Blog Category – Texas

In this pandemic season of uncertainty and fear, images from around the world of the first health care workers and elderly people being vaccinated has brought hope to many hearts that we may finally bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control and get back to a more normal way of life. But for women who are…  Read More »

Arielle Spiegel created CoFertility in 2018 after seeking answers to fertility questions online and realizing she couldn’t relate to any of the available resources. So she launched CoFertility, first as a social community with lots of personal fertility stories and highly relatable memes, and then as an online platform full of fertility knowledge. She shares…  Read More »

Mary M. Fusillo is a scholar, mother of twins, and Founder and CEO of 3 Sisters Surrogacy, a full-service, nationwide surrogacy and parenting agency. Mary was first introduced to reproductive endocrinology and infertility when she found it difficult to conceive, eventually growing her family with the help of IVF. A Registered Nurse since 1989, she…  Read More »

I used to be a planner. Every year I’d put together my goals and vision. So much so, that at one point I held workshops and taught other women how to do this. My vision wasn’t all that different from what most women look for in life. The plan was to meet a man, fall…  Read More »

The Samantha and Kyle Busch Bundle of Joy Fund has an incredible mission: to advocate for infertility education and awareness and remove financial barriers by granting monetary awards to couples who require fertility treatments to have their own bundle of joy. We have loved getting to know Samantha’s wonderful team and mission – she shared…  Read More »

We were thrilled to be featured on CNBC’s The News Tuesday evening! We’re also grateful for our amazing intended parents Brandy and Matt, as well as Summer, a gestational carrier currently carrying a very special bundle, for joining us on the segment! Brandy and Matt shared their story – they tried IVF, and it failed.…  Read More »

While highlighting fertility issues and family building options are always welcome, it’s frustrating when television plotlines get surrogacy all wrong. And they do—a lot. Below are some examples and what the truth is. You Can Be A Surrogate If You’ve Never Had Children Whether it’s Phoebe from Friends, Dina from NBC’s Superstore, Heather in Crazy…  Read More »

Stephanie Caballero’s path to parenthood changed her life in more ways than one. Her eight-year journey led to twins through surrogacy and a career change from marketing to law. Today, she’s an expert in family formation and reproductive law, and founder of The Surrogacy Law Center, PLC. Stephanie shared her story of creating her beautiful…  Read More »

Like so many other amazing women in the fertility community, Monica Wunderman is the definition of strength and resilience. At 22 she was diagnosed with uterus didelphys, a rare condition where two uteruses develop instead of one. The road from there was a long one and she and her husband are still traveling it. They…  Read More »

Kela Robinson Smith, aka Coach Kela, is the CEO and Program Director of the Hormone Puzzle Society, a women’s health club for fertility, hormones, and the business of coaching. Kela’s energy is infectious and we’ve loved getting to know her over the past few months. A mother of two, professional fitness trainer, wellness educator, host…  Read More »

Alex Kornswiet is mom to two boys and founder of the supportive online community Every BODY matters. What started out as an Instagram blog in 2019 evolved into a platform for advocacy for herself and others on infertility and miscarraige – as Alex says, “You should not have to face infertility and loss alone”. I…  Read More »

Based in San Diego, California, Family Tree Surrogacy Center has assisted hundreds of intended parents through their surrogacy journey. I spoke with Melinda Guy, Founder and herself a former gestational carrier, about how incredibly rewarding it was to experience her intended parents’ joy as their children were born and how this inspired her to continue…  Read More »

Happy Together is a collection of children’s books that helps introduce little ones to the family building concepts of IVF, egg donation, sperm donation, embryo donation and surrogacy. After becoming a mom through the gift of egg donation, Julie found that various paths to parenthood were underrepresented in children’s literature. So she wrote her first…  Read More »

We’re thrilled to announce that GoStork has secured a first seed round of funding, which will allow us to support many more intended parents on their family building journeys. At GoStork we envision a world where anyone with a dream to start a family has access to an inclusive, trusted, and transparent resource that supports…  Read More »

Suzie Welsh Devine is founder of the women’s health company, Binto. Throughout her career as a nurse in fertility, NICU and postpartum care, Suzie saw how women were left confused about their own and their families’ healthcare, so she created a better way. Today, Suzie and her team help women with personalized quality products and…  Read More »

Angel Matcher is a surrogacy agency and consultancy in Cocoa, Florida that helps intended parents match with gestational carriers, as they say it so well, “matching angels…making miracles”. Owner and Agency Director Laura Fretwell shared with us the origins of Angel Matcher, and recalled the experiences that make working in this field incredibly rewarding –…  Read More »

You may have heard that compensated gestational surrogacy is becoming legal in New York. So what does this mean exactly? Intended parents (IPs) residing in New York can legally complete the entire surrogacy journey within the state, secure in the knowledge that the new Child-Parent Security Act (CPSA) offers protection both for themselves and gestational…  Read More »

Monica Bivas is an incredibly passionate mom and IVF, Fertility and Life Coach determined to teach others how to “squeeze the sweetness” out of the fertility journey. She describes her own path to parenthood as a difficult “rollercoaster of emotions” but one which taught her that “perfection is imperfection, and imperfection is beautiful”. Monica’s story…  Read More »

I’m thrilled to introduce another amazing addition to our Communities We Love! The Baby Quest Foundation provides financial assistance to those who want to grow their families but can’t afford the costs of procedures such as IVF, gestational surrogacy, egg and sperm donation, egg freezing and embryo donation. I spoke with Baby Quest’s inspirational founder,…  Read More »

You’ve been matched with a gestational carrier, the dotted lines on the contract have been signed, and now it’s time to make a baby (in the most clinical of ways of course)! Who knew that trying to become a parent would be filled with so much science and legalese? The thing is, surrogacy is more…  Read More »

One in eight couples experiences infertility, yet many go through it alone, unaware of the immensely supportive, online infertility community. Erin Bulcao started out her journey alone, “hiding behind the doors of IVF” until one day she decided to “open BOTH doors and leave them wide open”. Today she’s a mom of three and founder…  Read More »

Victoria Nino is mom to the beautiful Florence, in her own words, ‘a magical, miracle child’, conceived with the help of an egg donor after an eight-year struggle. She’s also the author of the ebook Why I’m Glad My Eggs Didn’t Work, and founder of the blog Expecting Anything and Infertility Unfiltered, a support group…  Read More »

Before I wrote this article, I sat down with GoStork’s Chief Marketing Officer to brainstorm how fertility depends on nutrition and not just medical intervention alone – Can your diet fix PCOS? Can it prevent secondary infertility? Are “fertility foods” a thing? Regardless of the medical science available to us today, ‘reproduction’ is something we…  Read More »

I had the pleasure of chatting with Brie Powers, Co-founder and President of Heartland Surrogacy, an agency that works with intended parents from across the US and matches them with gestational carriers in the Midwest or the West Coast. Finding the perfect match and creating relationships that exceed expectations is at the heart of their…  Read More »

Maggie Hughes has an incredible story to tell: we equally loved reading about her journey to parenthood and getting to know her! She’s mom to Sam and Charlie, two adorable boys born one month apart – one through a gestational carrier and the other the result of a surprise natural pregnancy. Maggie (AKA @bean.and.biscuit on…  Read More »

Speaking to Joey Coppedge, Behavior Change Specialist and Founder of Fertility Nutrition Coaching was both super fun and really enlightening. Joey has been working in the wellness industry for nearly a decade, helping couples TTC, expectant mothers, intended parents and gestational carriers develop healthier eating habits. He shared with us (and you!) his expert advice…  Read More »

In May 2019, my doctor sat down with my husband and I and told us that we would likely have to pursue surrogacy to have another child. This originally came as a shock to us, as we had spent years trying to have another child ourselves, and really believed it would eventually work again. Our…  Read More »

Surro Connections is a surrogacy agency based in Portland, Oregon that helps both local and international intended parents achieve parenthood. We had the pleasure of speaking with Megan Hall, Founder, and Executive Director – she shared the agency’s story and how it all started from her first experience as a gestational carrier to evolving into…  Read More »

Shadina Blunt is Co-Owner and Director of Surrogacy Services at Surrogacy Miracles & Consulting. Today she is an inspirational women’s advocate, but she started her OBGYN career right out of high school while going to college – so her passion for women’s health and surrogacy runs deep. After five pregnancies, two as a gestational carrier…  Read More »

I was so honored to connect with Reverend Dr. Stacey L. Edwards-Dunn, the force behind Fertility for Colored Girls, a national organization for black women and couples struggling with infertility, miscarriage and loss. Reverend Stacey knows the pain of infertility all too well, both personally and in her work uplifting others on their family building…  Read More »

I was honored to connect with Barb Collura, a leading expert on infertility and the family-building journey, particularly the personal experience of those struggling to build their family. Barb has been the President and CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association since 2007 – learn more about her inspirational work over the years, RESOLVE’s important…  Read More »

I had the pleasure of hearing from Diana Olmeda, President and CEO of Surrogate Alternatives, a family owned surrogacy and egg donation agency with offices in California and Virginia. With 22 years of experience under their belt, Surrogate Alternatives has witnessed many important developments in surrogacy, all while assisting thousands of families along the way.…  Read More »

I had the pleasure to chat with Jaimie and Robin, two super smart, funny women with an impressive list of successes, including the amazing podcast and book, “If These Ovaries Could Talk”. They shared how the podcast evolved from a small plan to a grand partnership between two moms who wanted to inform and empower…  Read More »

Having supportive people to lean on makes a world of difference, especially when dealing with the challenges of infertility. This is what Fertility Rally is all about: support, curated information, inclusion, humor, and lively virtual events that add a dash of positivity to taxing days. I was excited to speak to the women behind the…  Read More »

In 2008, Jennifer Ingle started Eggceptional Donor Group after serving as an egg donor and realizing how incredibly special it is to help intended parents. Today, the agency remains committed to assisting people from all walks of life pursue their dream of parenthood. This is what Jennifer had to say about the unique rewards of…  Read More »

Exciting news: we’ve upgraded GoStork – making it much easier for intended parents to connect with providers on our platform. Now, when you’re interested in an egg donor or surrogacy agency, you can simply click ‘Contact Agency’.  Following that, you can instantly message them directly – all within GoStork, and they’ll respond to you right…  Read More »

People often ask me, “Is infertility funny?” and my answer surprises them, “No. No, infertility is not funny.” Infertility is hard, and heartbreaking and sad and somber, but there are some funny aspects to it, which is what my husband and I chose to focus on. The day I found out that I had PCOS…  Read More »

The Fertility Tribe is a lifestyle brand that encourages women to ‘redefine fertility, together’, empowering them with inspiring stories, expert resources and a wonderful community to help them through the journey to motherhood. It was an honor to connect with Kristyn recently, founder of The Fertility Tribe and mom to twins conceived via IVF. Here’s…  Read More »

Hatch Egg Donation and Surrogacy is a family planning agency that helps intended parents of all backgrounds achieve parenthood. It was a pleasure to hear from Program Director Alex Maron about the agency’s three decades of experience, highlights from their history, the excitement of witnessing great developments in reproductive medicine, and the rewards of working…  Read More »

Historically, in the early days of genetic testing, embryos were classified as either “normal” (euploid) or “abnormal” (aneuploid). Recently, however, a new kind of embryo has emerged. It’s called a “Mosaic Embryo”, and it means that it has both normal and abnormal cells. Since its discovery, there has been much debate about whether or not…  Read More »

We were excited to connect recently with Mario Caballero, the CEO of Extraordinary Conceptions, a surrogacy and egg donor agency based in San Diego, California with quite an extensive reach. Below is the story of how Extraordinary Conceptions evolved from a small office out of his family’s home to a leading, international agency with budget-friendly…  Read More »

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Karen Jeffries, the infertility advocate, mother and teacher behind the hilarious yet all too relatable Hilariously Infertile book and social accounts. She describes her book, words and memes as incredibly inappropriate, but we tend to think a little bit of humor goes a long way, especially when…  Read More »

We’re excited to launch Communities We Love with a conversation with Gemma, Founder and CEO of the inspiring platform Same Sex Parents. Based on Instagram, this supportive community has enabled many LGBTQ+ families to share their stories, experiences, and advice, as well as to connect with other parents – online, for local meet-ups and all…  Read More »

We’ve enjoyed getting to know Erica Horton, President and Partner of Growing Generations, a full-service surrogacy and egg donation agency helping to grow families in the US and abroad. Erica shares how her career at Growing Generations started and how the agency’s focus evolved towards complete inclusivity, making it easier for everyone to achieve their…  Read More »

I’m excited to connect with Jennifer “Jay” Palumbo, award-winning blogger, the 2 Week Wait, and writer whose work has been featured in Time Magazine, Forbes, the Huffington Post, Parents Magazine, ScaryMommy, and The Mighty, among many others (including GoStork!). Having experienced infertility herself, Jennifer is passionate about women’s health and patient advocacy, and has been…  Read More »

As always, we like to use our new blog space to provide helpful content, to spotlight people who inspire us, and to share exciting news!  This post is the latter. To jump right in – the first piece of exciting news:  Last week we added 500 new egg donors into the GoStork egg donor database. …  Read More »

I was honored to chat with Sharon LaMothe, Director of PNW Surrogacy, Founder of LaMothe Surrogacy Consulting, Surrogacy and Third Party Family Building Educator and Advisor, co-author of Surrogacy Helps Make a Family Grow! AND advocate for the adoption of surrogacy law in Washington State – what an amazing list of achievements! A two-time carrier…  Read More »

We were thrilled to chat with the energetic and inspiring Staci Swiderski, President and CEO of Family Source Consultants, an international surrogacy and egg donation agency with offices in Illinois, Texas, Florida, New York, Washington D.C., and California. She speaks about her own path to parenthood, the unique highlights of working in the fertility industry,…  Read More »

Ready for your mind to be blown? I never was able to carry a pregnancy, but I was able to breastfeed. Inducing lactation as it is referred to, is the act of breastfeeding without physically birthing. Wait, what? Did you just read that correctly? Why, yes you did. Perhaps, I am getting a little ahead…  Read More »

GoStork is a first-of-its-kind marketplace created to help intended parents make much more informed decisions – with much less stress involved – as they begin their journey to parenthood.  I founded GoStork to bring structured information, convenience, and unprecedented transparency to a confusing and overwhelming landscape, aka what I wished I had when I began…  Read More »

We recently chatted with Kristen Hanson, co-owner of Simple Surrogacy, a full-service surrogacy agency based in Dallas, Texas. Kristen generously shared how her and co-owner Stephanie Scott’s personal experiences led them to found an agency created from an insider’s perspective, how uniquely rewarding it is to help others achieve their dream of parenthood … and…  Read More »

I had no idea that I was infertile when I was initially diagnosed with infertility.  I was young, young for New York City standards, 29 years old.  I never thought that I would struggle with infertility, ever.  But, there I was, at the fertility clinic learning about my options to conceive with PCOS (polycystic ovarian…  Read More »

We recently connected with Sam Hyde, President of Circle Surrogacy, a leading egg donation and surrogacy agency based in Boston, Massachusetts. Sam joined Circle Surrogacy in 2017 having himself experienced challenges along the journey to parenthood.  He shares his own story, the brief history of Circle Surrogacy (did you know the name is derived from…  Read More »

We were so honored to connect recently with Candace Wohl, co-writer, with her husband, Chris, of the award-winning blog Our Misconception, mother of two via surrogacy, and tireless infertility advocate. She has a unique way of offering both helpful advice and hope to intended parents (such as reminders that surrogacy is not just for the…  Read More »

For those who don’t know me, I’m the founder of GoStork. We launched earlier this year and have a lot of exciting news to share. How did I get here? A few years ago, I started looking into surrogacy – not realizing it would be much more difficult than I ever could have expected.  I…  Read More »