{"id":26070,"date":"2024-05-06T08:30:28","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T08:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/?post_type=podcast&p=26070"},"modified":"2024-05-03T18:27:09","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T18:27:09","slug":"episode-182","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/podcast\/episode-182\/","title":{"rendered":"Episode 182: Single Parent by Choice: Rethinking the Notion of Family"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"template":"","categories":[451,230],"tags":[263,261,243],"class_list":["post-26070","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","hentry","category-family-building","category-education","tag-intrauterine-insemination","tag-iui","tag-single-parents-by-choice"],"yoast_head":"\nEpisode 182: Single Parent by Choice: Rethinking the Notion of Family | Progyny<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/podcast\/episode-182\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Episode 182: Single Parent by Choice: Rethinking the Notion of Family | Progyny\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/podcast\/episode-182\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Progyny\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Progyny\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Ep-182-Rachel.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Ep-182-Rachel.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Progyny\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/education\\\/podcast\\\/episode-182\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/education\\\/podcast\\\/episode-182\\\/\",\"name\":\"Episode 182: Single Parent by Choice: Rethinking the Notion of Family | Progyny\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-06T08:30:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/education\\\/podcast\\\/episode-182\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/education\\\/podcast\\\/episode-182\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/education\\\/podcast\\\/episode-182\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Podcasts\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/education\\\/podcast\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Episode 182: Single Parent by Choice: Rethinking the Notion of Family\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Progyny\",\"description\":\"Smarter benefits for life's milestones\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Progyny\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/Progyny-Logo-no-tag-Blue-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/Progyny-Logo-no-tag-Blue-1.png\",\"width\":925,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Progyny\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/progyny.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/Progyny\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/Progyny\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/progynyinc\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/progyny\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Episode 182: Single Parent by Choice: Rethinking the Notion of Family | Progyny","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/podcast\/episode-182\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Episode 182: Single Parent by Choice: Rethinking the Notion of Family | Progyny","og_url":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/podcast\/episode-182\/","og_site_name":"Progyny","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Progyny\/","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Ep-182-Rachel.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Ep-182-Rachel.png","twitter_site":"@Progyny","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/podcast\/episode-182\/","url":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/podcast\/episode-182\/","name":"Episode 182: Single Parent by Choice: Rethinking the Notion of Family | Progyny","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-05-06T08:30:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/podcast\/episode-182\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/podcast\/episode-182\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/podcast\/episode-182\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Podcasts","item":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/podcast\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Episode 182: Single Parent by Choice: Rethinking the Notion of Family"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/","name":"Progyny","description":"Smarter benefits for life's milestones","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/#organization","name":"Progyny","url":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Progyny-Logo-no-tag-Blue-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Progyny-Logo-no-tag-Blue-1.png","width":925,"height":300,"caption":"Progyny"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Progyny\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Progyny","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/progynyinc\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/progyny"]}]}},"acf":{"episode_intro_quote":"My confidence came from understanding that my support system differed from a traditional family.","episode_intro_guest":"Rachel Lehmann-Haupt","episode_intro_company":" Award-winning journalist and author ","episode_banner_section_intro_text":"This is Infertility is a bi-weekly podcast where we fuse narrative storytelling with experience and science to give you a new perspective on what it\u2019s really like to go through a family building journey. Each episode dives into the emotional, physical, and financial burdens carried by those who experience infertility on their path to parenthood. Be it IVF, IUI, egg freezing, surrogacy, adoption, etc., the path is never the same and it can be long, painful, and lonely. It\u2019s our mission to give those struggling a platform to be heard, a community connection, and an opportunity to raise awareness of the 1 in 6 who, for many reasons, struggle with infertility.","episode_page_title":"Episode 182: Single Parent by Choice: Rethinking the Notion of Family","episode_embed_code":"<iframe style=\"border: none;\" title=\"Embed Player\" src=\"https:\/\/play.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/31077428\/height\/128\/theme\/modern\/size\/standard\/thumbnail\/yes\/custom-color\/ffffff\/time-start\/00:00:00\/playlist-height\/200\/direction\/backward\/download\/yes\/stats-code\/landing182\/font-color\/000000\" width=\"100%\" height=\"128\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe>","episode_details":"<span data-contrast=\"none\">In today\u2019s episode, award-winning journalist, Rachel Lehmann-Haupt shares insights from her two books, which have been ignited by the knowledge and passion of her own family building journey.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">Her latest book, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Reconceptions-Relationships-Reproductive-Science-Unfolding-ebook\/dp\/B0B1C524MG?ref_=ast_author_mpb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">Reconceptions: Modern Relationships, Reproductive Science, and the Unfolding Future of Family<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">calls upon <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">her experience of becoming a single parent by choice. She dives into her own family building journey; navigating using a sperm <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">donor, understanding<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> her support <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">systems<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">, and rethinking and redefining the meaning of family.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Guest: <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Rachel Lehmann-Haup<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">t, Award-winning j<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ournalist and au<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">thor<\/span>\r\n\r\n<b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Host: <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Dan Bulger, Progyny\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">For more information, visit Progyny\u2019s Podcast page and <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.progyny.com\/education\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Progyny\u2019s Education page<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> for more resources. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @ThisisInfertilityPodcast and use the #ThisisInfertility. Have a question, comment, or want to share your story? Email us at <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\"><a href=\"mailto:thisisinfertility@progyny.com\">thisisinfertility@progyny.com<\/a>.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>In Her Own Sweet Time<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">02:12 \u2013 3:19<\/span>\r\n<div style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Rachel Lehmann-Haupt:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> I was living in New York and my 30s. And I noticed that a lot of my friends were putting off getting married and having children, and a lot of people were starting to worry about their biological clocks. So it was around the same time that egg freezing became a new technology that was available. And I decided to you know, write a book about that experience and the new choices that women are making in their lives. I looked at sort of egg freezing as this new technology, which now is no longer experimental. And egg freezing sort of became this new technology that women could postpone their biological clocks, put their eggs on ice and turn on their fertility when they were ready to use it. And that's really my first book.<\/span><\/div>\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b>Reconceptions<\/b><\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">3:20 \u2013 04:08<\/span>\r\n<div style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Rachel Lehmann-Haupt:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> The second book really came out of the researcher in the first book, which was that, you know, I got to be, a certain age and still had not found a partner and decided that I really didn't want to lose the chance to have a biological child in my life. So, I decided to, again, use reproductive science, <a href=\"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/iui\/\">intrauterine insemination<\/a> to become pregnant on my own as a single mom by choice. And the choice to have my son, as a single mom really led me to explore the new frontiers of how reproductive science is changing the shape of families, everything from gay families and the use of you know, donor gametes to eggs and sperm to the use of surrogates, in their family building process.<\/span><\/div>\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b>Turning her research into her reality<\/b><\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">04:18 \u2013 09:30<\/span>\r\n<div style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\r\n\r\n<b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Rachel Lehmann-Haupt:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> It was very scary, the idea of, you know, potentially doing it on my own, you know, as opposed to doing it with a partner. I was nearing an age where my fertility was, you know, no longer going to be viable. And I just couldn't imagine, you know, not living a life where I didn't experience pregnancy and have a child, a biological child. Understanding that I had kind of alternative support structures to the traditional family, you know, really gave me the confidence to make that choice. And, you know, it's the best decision I ever made.<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">I remember one day; I was with one of my best girlfriends out of the beach surfing. And I had a really, really hard day. And I just couldn't get the energy up to get up and like, I got good, caught up in a bad current. I woke up the next day and I was like, you know what, I wonder if I'm so tired, because I'm pregnant. So, I took a pregnancy test. And lo and behold, I was pregnant. That was, you know, having a bad surfing day led me to the discovery that I was pregnant with my son.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Alexander and I call his donor, his DD for short for donor dad. And, he's known about it, you know, in, in two-year-old language, and then again, in five-year-old language, and every couple of months when now that he's 10. I check in with him and say, \u201cHey, do you ever think about this?\u201d And, you know, it's, it's not, it's not a surprisingly huge deal for him. I wonder if that's because, you know, he's known forever, I think, when he gets older, when he you know, he starts to, you know, want to know more about his identity, and his genetic background, he'll have this option to contact this guy.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>","episode_host_image":22677,"episode_host_title":"Dan Bulger, Producer at Progyny","episode_host_bio":"Dan has been in the healthcare industry for the past ten plus years as a multimedia content producer. Better known as \u2018Video Dan\u2019 he has interviewed numerous doctors, patients and other experts in the world of fertility. He\u2019s also the producer for this podcast, This is Infertility and the producer behind the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/progyny\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-uw-rm-brl=\"exc\" aria-label=\"Progyny YouTube Channel - opens in new tab\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"na\">\u00a0Progyny YouTube Channel<\/a>\u00a0which features interviews with dozens of the nation\u2019s leading fertility specialists. On a personal note Dan\u2019s parents started fostering kids when he was four years old, and he considers himself a proud older brother to over 100 foster children.","episode_guest_1_image":26071,"episode_guest_1_title":"Rachel Lehmann-Haupt, Award-winning journalist and author ","episode_guest_1_bio":"<span data-contrast=\"none\">Rachel Lehman-Haupt is an award-winning science writer and expert on the future of family life, career timing, and the influence of science and technology on fertility, pregnancy, and family. <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">Kirkus Reviews <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"none\">wrote her first book, In Her Own Sweet Time: Egg Freezing and the New Frontiers of Family (Basic Books, 2009), \u201cgracefully combines a revealing, engaging memoir with admirably nuanced social commentary.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">The age of motherhood is on the rise across the developing world. As a result, many women and couples increasingly rely on new choices and science to create their families. This includes advanced reproductive technologies like egg freezing, invitro fertilization, the use of donor eggs, gestational carriers, and the option to become a DIY mom or dad, a phrase Lehmann-Haupt coined.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">Lehmann-Haupt has been profiled by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/lifestyles\/health\/ct-health-egg-harvesting-story-story.html\"><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">the Chicago Tribune<\/span><\/i><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> for her practical and brave choice to freeze her eggs when she was thirty-seven and has been quoted on the front page of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/05\/14\/us\/eager-for-grandchildren-and-putting-daughters-eggs-in-freezer.html\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">the New York Times.<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> She has appeared on ABC\u2019s Good Morning America, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2009\/05\/12\/104058882\/why-i-froze-my-eggs\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">NPR\u2019s Talk of the Nation<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, the Wall Street Journal\u2019s Lunch Break, Bay Area Focus, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/radiopublic.com\/inflection-point-with-lauren-schi-6NkYz8\/s1!c65c3\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Lauren Schiller\u2019s Inflection Point podcast speaking<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> on the topic. In her writing and public speaking, she gives a personal face to and offers life strategies for the most relevant social trends that intimately affect women\u2019s lives. Lehmann-Haupt\u2019s writing has been featured in <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">the New York Times<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"none\">, <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">the New York Observer,<\/span><\/i> <i><span data-contrast=\"none\">Newsweek, Slate, New York, Vogue, Outside, Wired, Business Week<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"none\">, and Neo.Life. She is also the founder of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.storymadestudio.com\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">StoryMade Studio.<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> a boutique storytelling and editing studio.<\/span>","episode_guest_2_image":"","episode_guest_2_title":"","episode_guest_2_bio":"","episode_guest_3_image":"","episode_guest_3_title":"","episode_guest_3_bio":"","episode_guest_4_image":"","episode_guest_4_title":"","episode_guest_4_bio":"","episode_guest_5_image":"","episode_guest_5_title":"","episode_guest_5_bio":"","episode_music_section_links":"Artist: Lee Rosevere\r\nTrack: Easy Life\r\nURL: https:\/\/freemusicarchive.org\/\r\nTrack: Sad Marimba Planet\r\nURL: https:\/\/freemusicarchive.org\/\r\n\r\nArtist: Kai Engel\r\nTrack: Seeker\r\nURL: https:\/\/freemusicarchive.org\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/26070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}