79 episodes

Who knew making a baby could be so hard?! Luckily, the fertility journey isn’t meant to be traveled alone. So grab a seat and let’s talk fertility and alternative family building with leading industry expert Eloise Drane here at Fertility Café!

Fertility Café is here to support, encourage, and educate, anyone seeking to start or complete their family and the selfless women willing to help . This weekly podcast discusses all aspects of the fertility journey experience, emphasizing alternative family forming methods. Explore modern family building through IVF, surrogacy, and egg donation, sperm donation and embryo donation . Whether you’re a straight couple, LGBTQIA+, single individual or anything in between, considering egg donation, thinking of becoming a surrogate, or dealing with infertility, you'll receive insider information.

Each week, join in-depth conversations that explore these methods from medical, legal, and financial standpoints. Learn how to empower yourselves when dealing with infertility and the unknowns of how to complete your family building. Gain understanding on how to become a surrogate or an egg donor and what you need to consider when you make your decision.

In addition to finding the best third-party providers and appropriate fertility solutions for you, learn about fertility awareness, the questions to ask and what steps you need to take to make the right decisions for you. There is so much information out there. How do you know what is fertility fact versus fiction. You’ll receive advice and tips on how to navigate the world of fertility options.

Listen to fertility experts and medical practitioners as they impart valuable wisdom about all kinds of issues related to your fertility to include unexplained infertility, fertility preservation, PCOS, and fibroids to name a few. Their professional guidance is your best bet in increasing the likelihood of getting pregnant without fearing for your health or breaking the bank.

This show is also for fertility professionals who want to widen their knowledge and expertise. By listening to fellow experts, discover brand-new information to share with your patients and improve your practice.

Host Eloise has helped hundreds of people build (and grow) their families over the last 20 years. She always speaks candidly about the processes involved in making the dream of a baby a reality right now. Eloise helps individuals become surrogates and egg donors through Family Inceptions, an agency she founded in 2008. She highlights the importance of ethical and transparent practices.

Above all, Eloise makes sure that young women who donate eggs or become surrogates are properly educated and empowered. Her reputation makes Eloise a top speaker and guest in many assisted reproduction technology events and shows. Her story and agency were even featured by OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.

Eloise is not only a guide to surrogates and donors; she has been an egg donor six times and a gestational surrogate three times. She is a happily married mother of five who spends most of her free time with family.

Failing to get pregnant should never lead to a life of regret, self-pity, and hopelessness. With egg donation, surrogacy, and medical advancements focused on fertility, your fight is far from over. You are not a lost cause. What you need is proper information, practical tips, and valuable insights on addressing your reproductive issues. Explore all this and more on the Fertility Café.

Listen to the podcast right now at https://familyinceptions.com/fertility-cafe

Fertility Cafe Eloise Drane

    • Health & Fitness
    • 5.0 • 16 Ratings

Who knew making a baby could be so hard?! Luckily, the fertility journey isn’t meant to be traveled alone. So grab a seat and let’s talk fertility and alternative family building with leading industry expert Eloise Drane here at Fertility Café!

Fertility Café is here to support, encourage, and educate, anyone seeking to start or complete their family and the selfless women willing to help . This weekly podcast discusses all aspects of the fertility journey experience, emphasizing alternative family forming methods. Explore modern family building through IVF, surrogacy, and egg donation, sperm donation and embryo donation . Whether you’re a straight couple, LGBTQIA+, single individual or anything in between, considering egg donation, thinking of becoming a surrogate, or dealing with infertility, you'll receive insider information.

Each week, join in-depth conversations that explore these methods from medical, legal, and financial standpoints. Learn how to empower yourselves when dealing with infertility and the unknowns of how to complete your family building. Gain understanding on how to become a surrogate or an egg donor and what you need to consider when you make your decision.

In addition to finding the best third-party providers and appropriate fertility solutions for you, learn about fertility awareness, the questions to ask and what steps you need to take to make the right decisions for you. There is so much information out there. How do you know what is fertility fact versus fiction. You’ll receive advice and tips on how to navigate the world of fertility options.

Listen to fertility experts and medical practitioners as they impart valuable wisdom about all kinds of issues related to your fertility to include unexplained infertility, fertility preservation, PCOS, and fibroids to name a few. Their professional guidance is your best bet in increasing the likelihood of getting pregnant without fearing for your health or breaking the bank.

This show is also for fertility professionals who want to widen their knowledge and expertise. By listening to fellow experts, discover brand-new information to share with your patients and improve your practice.

Host Eloise has helped hundreds of people build (and grow) their families over the last 20 years. She always speaks candidly about the processes involved in making the dream of a baby a reality right now. Eloise helps individuals become surrogates and egg donors through Family Inceptions, an agency she founded in 2008. She highlights the importance of ethical and transparent practices.

Above all, Eloise makes sure that young women who donate eggs or become surrogates are properly educated and empowered. Her reputation makes Eloise a top speaker and guest in many assisted reproduction technology events and shows. Her story and agency were even featured by OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.

Eloise is not only a guide to surrogates and donors; she has been an egg donor six times and a gestational surrogate three times. She is a happily married mother of five who spends most of her free time with family.

Failing to get pregnant should never lead to a life of regret, self-pity, and hopelessness. With egg donation, surrogacy, and medical advancements focused on fertility, your fight is far from over. You are not a lost cause. What you need is proper information, practical tips, and valuable insights on addressing your reproductive issues. Explore all this and more on the Fertility Café.

Listen to the podcast right now at https://familyinceptions.com/fertility-cafe

    Ep. 80 | First-Hand Stories from an IP

    Ep. 80 | First-Hand Stories from an IP

    What is it really like for intended parents? What is the experience like? How does one cope with watching another woman carry her child? How can couples come together to share this experience and make it a positive one throughout? We'll talk to one Intended Mother about her take on these questions and more.
    Guest/Host Bio Amy Oguntala Amy Oguntala and her husband are intended parents via surrogacy. They are currently on their third pregnancy.
    Resources Learn more about our podcast: Fertility Cafe Learn more about our surrogacy and egg donation agency: Family Inceptions Learn more about independent surrogacy: Surrogacy Roadmap On the blog: Understanding The Basics of IVF and Step-by-step IVF Process On the blog: How Does Surrogacy Work? The Basics for Anyone Considering Surrogacy On the podcast: Ep 61: Egg Donors, Surrogates & IP Relationships On the podcast: Ep 35: Infertility Epidemic Rate, Review, and Subscribe! We would be so grateful if you took the time to rate and review our podcast on iTunes! And of course, don’t forget to hit that Subscribe button to have new episodes delivered straight to your feed!
    Podcast Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: “Beautiful and heartfelt conversations around family building. Can’t wait to hear more!”

    • 44 min
    Ep. 79 | Infertility Increase and Media Negative Reputation

    Ep. 79 | Infertility Increase and Media Negative Reputation

    Infertility is on the rise and it's leading to an increased demand for assisted reproduction technology. Unfortunately, many causes of infertility are insidious and seen as relatively harmless, such as the birth control pill. In this episode, we talked about the shocking increase in infertility and what men and women need to know if they want to have a family.            
    Host Bio I’m Eloise Drane, Founder of Family Inceptions, the first surrogacy and egg donation agency in the state of Georgia and the first Black-owned surrogacy and egg donation agency in the United States.
    While I started Family Inceptions back in 2008, my love for giving people the gift of life goes back even further. In 1998, I donated a kidney. The experience was life-changing for me, and I felt called to help more people in such a meaningful, profound way.
    Two years later, I had my first experience with egg donation. Little did I know that the egg donation journey would completely change the trajectory of my life.
    To date, I’ve been a gestational carrier (also known as a surrogate) three times and an egg donor six times. Along the way, I became an expert in the process.
    I founded Family Inceptions to help more intended parents start their families, to support other surrogates and egg donors, and to make an impact in the world.
    Although I love working with families through Family Inceptions, I also understand that many people are priced out of working with agencies. So, I took everything I learned from donating eggs six times, serving as a surrogate three times, earning an MBA, and running the first Black-owned surrogacy and egg donation agency of its kind in the US... and put it all into an easy-to-use, comprehensive course to help intended parents successfully navigate their independent surrogacy journey. I call that course Surrogacy Roadmap.
    There are so many wonderful people out there who are longing to become parents, but they can’t physically create or carry a child for one reason or another. Likewise, there are many women out there who are either considering helping intended parents achieve their family goals or who are already involved in the fertility industry as egg donors or surrogates. 
    I created the Fertility Cafe podcast as a free resource to answer the biggest questions intended parents, egg donors, and surrogates are facing as they consider third-party reproduction.
    Resources Eloise Drane on LinkedIn Eloise Drane on Instagram Eloise Drane on Facebook Learn more about our podcast: Fertility Cafe Learn more about our surrogacy and egg donation agency: Family Inceptions Learn more about independent surrogacy: Surrogacy Roadmap On the blog: Fertility and Family Building Grants and Financial Assistance Programs On the podcast: Ep 07: Fertility Grants – Providing Hope & Overcoming Infertility On the podcast: Ep 35: Infertility Epidemic Rate, Review, and Subscribe! We would be so grateful if you took the time to rate and review our podcast on iTunes! And of course, don’t forget to hit that Subscribe button to have new episodes delivered straight to your feed!
    Podcast Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: “Beautiful and heartfelt conversations around family building. Can’t wait to hear more!”

    • 13 min
    Ep. 78 | First-Hand Stories from a Surrogate

    Ep. 78 | First-Hand Stories from a Surrogate

    What is it really like for surrogates? What are their motivations for being gestational carriers? What is their experience like? How do they feel about being close - or not - with their IPs? What is the most important thing that they really need from agencies and IPs? In this episode, we'll talk to Heathyr Suhr about her take on these questions. 
    Guest Bio Heathyr suhr
    Heathyr is a single mom to her 7 year old best friend. She is a 2x surrogate who loves pregnancy, helping create families, and helping educate other women on the ups and downs of surrogacy.
    Resources Learn more about our podcast: Fertility Cafe Learn more about our surrogacy and egg donation agency: Family Inceptions Learn more about independent surrogacy: Surrogacy Roadmap On the blog: Becoming A Surrogate: What’s Carrying Someone Else’s Baby Like? On the blog: Potential Surrogate? 6 Red Flags When Selecting A Surrogacy Agency On the podcast: Ep 8: Six-Time Egg Donor & Three-Time Surrogate Eloise Shares Story On the podcast: Ep 2: Surrogacy 101: When It Takes a Village To Start a Family Rate, Review, and Subscribe! We would be so grateful if you took the time to rate and review our podcast on iTunes! And of course, don’t forget to hit that Subscribe button to have new episodes delivered straight to your feed!
    Podcast Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: “Beautiful and heartfelt conversations around family building. Can’t wait to hear more!”

    • 48 min
    Ep. 77 | Nitty Gritty of Compensation in 3rd Reproduction

    Ep. 77 | Nitty Gritty of Compensation in 3rd Reproduction

    In the egg donor community, it's known that financial compensation is often a strong motivator. But there have been many developments in recent years that impact donor and surrogate compensation. In this episode, we're diving into the nitty-gritty, perhaps uncomfortable side of egg donation and surrogacy compensation. We'll cover changes to tax law, appeals, and how compensation affects the already delicate relationship.
    Host Bio Eloise Drane I’m Eloise Drane, Founder of Family Inceptions, the first surrogacy and egg donation agency in the state of Georgia and the first Black-owned surrogacy and egg donation agency in the United States.
    While I started Family Inceptions back in 2008, my love for giving people the gift of life goes back even further. In 1998, I donated a kidney. The experience was life-changing for me and I felt called to help more people in such a meaningful, profound way.
    Two years later, I had my first experience with egg donation. Little did I know that the egg donation journey would completely change the trajectory of my life.
    To date, I’ve been a gestational carrier (also known as a surrogate) three times and an egg donor six times. Along the way, I became an expert in the process.
    I founded Family Inceptions to help more intended parents start their families, to support other surrogates and egg donors, and to make an impact in the world.
    Although I love working with families through Family Inceptions, I also understand that many people are priced out of working with agencies. So, I took everything I learned from donating eggs six times, serving as a surrogate three times, earning an MBA, and running the first Black-owned surrogacy and egg donation agency of its kind in the US... and put it all into an easy-to-use, comprehensive course to help intended parents successfully navigate their independent surrogacy journey. I call that course Surrogacy Roadmap.
    There are so many wonderful people out there who are longing to become parents, but they can’t physically create or carry a child for one reason or another. Likewise, there are many women out there who are either considering helping intended parents achieve their family goals or who are already involved in the fertility industry as egg donors or surrogates.
    I created the Fertility Cafe podcast as a free resource to answer the biggest questions intended parents, egg donors, and surrogates are facing as they consider third-party reproduction.
    Resources Eloise Drane on LinkedIn Eloise Drane on Instagram Eloise Drane on Facebook Sherman Anti-Trust Act Law: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/sherman_antitrust_act#:~:text=Sherman%20Antitrust%20Act%20of%201890,is%20codified%20in%2015%20U.S.C. Perez v. Commissioner: https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/casebrief/p/casebrief-perez-v-commissioner Form 1099: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099msc.pdf Learn more about our podcast: Fertility Cafe Learn more about our surrogacy and egg donation agency: Family Inceptions Learn more about independent surrogacy: Surrogacy Roadmap On the blog: Do I Pay Taxes on My Surrogacy Compensation? On the blog: Tax Deductions for Egg Donor and Surrogate Expenses On the podcast: Ep 6: Family Building Finance With Sonia Stewart Rate, Review, and Subscribe! We would be so grateful if you took the time to rate and review our podcast on iTunes! And of course, don’t forget to hit that Subscribe button to have new episodes delivered straight to your feed!
    Podcast Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: “Beautiful and heartfelt conversations around family building. Can’t wait to hear more!”

    • 17 min
    Ep. 76 | Embryo Donation

    Ep. 76 | Embryo Donation

    When we teach IPs about their possible pathways to parenthood, we often mention embryo donation. There are over a million embryos sitting in cryobanks around the country. But what happens to them if they aren’t used in IVF by the patients themselves? What is the embryo disposition process like; and what is the donation experience like, as a donor and recipient? In this episode we answer these questions along with others like, what is the difference between embryo donation and embryo adoption, can anyone pick an embryo and use it to have a child, what is the matching process like, and what will the genetic, social, and psychological ramifications be for a child born from that process?
    Guest Bio Maya Grobel and Gina Davis Maya Grobel is a California Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and psychotherapist in private practice, where she specializes in supporting individuals and couples struggling to conceive or building their family in alternative ways. Maya and her TV producer husband Noah made a feature length film called One More Shot, documenting their tumultuous journey to parenthood, which ended with the birth of their daughter via embryo donation (available on Vimeo on Demand). Maya a co-founder of EM•POWER with Moxi, an educational company focused on empowering choice in embryo donation.
    Gina Davis is the founder of Advocate Genetics, and a multi-state licensed, board-certified genetic counselor, who specializes in the field of reproductive medicine. Gina is also a co-founder of EM•POWER with Moxi, an education company dedicated to empowering choice and community in embryo donation. She is a mother of two via IVF and an embryo donor.
    Resources Maya Grobel and Gina Davis on Facebook Maya Grobel and Gina Davis on Instagram Maya Grobel and Gina Davis on LinkedIn, LinkedIn EMPOWER with Moxi Learn more about our podcast: Fertility Cafe Learn more about our surrogacy and egg donation agency: Family Inceptions Learn more about independent surrogacy: Surrogacy Roadmap On the blog: The Journey Of IVF Treatment: Cramping After Embryo Transfer On the blog: The Truth About Single Embryo Transfer vs. Double Embryo Transfer On the podcast: Ep 36: Embryo Donation On the podcast: Ep 51: Egg Donation 101: When It Takes a Village to Start a Family Rate, Review, and Subscribe! We would be so grateful if you took the time to rate and review our podcast on iTunes! And of course, don’t forget to hit that Subscribe button to have new episodes delivered straight to your feed!
    Podcast Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: “Beautiful and heartfelt conversations around family building. Can’t wait to hear more!”

    • 1 hr 3 min
    Ep. 75 | When IPs Don't Want a Relationship

    Ep. 75 | When IPs Don't Want a Relationship

    Naturally, fertility issues are a sensitive subject. Most couples never imagined that they would need to go the route of third-party reproduction in order to bring their family dreams to fruition. While all IPs are grateful for the role egg donors and surrogates play in building their family, some IPs would prefer not to have a relationship with their donors or surrogates after the process is over and a child is born. Here's what donors and surrogates need to understand about this unique family dynamic and how they can best prepare themselves for the complex relationship ahead.
    Host Bio I’m Eloise Drane, Founder of Family Inceptions, the first surrogacy and egg donation agency in the state of Georgia and the first Black-owned surrogacy and egg donation agency in the United States.
    While I started Family Inceptions back in 2008, my love for giving people the gift of life goes back even further. In 1998, I donated a kidney. The experience was life-changing for me, and I felt called to help more people in such a meaningful, profound way.
    Two years later, I had my first experience with egg donation. Little did I know that the egg donation journey would completely change the trajectory of my life.
    To date, I’ve been a gestational carrier (also known as a surrogate) three times and an egg donor six times. Along the way, I became an expert in the process.
    I founded Family Inceptions to help more intended parents start their families, to support other surrogates and egg donors, and to make an impact in the world.
    Although I love working with families through Family Inceptions, I also understand that many people are priced out of working with agencies. So, I took everything I learned from donating eggs six times, serving as a surrogate three times, earning an MBA, and running the first Black-owned surrogacy and egg donation agency of its kind in the US... and put it all into an easy-to-use, comprehensive course to help intended parents successfully navigate their independent surrogacy journey. I call that course Surrogacy Roadmap.
    There are so many wonderful people out there who are longing to become parents, but they can’t physically create or carry a child for one reason or another. Likewise, there are many women out there who are either considering helping intended parents achieve their family goals or who are already involved in the fertility industry as egg donors or surrogates.
    I created the Fertility Cafe podcast as a free resource to answer the biggest questions intended parents, egg donors, and surrogates are facing as they consider third-party reproduction.
    Resources Eloise Drane on LinkedIn Eloise Drane on Instagram Eloise Drane on Facebook Learn more about our podcast: Fertility Cafe Learn more about our surrogacy and egg donation agency: Family Inceptions Learn more about independent surrogacy: Surrogacy Roadmap On the blog: Surrogates & Baby Blues – What You Should Know On the podcast: Ep 61: Egg Donors, Surrogates & IP Relationships On the podcast: Ep 65: Postpartum After Surrogacy Rate, Review, and Subscribe! We would be so grateful if you took the time to rate and review our podcast on iTunes! And of course, don’t forget to hit that Subscribe button to have new episodes delivered straight to your feed!
    Podcast Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: “Beautiful and heartfelt conversations around family building. Can’t wait to hear more!”

    • 17 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
16 Ratings

16 Ratings

dbelgard ,

Such a great resource!

As a psychology who works to help people build their families, it’s so important that I’m able to share with my clients informative and fact based resources. I love being able to have Fertility Cafe on my list of podcasts to listen to for future intended parents and gestational carriers.

Seli 2011 ,

So informative

Straight information and great perspective from all angles. Excellent podcast for everyone in the fertility world. Well done Eloise!

Rayray1182 ,

So informative!!

As a past surrogate, it’s wonderful listening to something that is so needed right now! So many people struggle with infertility and so many others want to help, but it’s incredibly difficult to find the information needed to move forward on either front. Eloise does such a beautiful job laying all the information out and providing resources to people on both sides of fertility issues- those struggling and those that want to help.

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