Why Those Contemplating Using Donated Eggs are Advised or Required to Meet With a Mental Health Professional

Touch of loveYour Initial Reaction

If you require the help of an egg donor to form your family, you may be surprised when your fertility clinic strongly suggests or even requires that you meet with a mental health professional. If the clinic refers to this meeting as a “psychological evaluation” or a “psychological assessment” your reaction may be more than surprise; you may become angry and defensive since fertile people are not “evaluated” or “assessed” when they decide to bring a child into the world.

The True Purposes of the Meeting

However, regardless of what may be an unfortunate choice of words by your fertility clinic, the true purpose of a meeting with a mental health professional is not to evaluate or assess whether you are fit to become a parent. The actual purpose of the meeting is to help you, educate you, and to advocate for your unborn child. Read More

Working With an Egg Donor Agency? 6 Things to Think About in Regard to Its Service Agreement

Asian couple with baby1. Confirm That the Agency Has a Service Agreement

If you need donated eggs to become a parent, one of your options is to work with an egg donor agency. If this is the option you decide to proceed with, it is highly recommended that you confirm that the agency has a Service Agreement, and that you avoid working with one that does not.

2. Understand Its Purpose

The purpose of the Service Agreement is to establish, in writing, the terms of your relationship with the agency, including the fees you will pay to the agency in return for its services. A well drafted Service Agreement should leave no doubt as to what services the agency has agreed to provide to you as recipient and your financial obligations in return for receiving the agency’s services. Read More

Why I Felt Oddly Proud & Lucky When I Used IVF to Build my Family

Touch of loveWhen I used IVF to build my family I felt oddly proud and lucky; proud that while having a baby was so easy (and fun) for most others, I was willing to endure the needles, blood draws and stirrups to have a baby if I had to; proud that I would not (could not) give up until I did; lucky that although I did not have insurance coverage for IVF, I was able to find a way to pay for 5 IVFs (believe me, it was not easy); and lucky that I had (and still have) a husband who felt with every cell in his body believed that any challenge we faced in life was a challenge we would face together.

In fact, more than 18 years later I still feel so proud that I talk about how I had my children with pretty much anyone who will listen, although I am careful to ensure that my disclosures are appropriate in terms audience, time and place. Often this has led to an opportunity to help my social companion, his or her family member, friend or co-worker.  Read More

Empowered IVF™’s Rhonda Levy Featured Blogger at Fertility Authority

We are pleased to announce Rhonda Levy is a featured blogger at Fertility Authority. Her blog, Own the Process with Empowered IVF™, is now live and the first post “5 Vitally Important Things to Know About Using a U.S. Surrogate” is available here.

“Gay Surrogacy” Helps Gay Men Satisfy Their Desire For a Child With a Genetic Link

iStock_000024946993_ExtraSmall (1)When a gay couple or a single gay man turns to a gestational carrier and egg donor to form a family via a process that has become known as “gay surrogacy“, they are coming from a place that is dramatically different from that of straight couples who might also turn to third parties for help with reproduction. Typically, the straight couple has experienced a long and heartbreaking struggle to conceive, first in the bedroom and then at a fertility clinic where they hoped to be able to use the woman’s own eggs and uterus.  They have found themselves in “the land of the infertile”, a place they never wanted to be. Their journey has been long, painful and filled with a series of crushing disappointments.  If they have decided to create their baby with the eggs and/or uterus of another women, they have first been through a difficult internal process that generally includes grieving over their need to rely on a third party.  The gestational carrier and/or egg donor represent the only way left for them to have a baby and, once they turn the corner to acceptance, they feel grateful for the women whose generous sacrifices ensure that the option exists. Read More

How Not to Choose A Fertility Clinic and Why

If you need help from a fertility clinic to become a parent, these are several basic facts you must be aware of before you choose one:

  • There is an overwhelming number of fertility clinics to choose from in North America. In the United States, there are more than 450. In Canada, there are more than 60.
  • Fertility clinics vary in quality and in their ability to help you have a baby.
  • Your choice of clinic can impact whether or not you will have a baby at all, and how much you will endure physically, emotionally and financially in the process. Read More
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