Facebook currently plays an integral role in many queer people’s journey to parenthood. There are groups for queer intended dads, matching with surrogates or gestational carriers, and reviews on clinics and agencies. However, Facebook and big social media are increasingly unwelcoming for LGBTQ+ people. Perhaps a niche social media site for queer intended parents and current parents could provide the privacy, safety, information, and community that is so needed.

Bonding with your unborn baby is especially challenging for international intended parents. However, we live in the 21st century and survived a global pandemic. Our lives have never been more remote-friendly, so it’s easier than ever for queer IPs to bond with their surrogate and unborn baby from the other side of the world. Read here about technology and options for you to enjoy and be as present as possible during your pregnancy.

In a new series of interviews for BabyMoon Family, I talk with Scott Blair, a married lawyer in New York City who completed his first journey to fatherhood in Mexico with his husband, David. Scott candidly shares details of his journey, what went well, what he would do differently, and what was challenging. If you are an intended father considering a surrogacy journey in Mexico, this article is for you.

After matching and unmatching with an amazing surrogate / gestational carrier (GC), we have rematched! In this article, I review questions to ask potential matches. I also discuss my own personal experience matching with a GC who has an incredibly supportive husband, and how I think all intended parents (IPs) should view their GCs partner on their journey.

This was a hard article to write as my husband and I have had to unmatch with our gestational carrier (GC). Read more to hear about the challenges with newborn insurance and lessons learned that can and should be applied to any surrogacy journey.

Fertility treatments across Europe are expanding with more than 1.1 million treatment cycles done at nearly 1,400 clinics in 2021.  However, fertility treatment availability across Europe varies widely by country.  In this article, I will review European national policies for assisted reproductive technology (ART), including in vitro fertilization (IVF), surrogacy, gamete (egg/sperm) donation, and embryo donation. After this review, one thing should be clear:  Europe is biased towards queer men when it comes to ART, and I will share some thoughts on why this is and what can be done to change it.

A 2020 research study interviewed 22 Swedish gay dads about their experiences with IVF and surrogacy. In this article, I review this study, compare my husband and my journey as Americans living in Sweden, and discuss how Sweden and Europe’s conception of ‘family’ is a bit outdated.

The 2024 BabyMoon Family year in review for metrics, most read articles, and a look ahead to goals for 2025.

Social surrogacy refers to a surrogacy arrangement where the female intended parent (IP) has a gestational carrier (GC) even though the female IP has no medical reason not to carry a pregnancy. A recent opinion piece was published in ASRM’s Fertility and Sterility arguing the pros and cons of having physicians engage and facilitate social surrogacies. In this article, I will review the opinion piece and share my own perspective as a gay man and physician on his own surrogacy journey.

We have officially matched with a gestational carrier! This is a momentous and incredible step in our journey to fatherhood. In this article, I will describe the matching process with our agency, the aspects to a gestational carrier (GC) relationship that are important to us, and how I felt the night before and immediately after our first meeting with the GC.

In this article, I review the opinions of reproductive lawyers from the United States, United Kingdom, and India with regard to surrogacy regulations. How can surrogacy journeys be regulated without being prohibitively restrictive? What happens when a country’s surrogacy laws are too prohibitive? What is the solution to promote ethical surrogacy around the globe?

My mom died this past week. In this article, I reflect on how my estrangement from her has affected me, the development of my ‘logical’ or chosen family, and how I now view becoming a parents myself through IVF and surrogacy.

There is little research on the women who become gestational carriers or surrogates. What is their life like? What is their educational background? Do they work? Do they keep in touch with the intended parents (IPs)? Why do they become gestational carriers? New research attempts to answer these questions, and this BabyMoon Family article reviews the results of the study and discusses implications for future research and policies related to surrogacy.

‘The Assessment’ is a new movie staring Alicia Vikander and Elizabeth Olsen set in a not too distant, dystopian future where having children has striking similarities to what queer intended parents have to go through today. In this article, I discuss these similarities, and how my husband and I experienced the movie while currently on our first journey to fatherhood through IVF and surrogacy. Warning: Movie spoilers ahead.

To any undecided U.S. voters on this eve of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, please don’t hurt queer people who only want to have a family. Don’t hurt people who come from any non-traditional family. Don’t hurt people who form their own chosen family. These families are valid.  They exist, and to deny them that existence like Trump and the Project 2025 conservatives do only serves to hurt America and the world. Please vote for Kamala Harris for president, and if you have any reservations, please read this article.

Underrepresented but growing. This summarizes the current state of medical research on queer family building from the largest U.S. conference on assisted reproduction. The American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) had its annual conference in Denver Colorado from October 19th to the 23rd, and there was an abstract presented that reviewed the last decade of research on LGBTQ+ family building. In this week’s BabyMoon Family article, I review the abstract and share a summary of some previous BabyMoon Family articles on other scientific publications related to rainbow families.

I love hearing about queer people creating rainbow families in any ethical way. This week, I read an article where a gay couple in Pennsylvania are pursuing their dream of fatherhood through ‘non-genetic surrogacy.’ This term meant they were leveraging embryo donation to have children. This got me thinking: How common is embryo donation? How accessible is it for queer IPs? Would my husband and I donate our unused embryos? Read more to find out.

The Dehli High Court has granted permission for parents of a deceased man to use his sperm to have a grandchild. Should this type of posthumous procreation be allowed? What are the ethical standards that we should have for this type of procreation? How could this impact assisted reproductive technology (ART) for queer intended parents? Read more to find out.

Argentina has launched an investigation in the practice of surrogacy an other assisted reproductive technology (ART) in the country, especially by foreign intended parents (IPs). In this article, I go over the current state of Argentinian regulations for ART and surrogacy, and I discuss the findings from the ongoing investigation. Will Argentina follow in the footsteps of Thailand and ban surrogacy for international IPs? How can you ensure you are embarking on an ethical surrogacy journey abroad? Read this article to find out more.

Read all about my experience of 'The Modern Family Show,' a unique rainbow family building conference in London, UK.