The Family Circle – Details, episodes & analysis

Kelsey, a dedicated lactation consultant from Cincinnati, Ohio, joins Kristin to share her remarkable journey as a gestational surrogate Through candid and emotional storytelling, Kelsey brings to life the profound impact surrogacy has had on her and her intended parents' lives. Themes of family, connection, and selflessness shine through as Kelsey narrates her experiences, offering valuable insights into the world of surrogacy. 

The episode explores the powerful process of matching with intended parents, overcoming initial awkwardness during Zoom calls, and the transformation of her relationship with her intended parents into a genuine connection. Kelsey's journey stands as a testament to the power of empathy and compassion in forming unbreakable bonds, highlighting the importance of intuition in surrogacy and the challenges surrogates may face with IVF medications. The discussion also delves into creating birth plans for surrogacy deliveries, sharing surrogacy stories with friends and family, and offering advice to potential surrogates. Overall, today’s episode reveals the emotional and physical aspects of surrogacy with candid conversations that shed light on a journey filled with intuition, challenges, and ultimately, profound fulfillment. Throughout, it showcases the extraordinary impact of surrogacy, where bonds are forged, families are created, and selflessness knows no bounds.

Thank you for listening!

If you'd like to learn more about surrogacy, you can visit our website. If you'd like to chat with one of our team members, please reach out:

• Become a surrogate (email: applications@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become a parent (email: info@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become an egg donor (email: eggdonation@circlesurrogacy.com)

We'd love to hear your story and see how we can support you.

In this latest episode, listeners are invited to join in a remarkable journey—the awe-inspiring tale of Stephen and JR, two loving souls who embarked upon the path of surrogacy and egg donation to fulfill their dreams of parenthood. Their story here today makes for a wonderful listen as a very special duo joins them for the discussion: Stephen's parents, Ann Marie and Tom. We hear from the grandparents as they lovingly share their unique perspective, shedding light on the remarkable bond that surrogacy has created within their family and expressing heartfelt gratitude for the extraordinary woman who brought their newest grandchild into the world.

Throughout the episode, Stephen and JR recount their inspiring journey, revealing the origins of their desire for parenthood and the fortuitous involvement of close friends in the realm of surrogacy. Their unwavering determination and the obstacles they encountered while seeking the perfect match, including navigating the creation of embryos and searching for a trusted agency, are discussed. The fruition of their search is also revealed—the discovery of their truly extraordinary surrogate, Kristen—and their story becomes intricately woven with the threads of Kristen's selflessness, resulting in a celebration of love, parenthood....and grandparenthood.

Grandparents' Day was Sunday, September 10th and we are celebrating all month long with this special podcast episode.

Thank you for listening!

If you'd like to learn more about surrogacy, you can visit our website. If you'd like to chat with one of our team members, please reach out:

• Become a surrogate (email: applications@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become a parent (email: info@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become an egg donor (email: eggdonation@circlesurrogacy.com)

We'd love to hear your story and see how we can support you.

This month Kristin hosts Ali Prato! Ali is a journalist and mom of two, living in North Jersey. She's an infertility warrior and advocate, the founder and host of the Infertile AF podcast, and the co-founder of Fertility Rally, a community that offers 24/7 support, curated content and events for anyone going through infertility and family building through ART!

Ali and Kristin chat about Ali's podcast, InfertileAF, her own journey to parenthood, and the creation of Fertility Rally, a supportive community for those struggling with infertility. Their personal experiences with infertility weave in and out of this episode that feels more like two old friends talking than it does an interview! You won't want to miss it! 

Interested in learning more about Fertility Rally? You can visit the site here: https://fertilityrally.com/ or follow them on Instagram @fertilityrally

You can listen to InfertileAF wherever you listen to podcasts and can follow along on Instagram @infertileafstories

Don't forget to Like, Follow, or Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts! 

Thank you for listening!

If you'd like to learn more about surrogacy, you can visit our website. If you'd like to chat with one of our team members, please reach out:

• Become a surrogate (email: applications@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become a parent (email: info@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become an egg donor (email: eggdonation@circlesurrogacy.com)

We'd love to hear your story and see how we can support you.

This month Kristin and Lauren go back to the basics and hosted a Surrogacy 101 episode. This episode outlines the basics of surrogacy that you've always wanted to know.

They discuss third party reproduction acronyms, why women pursue surrogacy and egg donation, what it means to be an intended parent, and so much more. If you're new to surrogacy, this is the perfect episode for you! 

In the episode we mention a number of links for those interested in learning more.

If you're looking to become a surrogate, you can find more information about requirements here: https://www.circlesurrogacy.com/surrogates/surrogate-requirements

If you're interested in learning more about egg donation, you can read about the process and experience here: https://www.circlesurrogacy.com/egg-donors

In the episode, both the Progyny and Egg Donor Panel episode of the podcasts are mentioned.
Progyny - https://thefamilycircle.buzzsprout.com/1829944/11179729-episode-7-progyny-fertility-benefits
Egg Donor Panel - https://thefamilycircle.buzzsprout.com/1829944/11373157-episode-8-experienced-egg-donor-panel

Lauren provides an overview of the most frequent surrogacy and egg donation acronyms, but we've got a much more extensive list in a blog post that you can find here: https://www.circlesurrogacy.com/blog/circle-surrogacy/surrogacy-terms-decoded-17-definitions-know/

Don't forget to like and subscribe! 

Thank you for listening!

If you'd like to learn more about surrogacy, you can visit our website. If you'd like to chat with one of our team members, please reach out:

• Become a surrogate (email: applications@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become a parent (email: info@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become an egg donor (email: eggdonation@circlesurrogacy.com)

We'd love to hear your story and see how we can support you.

This month's episode of The Family Circle is a special panel episode featuring three experienced egg donors through Circle Egg Donation. 

Marketing Director, Kristin Marsoli, hosts Jordan, Tia, and Liv as they discuss why they became egg donors, why they choose the type of donation they did, why they wanted to work with an agency, and they each provide some words of wisdom for women who may be interested in becoming egg donors. 

Jordan, Tia, and Liv have each done multiple egg donations over the years for different intended parents. They all have one thing in common though, and that is they love to talk about egg donation. Jordan and Tia have achieved their goal of sharing egg dontation with other women by joining the team here at Circle as Egg Donation Coordinators! Liv on the other hand has been sharing her journeys through her TikTok channel and meeting women and answering their questions on her page. You can follow her @oliviaroww https://www.tiktok.com/@oliviaroww

Are you interested in becoming an egg donor? Apply today or reach out to chat with someone on our team! https://bit.ly/egg-donor-panel

We can't wait to hear what you think when you leave us a review! 

Thank you for listening!

If you'd like to learn more about surrogacy, you can visit our website. If you'd like to chat with one of our team members, please reach out:

• Become a surrogate (email: applications@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become a parent (email: info@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become an egg donor (email: eggdonation@circlesurrogacy.com)

We'd love to hear your story and see how we can support you.

In our seventh episode, Circle Surrogacy & Egg Donation Director of Marketing, Kristin Marsoli, sits down with Lissa Kline, SVP, Provider and Member Services at Progyny! 

They discuss the services that Progyny provides, the importance of fertility benefits, why folks choose surrogacy & egg donation, and how to address infertility with your employer. 

Lissa shares about what makes Progyny special and how to reduce the costs of third party reproduction and have a higher rate of success. 

Circle Surrogacy is proud to partner with Progyny and help make surrogacy and egg donation more affordable and accessible. 

Interested in learning more about surrogacy and egg donation? Check out our website at https://www.circlesurrogacy.com/ 

Interested in learning more about Progyny and their incredible fertility benefits? Check out their website: https://progyny.com/ 

Thank you for listening!

If you'd like to learn more about surrogacy, you can visit our website. If you'd like to chat with one of our team members, please reach out:

• Become a surrogate (email: applications@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become a parent (email: info@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become an egg donor (email: eggdonation@circlesurrogacy.com)

We'd love to hear your story and see how we can support you.

Content Warning: This episode features a conversation about a miscarriage and how to share the news of pregnancy loss with intended parents. This may be triggering for some listeners, so if this is something you'd like to avoid hearing about, please be advised to skip over 24:30-32:09

We're halfway through season one of The Family Circle and this episode is the perfect heartwarming episode to carry us into the back half of the year! 

Episode 6 is hosted by Circle Surrogacy & Egg Donation Director of Marketing, Kristin Marsoli. She hosts our two incredible guests, Nicola and Mandi. Nicola is a parent through surrogacy after giving birth to her own son, and Mandi was her gestational carrier. You may know Mandi as a Surrogate Advisor on the Circle Surrogacy team! 

In this episode, Nicola and Mandi share about their beautiful bond, why they both chose surrogacy, why they chose each other, and how they overcame obstacles to bring baby Squish into this world. They are both open, honest, and vulnerable about their journeys and what has kept them close in the five years since their journey together ended. You won't want to miss it! 

Thank you for listening!

If you'd like to learn more about surrogacy, you can visit our website. If you'd like to chat with one of our team members, please reach out:

• Become a surrogate (email: applications@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become a parent (email: info@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become an egg donor (email: eggdonation@circlesurrogacy.com)

We'd love to hear your story and see how we can support you.

In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs Wade on June 24th, Circle Surrogacy & Egg Donation saw the importance in providing information on how this decision will impact surrogacy at Circle Surrogacy and the industry. 

Lauren Mello, Social Media & Culture Manager at Circle, hosts three members of the Circle Leadership Team as they discuss the legal and technical implications that overturning Roe vs Wade will have on surrogacy and answer questions we've gotten from intended parents and surrogates.

On the panel is Dean Hutchison Esq, VP of Legal Services, Solveig Gramann LICSW, Director of Surrogate Services, and Emily Sonier LICSW, Director of Culture and Program Support. Each share their expertise about the surrogacy process and what we can expect moving forward. 

If you'd like to learn more about Circle Surrogacy & Egg Donation, please visit our website here: https://www.circlesurrogacy.com/ 

Thank you for listening!

If you'd like to learn more about surrogacy, you can visit our website. If you'd like to chat with one of our team members, please reach out:

• Become a surrogate (email: applications@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become a parent (email: info@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become an egg donor (email: eggdonation@circlesurrogacy.com)

We'd love to hear your story and see how we can support you.

This month's episode is the first of it's kind for The Family Circle as we do not have a guest! Our fourth episode features the Marketing team Dynamic Duo - Kristin and Lauren. Kristin is the Director of Marketing here at Circle Surrogacy & Egg Donation and Lauren is the Social Media and & Culture Manager. 

These two jump right in to answering all of our most asked questions about surrogacy. They challenge each other with some tough questions about the cost of surrogacy, vaccination requirements, how we match surrogates and intended parents, and everything in between! 

Throughout the episode, they reference blog posts, website pages, and other podcasts episodes that we've provided links for below:

1. Intended Parent Requirements (blog post) - https://www.circlesurrogacy.com/blog/circle-surrogacy/intended-parents-requirements-for-surrogacy/
2. Surrogate Requirements (website page) - https://www.circlesurrogacy.com/surrogates/surrogate-requirements
3. The Surrogate Panel Episode (podcast) - https://thefamilycircle.buzzsprout.com/1829944/10311923-episode-2-circle-surrogate-panel

Interested in learning more about surrogacy? Check out our website at www.circlesurrogacy.com or visit us on our social channels @circlesurrogacy! 

Thank you for listening!

If you'd like to learn more about surrogacy, you can visit our website. If you'd like to chat with one of our team members, please reach out:

• Become a surrogate (email: applications@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become a parent (email: info@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become an egg donor (email: eggdonation@circlesurrogacy.com)

We'd love to hear your story and see how we can support you.

In our third episode, Circle Surrogacy & Egg Donation President, Sam Hyde, hosts our amazing guest, Brian Rosenberg! Brian is the founder of Gays With Kids which is a continuously growing community of dads, families and industry experts. They provide education, anecdotes and advice for wherever you might be in your journey to fatherhood. 

They chat about Brian's experience growing up during a tumultuous time for gay men surrounding the AIDs crisis, his own HIV status, meeting his husband, and becoming a dad. It's an emotionally charged episode with a beautifully happy ending. You won't want to miss it. 

Brian mentions the clinic partner, RMA CT and Dr. Mark Leondires. RMA CT has recently rebranded and is now called Illume Fertility. You can find more information on Illume here: https://www.illumefertility.com/

Brian also mentions his first blog post called "All You Really Need Is a Suitcase or a Drawer" which you can find here: https://www.gayswithkids.com/the-being-blog/all-you-need-is-a-suitcase-or-a-drawer

To learn more about GWK Academy, you can check out the website here: https://www.gayswithkids.com/gwk-academy?hsCtaTracking=d03be9b9-52a0-4cfa-ac75-f77385808087%7C99dafa53-a596-4c53-ab83-61e15c93ce04

Thank you for listening!

If you'd like to learn more about surrogacy, you can visit our website. If you'd like to chat with one of our team members, please reach out:

• Become a surrogate (email: applications@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become a parent (email: info@circlesurrogacy.com)
• Become an egg donor (email: eggdonation@circlesurrogacy.com)

We'd love to hear your story and see how we can support you.