have the amazing Adam Winder, is President and CEO of SEED TRUST escrow and affiliated companies. With over 15 years experience in Financial Services, Adam has built a company with the core values of ethics and financial stability.  Its great to hear his "take" on these escrow scandals that keep happening in the fertility world.

Once again we are faced with a scandal of huge proportions with another bad player absconding with Intended Parents and Surrogates funds.  Many lost their life savings and have no way to move forward with Family Building and many were in the middle of their journey with no more funds to compensate the woman carrying their long awaited child.  Out guest today, Micheal Snaric, of "Families Out Loud", will discuss this issue and the ethical ways the fertility professionals can be the change we all want to see in the industry.

For the last of our series on "How old is TOO OLD to have a child via IVF" we will be discussing the medical concerns that face older women during pregnancy and how those medical issues can be detrimental to the baby AND the mother.   My guest, Dr. Traci DeSplinter, has a long career as an OB/GYN and I was fortunate to work with her early in my career in fertility.  She has delivered in her practice not only older women carrying their own baby, but gestational carriers and "older" gestational carriers too and knows the pitfalls and emergencies that can happen in a "blink of an eye" to jeopardize both mother and baby.
You can learn more about Dr. Traci and her newest endeavor, at #refinedwomenshealth (on IG) and her approach to women's health and wellness during peri-menopause and beyond!

In our continuing series on "How OLD is too OLD to become a parent via IVF" I have a discussion with Rachel Goldberg, a Mental Health professional, who has tackled these complex and emotional issues in her practice.  Rachel brings a different perspective to the discussion from the legal and parenting views and you won't want to miss her insightful thoughts on this divisive issues amongst fertility care professionals.
Rachel Goldberg, LMFT, PMH-C, is the founder of Rachel Goldberg Therapy in California.  Her practice specializes in Infertility, postpartum issues, couples and third-party parenting and family building.

Welcome to the 2nd Episode in our series on "How OLD is too OLD to Parent via IVF" with our guest, Stephanie Caballero, JD.   Stephanie helps us take a deep dive into the nuances of older parenthood and what we can and can not provide for these late stage parents.  We dive into a bit of Reproductive Justice (again!) while also discussing what it means to be the child of older parents and the issues that will probably crop up as the child grows into adulthood.

The idea of Reproductive Autonomy, which means YOU decide what to do with your body, is at the heart of parenting.  But is there a time when it's just too late, or that "ship has sailed"?  We will start our four part series on these very questions with a chat with Mira Seldner, a new parent of two, with an older partner.  We explore their journey to parenthood and the issues that having an older partner raises and the questions that older parenthood brings up.  

By whatever name you call, "Planned Surrogacy", "Social Surrogacy", "Designer Surrogacy" or even "LifeStyle Surrogacy", everyone can agree its a controversial subject with both the morality and the ethics of the practice called into question.  Today we discuss with two experts the choices people make when pursuing surrogacy as well as the pros and cons of choosing Surrogacy By Choice. 
Dr. Angela Lawson and Dr. Debra Simmons will join me as we dig a bit deeper into this fascinating intersection of reproduction, autonomy and beneficence.