Having to make a major investment to have a family feels very unfair. I’ve been there and the terror of maybe never being able to be a parent compounded with the fact that there was so much financial risk involved was daunting. A lot of advancements have come to light since I rolled the dice and ended up with 3 babies in less than a year. Fewer cycles and embryos are necessary in most cases which also equates to minimizing the overall cost associated with surrogacy and egg donor journeys.

While I was beyond fortunate to become a mother to a brood of boys, I didn’t have access to professional financial coaches who were knowledgeable and empathetic to my plight when I began my journey. Their assistance would have been immensely helpful in minimizing my fear and anxiety along the way.

One of the things that I struggled with was understanding why the variable side of the equation was so darn fuzzy. I finally got the hang of algebra in the 10th grade, but while I was struggling with fertility, I felt like I had slipped back into a dream where I had gone back to the 9th grade and all of the letters on the chalkboard look like straight-up gibberish. Having to make a financial investment in having a family already felt inequitable, but coupled with my inability to fully comprehend the variables and why there were applicable in my case made me angry.

When I look back, balancing the emotional and financial stressors of my journey was what caused me to feel so overwhelmed. Being connected with a professional who fully understood the financials of my third party fertility journey would have been great. But having access to a financial coach who would truly appreciate my deep-seated angst about becoming a mother, had a full understanding of the fixed and variable fees associated with my journey, and would help me navigate my budget throughout the process would have been a gift.

SeedCoach offers intended parents the ability to work directly with financial coaches who have a great deal of experience guiding families through all of the fees associated with surrogacy and egg donor journeys. They provide tools that will enable intended parents the ability to clearly see the existing resources available to them to fund their journeys. If/when gaps are discovered through that budgeting process, the coaches will collaborate to find the necessary funds to fully fund their journeys  The coaches all have a personal connection to building families through third parties. It is these personal and professional experiences are what make them especially talented.

I can tell you that as soon as I held my boys, I no longer considered the money it took to build our family. I hear the same from the other parents with whom I’ve had the pleasure of helping throughout the years. The investment was the best I ever made.

Denise Steele is a Consultant for SeedCoach. She was an intended mother back in 2008 and created her family through third-party fertility and domestic private adoption. Her 3 sons were all born the same year. She has a deep appreciation for what intended parents experience throughout their fertility journeys.