Callie & DeNeila posing for a pic with Dr. Rad after the monthly group meeting!

Today, I joined Shannon, her mom and her IP’s for her 20 week scan! The babies looked amazing and we found out Shannon is having two girls!!! Congrats to Shannon and her IP’s!!!!

I had the joy of seeing Francesca today who is just over 12 weeks prego! She is too cute!

Jennifer had her transfer today, please give her sticky vibes and positive thoughts!

Without a womb, there is no life.  For 40 weeks, a baby is carried around in a womb, being protected and nurtured until he or she can survive on their own.  It is there that something so tiny, so unimaginable, will grow to become a fully-developed person.

But what about those women that don’t have a uterus?  Sometimes it is a birth defect such as in the cases of Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser Syndrome.  Or it was necessary to surgically remove the woman’s uterus to save her life if she was diagnosed with cancer.  These women are prevented from experiencing the incredible miracle of life.

However, women are now able to donate their uterus, potentially giving someone else a chance at having their own little miracle.  And the best part?  Age is not a factor.  Even though women stop producing eggs at about age 50, our wombs can carry a baby past age 60!  This allows a much larger group of women to do their part in giving these women hope.

You can read the full article here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2205025/Doctors-perform-worlds-uterus-transplant-MOTHER-DAUGHTER.html?goback=%2Egde_166203_member_165330154

On September 23, 2012, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 1217 which is an Amendment to the California Family Code relating to Surrogacy Agreements.

Here are some highlights of this new bill:
Requires the Surrogate Mother and the Intended Parent(s) to be represented by separate legal counsel

Requires the signatures on the Surrogacy Agreement be notarized
No embryo transfer can be conducted or medications taken before the Surrogacy Agreement is executed

Building Families is excited to see this become a part of California law. These are the minimum standards that we and the professionals we work with practice.

California is once again setting the standard for how surrogacy should be conducted. We think this is a great example for the world. Kudos to the California attorneys who finally brought these standards into law which is better for all.

Read the entire amendment here:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_1201-1250/ab_1217_bill_20120923_chaptered.pdf

I wrote about my new friend in last weeks blog. I met with her and her parents to say good-bye at Ruby’s in HB. We discussed again their hopes and dreams of bringing a brother or sister into their daughter’s life. They felt like they needed to explain, but I held my hand up and said, “I totally understand your thoughts”. They looked at me sitting next to my brother, Jerry, and nodded. They said, “Of course you do.” The 40+ years that I can remember being Jerry’s little sister suddenly flashed through my mind. With so many years, it was more like mini-movie, not really a quick flash. Ha! But at the end, it made me grateful that my parents gave me the gift of my brothers and sisters. I truly do understand the gift they are wanting to give their daughter. Let’s all send positive vibes to them this week as we pray for this miracle!

The month of September will now be known as National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, proclaimed by our President on August 31, 2012. Thousands of women every year lose their battle to Ovarian Cancer, but is there something being done about it? Our government is stepping up to ensure Americans have information on this disease, how to look for early signs, and the preventative measures one can take to reduce the risk. Obama has restricted insurance companies from dropping women who have been diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. Do your part this month to help raise awareness and spread the knowledge!

• Obama on National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
• Why Teal Information Poster
• http://www.whyteal.org