Episode 11 — Holding The Journey Together: The Emotional Foundation Of A Surrogacy Journey

Kicking off a new series, Kayla and Gabby sit down with Rachel Goldberg, a licensed therapist specializing in infertility and third-party reproduction, for a candid look at the mental health side of surrogacy — a conversation timed to a major shift at RO: every surrogate and intended parent now works with one dedicated therapist from psych evaluation through the entire journey, rather than a one-time screening.

Rachel walks through what a psychological evaluation actually involves and why it exists for both sides, not just to protect intended parents, but to make sure the gestational carrier truly understands what she's taking on, has a stable support system, and is entering the process for the right reasons. She's candid about gray areas that surrogates often worry will disqualify them, like a past prescription for anxiety or depression, explaining that seeking help is a green flag, not a red one, and that transparency lets her team work through most things rather than treat them as automatic dealbreakers.

The conversation moves into territory rarely discussed openly: the emotional whiplash of postpartum after a surrogacy delivery, when a surrogate who has been the center of everyone's attention suddenly goes home without a baby and without the check-ins; how unprocessed grief can surface as guilt or confusion; and the particular heartbreak of surrogates who want to carry again but no longer qualify, medically or otherwise. Rachel offers real guidance for naming and moving through that grief rather than pushing it aside.

In this episode:

• Why RO now assigns every surrogate and intended parent one dedicated therapist for the full journey, not just an intake screening
• What actually happens in a psych evaluation, and why it exists to protect the surrogate as much as the intended parents
• Why a past mental health diagnosis or medication isn't an automatic disqualifier, and how transparency changes the outcome
• Navigating conflict and misunderstanding between surrogates and intended parents through a neutral, professional lens
• The postpartum emotional drop after delivery, and why "closing the chapter" on repeat surrogacy is its own kind of grief

It's a warm, reassuring window into the support system now built into every RO match — a fitting way to open a series about holding the journey together.

Episode 10 — Our Team: Taking This Journey With You: Meet Brittany, Our Surrogate Outreach Coordinator

Kayla is joined by Brittany, Reproductive Options' Surrogate Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, whose path to the role runs through two surrogacy journeys of her own and a genuinely unlikely origin story with Kayla: the two met through a breastmilk donation group, of all things, after Kayla's supply dropped and Brittany, a stranger at the time, pumped for her newborn. Kayla's Reproductive Options branding on her car sparked a conversation, and Brittany, who'd already completed one surrogacy journey elsewhere, eventually matched with RO for her second — a single embryo transfer that split into twins.

Brittany describes her role as the first line of education for women exploring surrogacy, long before intake or an application: answering questions in surrogacy Facebook groups and on social platforms, offering a genuinely supportive presence in spaces she and Kayla both describe as often "muddy," and quietly steering obvious non-matches away out of kindness rather than sales pressure. Her guiding rule, straight from the job description Kayla wrote for the role: no one should walk away from a conversation with that "ick" feeling.

That mission is personal. Brittany's first surrogacy, with a different agency, left her feeling like just another transaction — a rigid, non-negotiable benefits package, lower pay for living outside California, and intended parents asking if she'd do it again before she'd even finished processing the first journey. She swore she was done with surrogacy for good, until meeting Kayla showed her a completely different model: real support with no expectation attached, which ultimately brought her back for a second journey, and now has her considering a third.

The two also dig into the predatory tactics Brittany warns candidates about, like agencies that ask surrogates and intended parents to confirm a match live on the call, on the spot, and "VIP" pay-to-jump-the-list matching packages, contrasting them with RO's no-pressure model, its intentionally small and tightly gated private support group, and the guidebook Brittany hands out to nearly everyone she talks to, surrogate or intended parent.

In this episode:

• How a chance breastmilk donation turned into Brittany's path back to surrogacy with RO
• What outreach and engagement actually looks like day to day, from her "brain book" to social platform check-ins
• Red flags to watch for in agencies and independent journeys alike
• Why RO keeps its surrogate community small and gated on purpose
• Brittany's advice: choose an agency, or a path, for who they are, not just what they offer

Episode 9 — Our Team: Taking This Journey With You: Meet Jenn, Our Intended Parent Intake & Matching Coordinator

Kayla introduces listeners to Jenn, Reproductive Options' Intended Parent Intake and Matching Coordinator, who brings a perspective the rest of the team doesn't have: she's walked the intended-parent path herself, matching with an egg donor after facing diminished ovarian reserve. That lived experience shapes how she leads intended parents through what she calls a process built on both "operational rigor and emotional grounding" — because by the time most people reach surrogacy, they've already been through years of failed cycles, loss, and exhaustion.

Jenn walks through what actually happens on the intended-parent side from the very first intake form: a consultation call to figure out which candidate qualities really matter versus an unrealistic wishlist pulled from clinic guidelines, ASRM standards, Facebook groups, and well-meaning friends all at once; clinic pre-approval of a surrogate's medical records before any match call happens, so nobody's time gets wasted; and full transparency on cost, with an itemized breakdown that includes contingencies most agencies bury or omit entirely, like C-section fees, multiple transfer costs, or a split-twins pregnancy. Kayla and Jenn are candid about why RO deliberately estimates costs on the higher end rather than the lower end many competitors use to look more attractive upfront — the goal is never handing intended parents a surprise bill at the end of the journey.

The conversation also busts a common myth: intended parents often assume they need a surrogate based in California, but Jenn explains that plenty of other states, Illinois and Missouri among them, are just as surrogacy-friendly, and RO evaluates pre-birth order feasibility for each intended parent's specific situation nationwide. They also cover why RO doesn't run a waitlist the way many agencies do, some stretching six to eighteen months or longer: capped caseloads mean intended parents are only onboarded once there's real matching capacity, rather than being strung along with deposits and unqualified candidates just to feel like progress is happening.

In this episode:

• What the intended-parent intake and matching process actually looks like, step by step
• Why RO intentionally estimates costs high instead of low, and what's usually hidden in a lower quote elsewhere
• The California myth, and which other states are quietly great for surrogacy
• Why RO doesn't run an intended-parent waitlist, and what that protects you from
• Why having a team member with her own intended-parent journey changes how that side of the process feels

Coming up next in the Our Team series: the extended professionals who hold every journey together from the outside — escrow, attorneys, clinics, and mental health support.