Episodes
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Donor Conception Awareness Day: How to Join the Movement
International Donor Conception Awareness Day (IDCAD) is coming up on April 27, 2025, and in this episode, I’m sharing how you can get involved in this growing global movement. Whether you're a parent, a donor-conceived person, a professional, or simply an ally, there’s a meaningful way for you to...
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Eggonomics, Egg Donation Research with Dr. Diane Tober
In this special episode, fertility counselor Jana Rupnow invites Dr. Diane Tober, a medical anthropologist and associate professor at the University of Alabama, to discuss the intricate dynamics of egg donation. Dr. Tober delves into her research on egg donors and the global market for human…
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An Egg Donor's Medical Scare Prompts Her to Look for Recipient Parents
In this heartfelt episode, I speak with Angela, an egg donor who shares her medical scare that could impact the lives of the children born from her donations. As an egg donor beginning in 2010, with children herself, she share her challenges with anonymity and the feelings she has had since...
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Dr. Jill Maron on Donor Conception and Genetic Testing
Host Jana Rupnow engages in a compelling conversation with Dr. Jill Maron, Chief of Pediatrics at Women's and Infant Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics at Brown University. Dr. Maron shares her unique perspective as both a neonatologist and a donor-conceived individual, offering a deeply…
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Lindsay B on same donor siblings, DNA testing your child and more (Part 2)
Lindsay, a donor-conceived individual. continues to share her perspective on International Donor Conception Awareness Day, 2024. Learn one person's perspective on controversial issues like donor anonymity, DNA testing, health information, and emotional ramifications. She shares how genetics...
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Lindsay B. Returns with New Narrative (Part1)
It's the 4th annual International Donor Conception Awareness Day and in line with the theme, "Valuing the Voices of Donor Conceived People" I welcome Lindsay again, a donor-conceived individual, to share her profound story of self-discovery and conception. Lindsay talks about her journey and the...
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Known Sperm Donation Program is Finally Available
The future of donor conception is here! This episode features my special guest Danielle of The Seed Scout. She shares her and her wife's path to parenthood, including the challenges they faced with sperm banks. Danielle and her wife's path to parenthood took them through the maze of sperm banks,...
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A Donor Conception Musical
After taking some time off for several positive life transitions in 2023, Jana returns to her podcast with a bang! To kick off season 4, she's chatting with the multi-talented Erin Maya – actress, producer, composer, and the brains behind The Complete Picture Musical, a groundbreaking show about...
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Overcoming Secrets
April 27, 2023 is International Donor Conception Awareness Day. Link to IDCAD2023: https://donorconceptionawarenessday.com/ Link to educational courses for parents and CEUs for professionals CEUS: https://three-makes-baby-preparation-and-parenting.teachable.com/p/home Fertility challenges can…
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Anonymous Egg Donor Wants to Be Known
"Alot of times, donors are just viewed as genetic material." Melissa, an egg donor for two years, shares her experience with anonymous donation. Now that she has children she wonders what happened with her donations. She wonders if the kids are alright. She expresses her willingness to be open…
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Recipient Parent and Her ”Unknown” Sperm Donor Meet
Ever wondered what it would be like to meet the donor you used to conceive? A recipient parent, Romi, and her previously unknown sperm donor, meet and share their experience with Jana Rupnow on this episode of Three Makes Baby.
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Dave Berry: Re-making Identity after Discovering Hard Truths about your Biological Origins
Dave Berry, featured on Good Morning America and the New York Times, bravely shares a difficult discovery about his biological origins. His biological father was his mom's fertility doctor, who used his sperm without her consent to conceive him. There are some even darker details in this episode,...
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Ally’s Take on Neverending New Siblings
In this episode of @threemakesbaby, she shares how her relationship with a growing number of half-siblings has evolved over time, including some of the joys and challenges. Ally shares what it's like to learn of new siblings and how she copes with not knowing how many more are out there. We also...
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Lesbian and Donor Conceived, a New Perspective
Jana Rupnow talks to the woman behind @satricaldonorconception, a lesbian and donor conceived adult. We discussed one of her posts that caused a stir in the LGBTQ community and talk about some of the complex issues about family building using purchased donor gametes. She confronts the idea of a…
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Stacy’s Success Story
I spoke with the founder of RISE Collaborative, @stacytaubman, about her late discovery of being donor conceived. She is in contact with her biological father, a prominent plastic surgeon, and writing a book about her experience. If you haven't told your child, adult or younger, if they are donor...
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Kiara Raised by Single Mom by Choice
Kiara shares her experienced being raised by a single mom and what it was like being told about her story from the beginning. She found her donor as an adult and has a relationship with siblings conceived using the same donor. She is open and willing to share her story with others. Connect with…
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Emma, New Zealand native, embodies ”Curiosity, Perseverance and Happiness”
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.
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Peter, author of Uprooted, shares his personal story
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...
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Tiffany Loses Three Dads, Advocates after Being Cut-off by Biological Father
Tiffany shares her story of paternal loss, how it has shaped her life and how it fuels her advocacy work for donor conceived people.
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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.
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Jana‘s Reaction to Donor 9623
Jana's Reaction to Donor 9623 MUST Listen Dov Fox (Author, Narrator), Audible Originals (Publisher) 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…
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Romi and Britt (Two Mom Family) Seek to Understand Their Child‘s Perspective
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....
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Olivia Montuschi Shares a Lifetime of Experience as a Parent through Donor Conception
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...
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Educating Children about the Different Ways Families are Made
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...
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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. Follow @janarupnowlpc…
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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...
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Announcing International Donation Conception Awareness Day- April 27
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...
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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…
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Dr. Diane Tober Conducts the First Long-term Research on Egg Donors
Dr. Tober is an assistant professor at the University of California San Francisco Institute for Health and Aging. She's also faculty at Bixby Center for Reproductive Health in the Department of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine. Dr. Tober is conducting the largest mixed method study on…
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Hannah's Resilency After Learning She Was Donor Conceived in a Hurtful Way
Hannah's resiliency after learning she was donor conceived in a hurtful way Her parents waited too long to tell her the truth. Hannah’s parents intended to tell her about her donor conception but never found the right moment. Then it was too late. Someone else who knew the secret, revealed the...
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Eric Shares His Experience Raising His Donor Conceived Children into Teen Years
Eric is a father to two teenagers who were donor conceived and started a blog 15 years ago called "Life as Dad to Donor Insemination (DI) Kids." His experience is invaluable to younger parents just starting their journey. Eric has a child-centered focus and shares his experience with dc feelings,...
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BONDING WITH BABY VISUALIZATION from Three Makes Baby Audiobook
Enhance your bonding and attachment to your baby by using this visualization before or during pregnancy. Three Makes Baby Audiobook, Exercise #12, is narrated by the author, Jana Rupnow, and will help you to overcome any obstacles making it more challenging for you to bond with your baby.
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Kyle, Raised by a Single Mom Always Knew about his Donor Conception
Raised by a single mom, Kyle shares his experiences about knowing that he was sperm donor conceived at an early age. We do a deep dive into several important topics, like, telling your child about their conception and avoiding the learned shame that a stigma can cause in family life. Parents...
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Renee & Tom- How Infertilty Impacts Their Relationship
Renee and Tom manage grief as a couple on their long road of fertility treatments.
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Parents of DC Children Talk about the Hard Stuft- Part 2
Jana Rupnow collaborated with FIVE parents of donor conceived children from FOUR countries (🏴 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇺🇸) to bring you a thoughtful dialogue about difficult topics surrounding donor conception. PART 2 Five parents of dc children ranging in age from several months old to fifteen...
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Talking All About Sperm & Testing with Manager of Yo Sperm
Male factor infertility contributes to approx 30-40% of all fertility related problems. Unfortunately, azoospermia (zero sperm) is a condition that is becoming more common. . So guys, I advise you to test your fertility early. Yes, before you’re even thinking of a family. This kit by @yospermtest...
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Parents of Donor Conceived Kids Talk about the Hard Stuff- Part 1
Jana Rupnow collaborated with FIVE parents of donor conceived children from FOUR countries (🏴 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇺🇸) to bring you a thoughtful dialogue about difficult topics surrounding donor conception. These “fantastic five” parents, @sarahbethhumphreys, @definingmum…
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Vince Speaks Openly About Male Infertility & Lead a Support Group for Other Men
Fifteen years ago, Vince received news from a doctor that he had “complete azoospermia” and he describes how confusing and shocking that moment was. He openly speaks about infertility to help other men with issues that impacts men with male factor infertility like masculinity, passing on the…
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Brittany's Discovers Her Donor Keeps Donating Beyond Recommended Limit
Brittany used an egg donor to conceive and bravely shared her feelings about letting go of the biological child she couldn’t have. She’s back to share an update and some frustrating information about the egg donation process that she learned during her pregnancy. Donors are supposed to be limited...
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Emma, a Donor Conceived Adult & Triplet of a Single, Gay Mom Shares Thoughts about Her "Biological Father"
Emma, a Donor Conceived Adult & Triplet of a Single, Gay Mom Shares Thoughts about Her "Biological Father" Emma is donor conceived and knew about her conception "before she understood." Her "superhero" mom used a donor to conceive and had triplets. She shares how she wondered about her biological...
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Gail, a Mom Via Sperm Donation, Advocates for Change in the Field
Gail, a mom through sperm donation, advocates for regulation and legislation in donor conception. Gail lives in Australia and was appalled to find out her daughter has over 100 half-siblings. She shares her daughter's feelings about donor conception as well as some unpleasant truths about the...
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Sheri, Author of You Were Meant for Me, Shares Her Story of Embryo Adoption
I speak with Sheri, the author of @youweremeantformebook. She shares her story of embryo adoption and what inspired her to write a children’s book for her son. The children’s book about embryo adoption is also available through Amazon. (Please excuse the sound quality. Sheri’s microphone was...
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Kerry Pursues Embryo Adoption & Open Relationship
Kerri and Chris independently pursue embryo adoption after failed fertility treatments with their biological embryos. Kerry explains the process of independent or self-directed adoption, which is adopting without the help of agency facilitation. Kerrie is open with their child and has an open...
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Alex Accidentialy Discovered Her Donor Conception and has Advice for Parents
I am honored to share another episode with a thoughtful person, Alex. She shares how she discovered her parent's secret of using a sperm donor and how it has impacted her for the last two years.
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Jen Wonders if Adoption is Right after a Traumatic Pregnancy
Jen wonders if adoption is right for her after a high risk, traumatic pregnancy with triplets. 🚨 Trigger alert: 🚨This episode explores miscarriage, trauma and grief and some extremely difficult decisions about pregnancy. Adoption trauma is also explored. 🚨Spoiler alert🚨:I followed up with Jen...
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Nikki Has Extra Challenges with Egg Donation as Person of Color
Infertility affects people of all races but women of color have extra challenges in the US. Nikki shares the added challenges she has experienced with infertility as a person of color. From the social silence to the limited selection of donors, third party reproduction is even more difficult as a...
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Esther, Happily Raised by Two Moms, Has Strong Desire to Find Her Biological Father
Esther was raised by two moms and always knew they used an anonymous sperm donor to conceive. She grew up with other families like hers and always felt that being donor-conceived was normal. From a young age, she also wondered about her biological father and had a strong desire to search for him....
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Ryan Shares Why She Chose to be a Known Egg Donor
Ryan chose to be a known egg donor through a freeze and share program in SF. She shares why it's important for her to be known to the recipient parents as well as her desire that at least one of the recipient parents also be black. Ryan's approach to egg donation will hopefully be the wave of the...
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Tia & Her Husband Moved on from Trying to Be Parents & Are Living Boldy as a Family of Two
Tia shares that, "After five incredibly taxing years, searching for the right combination of medication, lifestyle and luck, we are walking away from the path to become parents. It was always in our hearts to have a biological child, together, or not at all. We were never open to the idea of...
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