Tiffany shares her story of paternal loss, how it has shaped her life and how it fuels her advocacy work for donor conceived people.
November 14, 2021
Freya (Unicornthebook) is Donor Conceived & Raising a Donor Conceived Daughter, Two Moms
Freya shares her experience being raised in a two mom family, connecting with her biological father and parenting her donor conceived daughter, Birdie, with her wife.
Romi and Britt, two moms through sperm donation, share their journey to better understanding their child's potential perspective. Britt shares how she has worked through her vulnerabilities as the non-genetic parent and has a totally different view from when they first embarked on this journey. Romi's lived personal experience with non-genetic family life, gives her an inside understanding of the irreplaceable role of parenting.
Update since the recording: They connected with their child's donor.
Olivia Montuschi, co-founder of the Donor Conception Network in England, has over 35 years of experience as a parent to donor-conceived children and is the author of several resources for parents.
Olivia shares her personal story as well as the story of how the @d_c_network was born.
In this episode, she shares valuable perspectives from her interviews with donor conceived teenagers. Their perspectives were included in her latest book, Continuing the Conversation which is available for purchase through @d_c_network.
Below are my comments on her latest publication:
Continuing the Conversation, Talking with Young People and Adults 12 yrs and Up, is an invaluable resource for families with donor conceived teenagers and young adults. Applying over 35 years of experience as a parents of DC children plus interviews with 21 donor conceived teenagers, Olivia Montuschi and Jane Ellis provide readers “a look ahead” at this crucial stage of child development. Montuschi and Ellis describe common challenges and mistakes that parents of teens make, while navigating the shifting and sometimes disorienting dynamics in the parent child relationship. In addition to learning how to engage in conversation with their teens during time when teens are naturally pulling away, readers will learn more about unique issues donor conceived adolescents face as they search for genetic kin, take a DNA test for the first time or begin dating.
Continuing the Conversation is an answer to the most common question parents ask me, “What will my child feel?” DC teens and adults offer direct advice to parents, on topics such as privacy, supporting their search and having uncomfortable conversations with them. As pioneers and leaders in the DC community, the DC network continues to address real issues, normalizing the challenges teens with disconnected genetic ties may face, so they don’t have to face them alone, but with their parents by their side.
Jana M. Rupnow, LPC
Author, Three Makes Baby-
How to Parent Your Donor Conceived Child
Guest, Rachel Ginnochio, a sexuality and family building educator, writer and consultant shares her work to develop education curriculum to be inclusive of the many ways that families are made. Rachel is writing a book for middle grade readers about human reproduction and family formation and is writing comprehensive lessons for high school students that go beyond basic sex education.
Rachel's work can be found under the name Roads to Family at www.roadstofamily.com.
Music by Kevin McCleod, Half-Mystery, Podcast Host: Jana Rupnow
May 2, 2021
Inconceivedable, Part 2
Bee of @inconceivedable tells the rest of her story. In 2020, Bee opened her 23and me account again to discovery 12 half-siblings. In this episode, Bee shares her raw emotions as she unravels a secret that re-defined her and her relationships. Follow @inconceivedable.
Receive updates for parent education workshops.
Buy Three Makes Baby Audio Book on sale until May 6.
Hosted by Jana Rupnow, LPC, Music by Kevin McCloud
April 30, 2021
Inconceivedable, Part 1
"Science is how I get pregnant." "Bee" of @Inconceivedable, recounts how her experiences with infertility lead her to an unexpected discovery about her family. A curious call makes her wonder if her dad was a sperm donor.
Three Makes Baby is hosted by Jana Rupnow, music by Kevin McCloud
Buy Three Makes Baby Audio Book
Follow Jana on social media @janarupnowlpc
April 27, 2021 is the first International Donor Conception Awareness Day. Twenty-five partners around the world collaborated to bring you this day and the intentions behind it. Go to donorconceptionawarenessday.com for more and participate on the day by posting on your social media accounts on April 27, 2021. Listen to an interview with Jana Rupnow and Michelle of Donor Concierge to learn more about this new awareness day.
See the partners below
Life_DI_Dad
Donor Conception and Beyond
Half of Me Podcast
Inconceivedable
Defining Mum
Your IVF Abroad
You Look Like Me
Intentions of #IDCAD
- The day is intended to shed a light on families made in different ways due to medical infertility, chromosomal impairments, childhood or young adult cancer, and various other reasons and lifting shame and secrecy around the topic.
- The day is about raising awareness about donor conceived individual’s experiences across the lifespan, including the topic of access to genetic information and lifting shame and secrecy around the topic.
- The day is intended to raise awareness about LGBTQ family building
- The day is about raising awareness about donor’s rights to receive accurate medical information and education on the impact of donor conceived triad across the lifespan.
March 12, 2021
Did Nikita Find Her Donor?
Nikita was my very first guest on the podcast. She came on to spread the word about her search to find her sperm donor in 30 days. Nikita was raised by a single mom who chose sperm donation to have her. The donation was out of the ordinary: a 50-year-old anonymous man donated sperm in the UK before 1997.
Nikita shares what she has discovered in the last 16 months. Her search led to an unexpected surprise!
Listen to see if you can help her find the man that helped conceive her. If you have any information to share, email nikitatrue1997@gmail.com.
Music: Half Mystery by Kevin Macleod
