Circle Surrogacy to Host Surrogacy Seminar for Swedish Couples

I recently had the pleasure of meeting John Weltman, President of Circle Surrogacy, at the American Fertility Association's Families Matter meeting held in San Fransisco and I found him to be knowledgeable and caring, as well as an entertaining and informative speaker. I think what he is doing will help many couples who cannot have a child through surrogacy in their country due to the restrictive laws.

And I too have found an increase in international couples to both my law practice and agency, Extraordinary Conceptions. I think the weak economy in the U.S. does have something to do with it, but whose to say if that is the only reason why international couples are coming to the U.S. for surrogacy and egg donation now.

Perhaps the recent Newsweek article portraying surrogates in a positive light has something to do with the increase of international couples. It really is hard to say.

The laws in California have not changed in over 20 years and are still extremely favorable to all couples and individuals, whether you are gay or straight, married or single, so I can't say the law is a factor.

You can read the complete press release here.

Blogging About Infertility

Recently, the L.A. Times published an article about the voice that people now have when through blogging when they are undergoing infertility treatments. I wish something like that had been available to me when I was going through my treatments because it was incredibly lonely.

Most of my friends had no problem getting pregnant, especially my coworkers! During my second round of IVF I got pregnant only to miscarry at 8 weeks while 6 women in my department were pregnant! They were showing ultrasound pictures and I was having my first D&C. If only I had a blog where I could write about about how devastated I felt at the time.

Click here to read the complete article: Up Close and Personal: Blogging about infertility

New IVF Treatment Could Double Pregnancy Rates

The article doesn't say what the new treatment is that could double pregnancy rates, but that is probably because the researchers at the University of Adelaide are not disclosing it, but it sounds promising as the group says the treatment could significantly increase implantation rates and decrease pregnancy complications for women undergoing assisted reproductive treatments (ART).

The article even calls the single embryo transfer the "holy grail" and says this treatment could possibly perfect transferring one embryo, which would significantly decrease the risks to both the pregnant woman and the unborn children.

The testing is currently being done on rats, but if true it could hold great promise for couples and individuals who have been unable to achieve a pregnancy with ART.

Click on New Treatment Could Double Pregnancy Rates for the complete article.

Do Military Wives Make Better Surrogates?

Not to be outdone by Newsweek, ABC News has done a piece on surrogacy. Again, this is a balanced and informative look at surrogates and why they agree to carry a child for another couple. I have worked with many surrogates, both military and not, and I cannot say that military wives make better surrogates. They have been some of the best surrogates I have worked with and some of the worst. Like anything, there is the good and the bad.

Like the Center for Surrogate Parenting, I am careful working with military surrogates whose husbands are deployed. While these women are used to managing their children and households single-handedly, every surrogate needs a support system and if the surrogate has none while her husband is deployed, then I recommend not working with her.

I also question military surrogates on their husbands' future orders, as the spouse could get orders to move to a state that does not recognize surrogacy. For the most part, the surrogate and her husband know that they will be getting their orders months in advance, but I worked with a surrogate whose husband recently got orders to move to Japan. Thankfully, we were only in the matching stage and she had not cycled with the couple and was not pregnant. During the interview with this surrogate, she said that her husband is here to stay and he has no plans to get transfer orders. This surrogate appeared genuine so I have to believe she had no idea he was getting his orders.

Because my practice is based in San Diego, which has two military bases, my contract always has a clause requiring the surrogate to remain in their home state, which is usually California, through the delivery. As you can see this is especially critical when working with military surrogates.

Read the full article here: http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/ReproductiveHealth/Story?id=4561403&page=1

Marissa Jaret Winokur Having a Baby via Surrogate

I know, it seems like Surrogacy has been in the news a lot this past week! What a feel-good story about a woman who overcame cancer and is now having a baby boy. It seems like everything is going well for her and her husband. I wish them both the best on the upcoming birth of their baby boy.

Click here to see the complete story: http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2008/03/marissa-janet-w.html

America's First IVF Twins Turn 25

What an inspiring story to others who are struggling with their fertility and have been given little or no chance of having a child. The Tiltons were told the very same thing in the early 80s, but they never gave up and now their twins, created using in vitro fertilization, are celebrating their 25th birthday. The twins do not feel different or special, just grateful to their parents for never giving up.

Please see the complete article here: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23898180?GT1=43001