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Becoming Mom: Exploring the Many Paths to Motherhood - Episode Two: Surrogacy
This week Alex and Mary continue the Motherhood series for the month of May as they sit down with Alana Weinberg, a cancer survivor who became a mother with the help of a surrogate/gestational carrier. Alana is a wealth of information, having gone through the experience of seeking out and matching with a gestational carrier, and she shares her story with enthusiasm and candor. There were some serious bumps along the road, surrogacy in the midst of Co-Vid and a heart defect detected in the womb, but Alana’s story has a beautiful ending that she refers to as her “miracle.”
Alana's Miracle, Briana
Episode Highlights
Happy Mother’s Day! [0:39]
Introduction of special guest [1:42]
Why a surrogate? [2:47]
Cancer diagnosis [3:35]
Megace and fertility-sparing [4:10]
Decision to create embryos [5:00]
Selection process for surrogate [5:25]
Advantages of using an agency [6:20]
Gestational carrier (GC) vs surrogate [7:24]
Qualifications for a surrogate/GC [9:43]
Availability of surrogates/GCs [13:20]
Finding a match [14:40]
Center for Surrogacy and Egg Donation [17:55]
Medications for GC [18:33]
Covid changed everything [19:25]
Diminished ovarian reserve [19:53]
Surrogacy coordinator @ hospital [24:15]
Baby’s heart defect, tetralogy of fallot [25:05]
The birth [28:10]
39 week induction [30:03]
Financial responsibility [30:21]
Grants available [33:30]
Parenting rights laws vary by state [36:10]
Find a support group [40:30]
Motherhood dream come true [41:35]
Selflessness of a surrogate [41:56]
Thank you, Alana! [42:25]
Miracle baby Brianna [43:10]
Next week’s episode [43:55]
Thanks for listening! [44:50]
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Links Mentioned in the Episode
Summary Keywords
Podcast, Spotify, Anchor, research, advocacy, advanced imaging, diagnosis, knowledge, women, fear, positive mindset, gynecology, health, hormones, relationships, mother, daughter, cancer, pandemic, mental health, surgery, recovery, hysterectomy, CoVid-19, tetralogy of fallot, surrogate, gestational carrier, surrogacy agency, diminished ovarian reserve, megace, fertility-sparing