Creating a Family: Talk about Infertility and Adoption

I’ve always been fascinated with large, very large, families. Join us today when we talk with three moms of large (8+) families that have been formed in part by adoption. How in the world do they do it?

Should you tell others that you are struggling with trying to conceive? Should you disclose that you are using donor egg or sperm? How much information should you share with your child about his conception? Join our guest Carol Fulwiler Jones, infertility therapist and author of Hopeful Heart Peaceful Mind: Managing Infertility

Pregnancies of triplets, quadruplets, and above carry risks for the mother and babies, so some couples choose to reduce their multiple pregnancy down to twins. What is involved with this procedure, who is eligible, and what issues should be considered before proceeding? Our guest will be Dr. Mark I. Evans, one of the leading authorities on fetal reduction in the US, and professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.

Over 1000 children were in the process of being adopted from Haiti. Tens of thousands more may be orphaned by the earthquake. Is it possible to adopt these children. What will happen to the Haitian orphans. Join our guests from the US State Department, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Holt International, and Dillon International

How can white parents raise children of color in this race conscious world? Our guest to talk about this topic will be Marguerite Wright, psychologist for the Center for the Vulnerable Child at Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland, and author of I’m Chocolate, You’re Vanilla: Raising Healthy Black and Biracial Children in a Race-Conscious World

The vast majority of infertility patients that have left over frozen embryos prefer to donate them to research, but this option is difficult to accomplish. We will discuss how to donate to research, what research facilities are accepting, and what type of research benefits from human embryos. Our guests will be Dr. Jones is the Director of the Stem Cell Laboratory at the WiCell Research Institute, Professor of Ob/Gyn at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a board certified High-complexity Clinical Laboratory Director (HCLD). He derived the first five hES stem cell lines; and Dr. Renee Reijo Pera, director of human embryonic stem cell research and education for the Stanford University Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.

What medical conditions should you be concerned about in an adoption referral or a potential match. How can you interpret the information in making this decision? Our guests to talk about medical issues with adopted kids are Dr. Gail Farber, Co-Director International Adoption Health Program at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and an adoptive mom; and Dr. Anne Walker pediatrician specializing in adoption and adoptive mom of three.

Infertility can affect all the relationships in your life, none more than the relationship with your spouse. How can you balance fertility treatment and marriage and come out with a stronger relationship. Join our guest, Kristen Magnacca, author of Love and Infertility and Girlfriend to Girlfriend: A Fertility Companion.

Can acupuncture and other forms of Traditional Chinese Medicine increase your odds of success with IVF or with other types of fertility treatment? What does the latest research show? Our guests are two of the leading researchers in the use of acupuncture with IVF: Dr. Paul C Magarelli and Dr Diane Cridennda.

How much of our children’s personality traits, temperament, talents, health conditions, mental illness, and intelligence are controlled by their genes and how much by the environment we have created? What relevance does this have to us as parents through adoption or donor egg or sperm? Our guests will be: • Dr. Matt McGue, Professor of Psychology at University of Minnesota, a behavioral and quantitative geneticist, and Co-Director of Minnesota Twin Family Study and the Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study and Research on Adoption. He is also an adoptive dad. • Dr. Nancy Segal, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Twin Studies Center, at California State University, Fullerton and author of Indivisible by Two: Lives of Extraordinary Twins and Entwined Lives: Twins and What They Tell Us About Human Behavior. • Dr. Jenae Neiderhiser, a professor of psychology at Penn State University and Director of several long term twin and adoption studies that look at the interplay between genetics and environment.

What are the key elements to successful adoptive parenting. Join us for our discussion with Sherrie Eldridge, author of the new book, Twenty Things Adoptive Parents Need to Succeed.

How do you survive infertility and loss without losing your mind, your marriage, or your friends? Join us to talk with Martha Diamond, a psychologist that specializes in infertility and loss, a survivor of infertility herself, and co-author of Unsung Lullabies: Understanding and Coping with Infertility.

South Korea has long had one of the most stable programs for international adoption to the US. We will discuss how to adopt from South Korea, how to find an agency that will place children in your state, and the future of international adoptions from that country. Our guests will be Susan Cox, an adult Korean adoptee and adoption worker with Holt International Adoption Agency, Nancy Fox, Executive Director of Americans for International Aid and Adoption, and Duk Kyung Um, Korean Program Director for Dillon International.

Sleep is the biggest issue for most parents of kids under that age of 5. Join us today for our interview with parenting expert Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, author of numerous parenting books including Sleepless in America.

What factors are important when choosing an infertility doctor or infertility clinic? How should you interpret the CDC statistics for fertility clinics? Our guest will be Dr. David Adamson, a Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, Director of Fertility Physicians of Northern California, Adjunct Clinical Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and Immediate past President of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine