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.
August 17, 2026 · 40 stories · 6 topics
The Lead Story
Minnesota Said No to Fertility Coverage. Now What?
A state senate vote in May became another reminder that your zip code still decides what your family costs.
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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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When Your Family of Origin Isn't the Family Holding You
The people who show up at 2am after a failed cycle aren't always the ones you grew up with. That counts as family too.
What Chosen Family Teaches Anyone Building One
If your path to parenthood looks different from what you grew up picturing, here's what decades of LGBTQ+ family-building can teach you.
When Your Clinic Says 'AI-Assisted,' What Should You Actually Ask?
AI is showing up in fertility clinics and benefits programs. Here's how to tell if it's making your care better — or just faster.
Amber and Luis: Two Therapists Ready to Become Parents
Two therapists who have spent their careers caring for children are now hoping, through IVF, to welcome one of their own. Meet Amber and Luis.
Why FDA Leadership Shifts Matter to Fertility Patients
FDA leadership changes get framed as an abortion story. For anyone building a family through fertility treatment, the stakes are wider than that.
Your Employer's Fertility Benefit: How to Read It, How to Push It
Fertility benefits at work are finally mainstream. Here's how to tell if yours is real, and what to ask for if it isn't.
What to Do With the Anger After Infertility Awareness Week
NIAW is over, but the fight isn't. A practical guide to turning your story into pressure that actually moves policy in May 2026 and beyond.
Mental Health Belongs Inside Your Fertility Benefits, Not Bolted On
Fertility coverage is expanding fast. Mental health support hasn't kept up — and that gap is where people fall through.
After the Hard-Won Pregnancy: What Postpartum Really Asks of You
You spent years getting pregnant. Now you're home with a baby and no one's checking on you. Here's what postpartum after fertility actually looks like.
Things People Said While I Was Losing My Baby
Nobody means to hurt you. That's the hardest part. Here's what people said during my miscarriage, and the one message that actually helped.
When Infertility Becomes Who You Are
After years of treatments, infertility stops being something you have and starts feeling like something you are. Here's how to find your way back.
Journey to Baby Kerns: Kevin and Rachel's Path to Parenthood
Kevin and Rachel Kerns have dreamed of parenthood since they were young. After IUI cycles and a heartbreaking IVF retrieval, they are preparing to try again.
The Grief Nobody Sees Is the One You Carry on the Good Days
You smiled through the baby shower. You double-tapped the announcement. Here is a note for the woman holding it together for everyone but herself.
Infertility Is Relentless. So Is Hope.
Building a family shouldn't mean carrying it alone. Here's a free way to share your story and let your people show up for you.
15 Outrageous Things People Say to Their Infertile Loved Ones (and What They Should Say Instead)
Well-meaning comments can cut deep. Fifteen things infertile couples hear all the time, and what to say instead.
Nobody Asks the Dad How He's Doing
He answers for both of them because he thinks he's supposed to. But he's grieving too, quietly, in the space between "we're fine" and the truth.
What Cape Verde at the World Cup Taught Me About Building Families
Cape Verde, a nation of 500,000, just advanced in their first World Cup. As a Cape Verdean woman, here's why that hit me in my soul.
When a Reporter Questioned a Father's Place at His Child's Birth
A French sports reporter suggested a World Cup mattered more than a father being present for his baby's birth. The response was swift, and revealing.
What a Father Eats, Drinks, and Feels May Shape His Future Children
Scientists are finding that a father's diet, stress, and habits may leave marks on sperm that influence his children's health and development.
Male Factor Infertility Is Half the Story. Why Don't We Talk About It?
Male factor accounts for roughly half of infertility cases. So why is it still the part of the story nobody wants to tell out loud?
To the Husband Who Keeps Saying He's Fine
He says he's fine. He carries the appointments, the bills, the bad news, and the silence. Here's what that costs, and what helps.
"Unexplained Infertility" Isn't a Diagnosis. It's a Shrug.
"Unexplained infertility" is what a clinic writes when the workup comes back clean. It's a label, not a reason. And it shouldn't be a green light for $30,000 in treatment.
To the Dad Who's Been Waiting: You're Not Alone
Fifteen years. That's how long I waited to hold my daughter. If you're a man in the middle of this fight, this one is for you.
Our Q2 Grant Cycle Closes June 30. Apply.
Up to $20,000 in fertility grants this cycle. Open to IVF, IUI, surrogacy, and adoption journeys. Deadline: June 30, 2026.
Aetna's IVF Settlement Is a Win for LGBTQ+ Families. The Fight Isn't Over.
Aetna just settled a national class action over denying IVF to same-sex couples. If you were affected in California, you have until June 29, 2026 to file.
Fifteen Years of Waiting, and the Day Sofia Arrived
I spent fifteen years looking for proof I would be a mother one day. Then Sofia came. This is why I started Gift of Parenthood.
Your Story Is Evidence: How Infertility Advocacy Actually Moves Policy
A state bill just failed. A federal rule hangs in limbo. Here's what one month of organized advocacy actually looks like — and your place in it.
AI Is Already in Your Fertility Care. Here's What to Ask About It.
AI is showing up in fertility clinics and apps. Here's what it actually does well, where it falls short, and the questions worth asking your provider.
Eight Years of Silence: Why Telling Your Infertility Story Changes Something
Silence protects no one. Here's what happens — for you, and for everyone behind you — when you finally start talking about it.
What a $20,000 Grant Actually Changes
Behind every IVF cycle is a couple doing math at midnight. Here's what financial help really gives a family in the middle of it.
Your Fertility Benefit Covers IVF. What About the 2am Panic?
Employers expanded fertility coverage. They forgot the part where treatment quietly wrecks your mental health. Here's what to ask for.
Browse by topic
Every story we publish is filed under one of these areas. Tap a topic to see all of its articles.
Adoption
Coming soonDomestic, 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
10 storiesGrants, loans, insurance, and employer benefits.
IVF & Fertility
5 storiesAssisted reproduction, IVF, IUI, and fertility treatment.
LGBTQ+ Family Building
3 storiesResources for LGBTQ+ parents-to-be.
Mental Health
15 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
6 storiesNew studies, guidelines, and policy updates.
Pregnancy & Infant Loss
1 storySupport and information after loss.
Surrogacy
Coming soonGestational carriers, legal considerations, and clinical care.