Fertility psychotherapist, Jana Rupnow, interviews parents, donor conceived individuals and professionals about the challenges and dilemmas of assisted reproductive technology baby-making and the expect-able tensions between positive and negative feelings that come along the way when, instead of baby makes three; three makes baby.
Episodes
Sunday Mar 20, 2022
Emma, New Zealand native, embodies ”Curiosity, Perseverance and Happiness”
Sunday Mar 20, 2022
Sunday Mar 20, 2022
Emma, New Zealand native, embodies her bio father's motto "Curiosity, Perseverance and Happiness" as she shares her story of being donor conceived and the reason for her advocacy work.
Wednesday Feb 02, 2022
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Peter, author of Uprooted, shares his personal story
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Uprooted offers a personal view of the consequences of secrecy in the practice of donor conception. A prominent CEO, Peter Boni, uncovers a family secret that both validates and disrupts his life. Combing his extensive research of the early practice of donor insemination with his own genetic discoveries, Boni reveals the questions, uncertainties and confusion he faced, as well as the exhilaration of connecting with genetic kin.
Boni provides a detailed history of the practice of donor conception, walking us through the social, legal and religious climate that encouraged secrets in reproductive technology and stunted the advancement of our social narratives.
Secrets are no match for personal determination and the universal need for self-discovery, no matter what age. Boni doesn’t stop his search until his deceased parents’ secret comes to light.
Tuesday Nov 23, 2021
Tiffany Loses Three Dads, Advocates after Being Cut-off by Biological Father
Tuesday Nov 23, 2021
Tuesday Nov 23, 2021
Tiffany shares her story of paternal loss, how it has shaped her life and how it fuels her advocacy work for donor conceived people.
Sunday Nov 14, 2021
Sunday Nov 14, 2021
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.
Tuesday Oct 19, 2021
Jana‘s Reaction to Donor 9623
Tuesday Oct 19, 2021
Tuesday Oct 19, 2021
Jana's Reaction to Donor 9623
MUST Listen
When scores of aspiring parents turned to the fertility industry to start families, they chose a remarkable young man to be the biological father of their children. He was a music prodigy and gifted athlete who had a genius IQ, movie star looks, and perfect health.
Except it was all a lie.
In this tour de force of investigative reporting, host Dov Fox unravels the case of Donor 9623, examining the complex forces and competing agendas behind the biggest reproductive hoax of our time. The story is dark, propulsive - and in an unexpected turn - hopeful. This Audible Original exposes the billion-dollar industry that creates hundreds of thousands of babies every year, through unprecedented access to its key players - and to Donor 9623 himself.
The 8-episode series raises hard questions about what we want when we set out to have kids - and what happens when we don’t get it. It places us in the grip of life lived with crushing uncertainty. And unsettles our deepest understanding of what it means to be human.
Saturday Oct 09, 2021
Romi and Britt (Two Mom Family) Seek to Understand Their Child‘s Perspective
Saturday Oct 09, 2021
Saturday Oct 09, 2021
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.
Sunday Jun 27, 2021
Sunday Jun 27, 2021
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.
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Educating Children about the Different Ways Families are Made
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Monday Jun 21, 2021
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
Sunday May 02, 2021
Inconceivedable, Part 2
Sunday May 02, 2021
Sunday May 02, 2021
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.
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Hosted by Jana Rupnow, LPC, Music by Kevin McCloud