Gift of Parenthood
The Journal
Evidence-based reporting and reflection on fertility, adoption, surrogacy, LGBTQ+ family building, and the financial reality of growing a family.
October 5, 2026 · 40 stories · 7 topics
The Lead Story
One More Little Hand to Hold: Sandy and Fidel's IVF Hope
Six years after IVF brought them their daughter Amelia, this family is trying one more time.
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You don't have to carry the cost alone.
Gift of Parenthood awards a $20,000 Family Fund grant each cycle and helps families fundraise for IVF, surrogacy, and adoption. If this is your journey, there's a place to start.
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Your Fertility Benefit Is Up for Renewal. Say Something.
Your employer is deciding your fertility coverage for next year. Here's how that decision actually gets made — and how to get your voice into the room.
Your Benefits Cover the Embryos, Not the Grief
Your plan pays for the transfer. It doesn't pay for the week after. Here's what to ask for — and where to look while you wait.
Your Kid Will Learn About Your Family Somewhere
Some states are pulling LGBTQ+ family stories out of schools. Here's how to make sure your kid still sees your family reflected back.
An Ectopic Pregnancy Doesn't Care What Your State Law Says
Illinois protects pregnancy complication care. One woman says she still couldn't get treated for an ectopic. Here's what fertility patients should ask now.
What Happens When You Finally Say It Out Loud
Silence feels safer. But the people who broke theirs found something on the other side — and a way to make their story count.
What Happens When the Law Says Yes and the Hospital Says Wait
Ectopic pregnancy is a real risk after IVF and IUI. Here's what it is, why hours matter, and what to ask your clinic before you're in an ER.
How Much Does IVF Cost? A Line-by-Line Breakdown
Clinics quote a base cycle. Families pay for medications, ICSI, genetic testing, freezing, storage, and transfers on top of it. Here is what each piece actually costs in 2026, with the source named for every figure.
Fertility Grants for IVF: The Programs That Actually Exist
Most "IVF grants" lists are half-dead links and no eligibility rules. Here are programs we confirmed on their own websites, what each one offers, who they are open to, and an honest look at what grants can realistically cover.
After NIAW: What to Actually Do With That Feeling
NIAW lit a fire. Here's a concrete roadmap for turning that energy into advocacy that actually moves bills and policy.
IVF Loans and Fertility Financing: An Honest Comparison
Financing isn't wrong — but the gap between the best and worst way to borrow the same $25,000 is routinely $15,000 or more. Here's what each option actually costs, in plain arithmetic, and where the traps are.
Tommy and Cody Are Ready to Be Dads
A dating app with the distance filter off led Tommy to Cody, and eight years later, to a shared dream of becoming dads. Here is their surrogacy journey, in their own words.
How to Push Your Employer Toward Better Fertility Benefits
Open enrollment is coming. Here's how to ask your employer for fertility coverage that actually works — and what to look for beyond a dollar cap.
How Much Does Adoption Cost? A Real Breakdown of Every Path
Adoption is not one price. It is four prices attached to four different paths, and the least expensive of them is the one almost nobody hears about first. Here are the real numbers, and the five ways families actually pay.
How to Turn Your Infertility Story Into Advocacy — Quietly
Advocacy doesn't require a megaphone. Here's how to use your infertility story to push for change without going fully public.
How Much Does Surrogacy Cost? Where the Money Actually Goes
One agency quotes $100,000. Another quotes $250,000. Both are telling the truth. Here is what sits inside each line of a surrogacy budget, what the quotes usually exclude, and how to compare two of them honestly.
Your First Time Lobbying for Fertility Coverage, Explained
A plain guide to turning your fertility experience into policy action — even if you've never emailed a legislator in your life.
Awareness Was Never the Goal. Coverage Is.
The infertility community is done just raising awareness. Here's what the shift toward year-round policy pressure actually means for your coverage.
Why Your Infertility Story Might Be the Most Political Thing You Own
Your story isn't just yours. Here's how lived experience moves policy — and how to share without reliving the worst of it.
The Gap Between What the Law Allows and What You Receive
Legal protection for emergency pregnancy care doesn't guarantee you'll get it. What fertility patients should know about ectopic pregnancy and delays.
Eight Years In: When Infertility Becomes Who You Are
When trying to conceive stretches into years, infertility stops feeling like something you have and starts feeling like who you are. Here's how people find their way back.
When a Fertility Coverage Bill Dies, Who Pays for It
A fertility insurance bill just died in Minnesota. Here's what that actually costs families, and what you can do while lawmakers catch up.
Minnesota's IVF Mandate Just Failed. Now What?
Minnesota's IVF insurance mandate died in the Senate. Here's what that actually means for patients — and what to do if your state is next.
Why Infertility Stays Secret, and What the Secrecy Costs
Most people don't hide infertility out of shame. They hide it because telling someone requires energy they don't have. Here's what that silence costs.
Your Zip Code Still Decides What IVF Costs You
State fertility mandates are uneven and unpredictable. Here's how to figure out your real coverage — and what to do if you don't have any.
What to Ask HR Before Your Fertility Benefit Renews
Your fertility benefit gets renegotiated every year, usually without you. Here's how to read the fine print — and what to say when it falls short.
Teddie and Jorge: Fifteen Years Together, One Hope Ahead
Teddie and Jorge have known each other for fifteen years. With Teddie's window closing, they are raising funds for IVF cryopreservation to keep the door to parenthood open.
Open Enrollment Is Your Leverage Moment: A Fertility Benefits Checklist
Open enrollment is the one window where your employer is actually listening. Here's how to use it to push for fertility coverage that works.
What Your Fertility Benefit Actually Covers, and How to Find Out
Your benefits summary says "fertility coverage." That could mean $50,000 or almost nothing. Here's how to tell the difference before you enroll.
Your Story Is a Policy Tool, Even If You Whisper It
You don't need a perfect ending or a big platform. Here's how personal infertility stories actually shape laws — and how to share yours safely.
When the Only Clinic in Town Isn't a Clinic
A free ultrasound isn't the same as prenatal care. Here's how to vet a reproductive health provider when local options are thin.
You Want to Help Change Fertility Policy. Here's Where to Start.
Feel angry about insurance gaps and bad fertility policy? Here's how to channel it into action that lawmakers actually notice.
Browse by topic
Every story we publish is filed under one of these areas. Tap a topic to see all of its articles.
Adoption
1 storyDomestic, international, and foster-to-adopt pathways.
Finding Care
Coming soonHow to find and choose the right fertility clinic — what to look for, questions to ask, and how to read success rates — with vetted providers in our directory.
Grants & Financing
15 storiesGrants, loans, insurance, and employer benefits.
IVF & Fertility
3 storiesAssisted reproduction, IVF, IUI, and fertility treatment.
LGBTQ+ Family Building
2 storiesResources for LGBTQ+ parents-to-be.
Mental Health
6 storiesFertility-related mental health and postpartum care.
Podcast
Coming soonThe Gift of Parenthood Podcast — short conversations with our community on fertility, adoption, surrogacy, and family building.
Policy & Research
12 storiesNew studies, guidelines, and policy updates.
Pregnancy & Infant Loss
Coming soonSupport and information after loss.
Surrogacy
1 storyGestational carriers, legal considerations, and clinical care.