What's On Your Mind?

I want to hear from you . . . friend, client, internet traveler . . . what's on your mind about reproductive stuff?  I am going to invite a bunch of professionals . . . everyone from reproductive lawyers to social workers to agency owners to post their thoughts and perspectives but it would really help to have some direction and give you all the information you're most interested in.

Some of the ideas I have about future blog topics include:

What's going through my egg donor's mind?  What is the process like for her, why is she doing this and what scared her or made her enthused about egg donation?  I can invite egg donors to post a blog and attorneys who work with egg donors to give their perspective on the process from the donor's side of life. 

What makes a succesful egg donation?  How about hearing from agency heads (without the intent to get your business but with the idea to give you important information to make this work for you) and people who've gotten pregnant from egg donation cycles?

What do you think of open egg donation and adoption? 

What about gestational surrogacy . . . how do people afford to do this the right way, the safe way, and what is the right way and safe way? 

Domestic versus international adoption . . . how about we talk about the risks and benefits of each type?  We will invite adoptive parents and professionals to participate in our blogging.

The Home Study . . . what do you really need to do to get ready and how important is it?  Let's talk to some social workers and adoptive parents about their ideas and thoughts and concerns.

And what about this breast feeding thing.  Can someone who doesn't give birth really breast feed (YES!).

Does any of this sound good to you?  Do you have other thoughts and ideas?

Liz

Comments

[Amy Demma]

Thanks Liz for this wonderful blog. Having the opportunity to share thoughts, ideas as well as dialogue w/ colleagues, clients and others we meet along the infertility journey, will, no doubt, prove to be an invaluable resource for all.

You have raised some terrific questions about egg donation. As you know, at Prospective Families, we are committed to a well established rapport with each donor who cycles with one of our clients. I can tell you, because I ask, regularly, that what most donors are thinking is: "I hope this works and these IPs get their baby." It is my impression that donors feel very very responsible for a cycle's success and worry, almost as much as the IPs, about success....this is the case for MOST donors. Some donors who submit Donor Profiles to Prospective Families are very clear that they are financially motivated to donate, we decline those donor applications.

Donors express much to us about feeling compelled to share their fertility, some actually feel guilty about not "using their eggs themselves", while others, usually mothers themselves, are so aware of the blessings of fetility that they feel driven to donate.

I am blessed, like you, with a family that came to me through ART, but also am thankful and grateful to get to work with these wonderful young women known as "donors".

More later! Amy

[teamwinks]

I feel like I'm living through each paragraph you typed there. I've considered donating eggs to pay for ART, hoped that I would pass a home study, wondered which road is the best one to travel down, and left scratching my head. Yeah, that's where I'm at now...scratching my head. I look forward to reading what your posts have to say. Thanks!
Becky

[Violet]

Thank you for creating a space where I can talk about the decisions that my husband and I are making as we seek to build our family. We have decided that I will be the recipient of a donor egg -which is something that I never knew was an option - but am so very excited about the possibilities. I will likely post to the section on Egg Donation - but wanted to post in this section that I am so excited to share my thoughts and hear from you and others.

[Mel]

Great new blog, Liz! I think they're all wonderful topic ideas. I would love to hear more about breastfeeding after adoption. I think you did a great job with that topic in your book too.