Family Fronds

Pineapple Family
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Family Fronds is the podcast for independent surrogacy and egg donation. We bring honest conversations to intended parents, surrogates, egg donors, and the professionals who support them all. Produced by Pineapple Family, the platform helping families navigate independent journeys without traditional agency fees, Family Fronds covers the real side of surrogacy and IVF: the costs, the decisions, the challenges, and the things no one tells you until you're already in it. Each episode, we welcome a new "frond of the family" to the table. Reproductive attorneys, fertility specialists, experienced surrogates, former donors, and the communities they create, speaking directly about what this process actually costs, how it actually works, and what it looks like from the inside. No gatekeeping. No sales pitch. Just conversations that make the journey possible. A Pineapple Family Original.

Episodes

  1. Aug 6

    All Sides of Surrogacy From the Rule-Writer Who Knows It Best

    Portia Zwicker has carried twice: first for her cousin, before New York had even legalized compensated surrogacy, and later as one of the first gestational carriers matched under the state's new law. In between, she built a second career writing the standard operating procedures agencies actually run on, sits on the SEEDS Standards Committee, and moderates several of the largest gestational carrier communities online. Before we hit record, Portia made one thing clear: she is not endorsing Pineapple Family, or any other agency or platform. She's stayed deliberately unaffiliated so her advice can't be traced back to a paycheck. That vantage point is what makes this conversation different. Portia is not anti-agency, and she's not anti-independent. She's seen both up close, and she knows exactly where the real risk sits: in-house escrow, referral-dependent attorneys and evaluators, psychological screenings treated as a formality instead of a real evaluation, and a state law that still carries a carve-out for the people who wrote it. We talk through what SEEDS membership actually promises (and what it doesn't), why she personally recommends fewer than one in ten agencies she encounters, and what she wishes every GC understood about escrow, life insurance, and contract enforceability before signing anything. We also get into the harder question underneath all of it: whether "agency vs. independent" is even the right frame, or whether the real dividing line is informed versus not. This isn't a takedown episode, and it isn't a sales pitch. It's a conversation with someone who has spent years inside the machinery of this industry and still keeps a healthy distance from all of it. This episode touches on legal and medical topics, including psychological screening and contract enforceability. Nothing in this conversation constitutes legal or medical advice. Consult a licensed reproductive attorney or medical professional for guidance specific to your situation. If this conversation raised questions about what to look for in a provider, Pineapple Family's provider directory is free to search at pineapplefamily.org.

  2. Jul 23

    The Agency Made More Than I Did

    Kelly Copeland has done this five times. Domestic and international. Agency and independent. And on her very first journey, she didn't find out until years later that her agency made more money than she did. In this episode, Kelly sits down with Sam to talk about what actually happens behind the scenes of a traditional agency journey, from the moment she was told to stop texting her intended parents during contract negotiations, to the discovery that her international contracts weren't enforceable once her intended parents flew home. This is a conversation about information. Who has it, who withholds it, and what happens to a gestational carrier when she doesn't know what she doesn't know. Kelly and Sam get specific about: Why agencies sometimes restrict communication between carriers and intended parents, and what that actually protectsWhat GC compensation really includes: base pay, milestone payments, and the line items first-time carriers rarely know to ask forWhat happens legally when an international journey's contract isn't enforceable after the intended parents return homeEscrow: what it is, why in-house escrow can be a conflict of interest, and what happens when there isn't a clean third-party system in placeEmbryo quality and transfer risk, and why some carriers are never told what they're consenting toWhy going independent isn't a workaround for safety standards. Clinics, not agencies, set the medical requirements. Kelly's take is not a horror story. It's an unfiltered education, delivered by someone who has seen the system from every angle and wants the next surrogate to walk in with her eyes open. A note on compensation: figures Kelly shares reflect her own personal, historical journeys. Gestational carrier compensation varies widely depending on experience, location, and the terms of each individual agreement. This episode does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed reproductive attorney for guidance specific to your situation. This episode does not constitute medical advice. Consult a licensed medical professional for guidance specific to your situation. If you're a gestational carrier considering your first journey, or an experienced carrier weighing agency versus independent, this episode is the conversation we wish every carrier had before she signed anything. Curious about carrying independently? You choose your family. Nobody assigns you to one. Sign up for free at pineapplefamily.org.

  3. Jun 12

    The Cost of Falling Into the "Good Surrogate" Trap

    Surrogacy contracts are negotiated long before anyone knows how the story will unfold. Before the pregnancy. Before the delivery. Before anyone knows what support might be needed later on, down the line. And for many first-time surrogates, the hardest questions aren't the ones they ask. They're the ones they never knew to ask in the first place. The conversation covers Amanda Jones' experience as a two-time surrogate, including her independent surrogacy experience, agency journeys, and the life-threatening delivery complication that changed how she thinks about surrogate protections. Amanda shares candid insights on contract negotiations, insurance coverage, compensation, postpartum recovery, and the support she wishes she'd known to ask for before signing a contract. The discussion explores how first-time surrogates can unintentionally prioritize helping intended parents over advocating for themselves, and why understanding insurance, legal protections, and recovery support is critical before any journey begins. Takeaways • Many surrogates don't discover what they need most until they're already pregnant, recovering, or facing an unexpected complication. • Insurance coverage, life insurance, paid time off, housekeeping support, and recovery benefits should be discussed and negotiated before contracts are signed. • Agencies often focus on moving journeys forward, which can leave surrogates unaware of protections and benefits available to them. • Independent journeys can offer surrogates greater autonomy and flexibility when they are supported by the right legal, medical, and educational resources. • Advocacy is a skill. Surrogates who understand their options are better positioned to protect themselves and their families. Chapters 00:00 Amanda's Near-Fatal Delivery 02:03 Becoming a Surrogate for Her Former Boss 08:27 Compensation and Contract Negotiations 09:37 The Delivery That Changed Everything 18:05 Recovery, Medical Bills, and Advocacy 21:25 Fighting for Support and Benefits 31:50 Agency vs. Independent Surrogacy 38:53 Insurance, Life Insurance, and Hidden Risks 45:12 What Every Surrogate Should Know Before Signing

  4. Trailer

    Trailer

    Family Fronds is the independent surrogacy podcast that tells the truth about independent surrogacy and egg donation journeys — what it costs, what it takes, and what the agency model doesn't want you to know. Real voices. Real experiences. From the people who have lived through it. A Pineapple Family Original.

  5. May 20

    We Paid $45,000 to Learn the System Was Broken

    "We Paid $45,000 to Learn the System Was Broken" In 2019, Daniel Malak and Joshua Brost started the surrogacy process the way most people do: they hired an agency and trusted the system. Six years later, they have two kids, a failed match, a $45,000 lesson, and a family-building platform built on what they learned. This is the episode where they tell the full story — joined by their co-founder and gestational carrier, Sam Martin, who brings the other side of it. Sam carried her first journey through an agency, later discovered that agency owned its own law firm and ran its own escrow, and came out of the experience with a firm belief that gestational carriers deserve to be treated as partners, not inventory. Together, the three founders cover what the agency fee of $30,000–$60,000+ actually funds, how SEEDS governs (or doesn't) the surrogacy industry, private equity consolidation of three of the largest U.S. surrogacy agencies, and what going independent actually requires — including why it doesn't mean skipping the safety standards. In this episode: The failed transfer, the agency's response, and the decision to go independentWhat $30,000–$60,000 in surrogacy agency fees actually buysSEEDS, self-governance, and the enforcement problemPrivate equity ownership of three major U.S. surrogacy agenciesIn-house escrow and in-house legal: why they're a red flagThe ASRM psych screening standard agencies routinely skipWhat Sam wishes she'd known before her first agency journeyWhy an independent surrogacy and/or egg donation journey doesn't mean unsafe — it means choosing your own providers About the hosts: Daniel Malak and Joshua Brost are co-founders of Pineapple Family. Sam Martin is co-founder and served as gestational carrier for their two children. She holds a law degree and has completed multiple journeys — agency and independent. FTC disclosure: Sam Martin is a co-founder of Pineapple Family and has a financial relationship with the company. This episode is produced by Pineapple Family. If you're thinking about carrying: Start an application at pineapplefamily.org. Nobody assigns you to a family — you see the full profile and you choose. Not ready yet? Join The Grove, our free community for gestational carriers and egg donors, at pineapplefamily.org. Free always. This episode does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed reproductive attorney for guidance specific to your situation. This episode does not constitute medical advice. Consult a licensed medical professional for guidance specific to your situation. Family Fronds is a Pineapple Family original.

Trailer

About

Family Fronds is the podcast for independent surrogacy and egg donation. We bring honest conversations to intended parents, surrogates, egg donors, and the professionals who support them all. Produced by Pineapple Family, the platform helping families navigate independent journeys without traditional agency fees, Family Fronds covers the real side of surrogacy and IVF: the costs, the decisions, the challenges, and the things no one tells you until you're already in it. Each episode, we welcome a new "frond of the family" to the table. Reproductive attorneys, fertility specialists, experienced surrogates, former donors, and the communities they create, speaking directly about what this process actually costs, how it actually works, and what it looks like from the inside. No gatekeeping. No sales pitch. Just conversations that make the journey possible. A Pineapple Family Original.

Information

  • Creator
    Pineapple Family
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Pineapple Family