Family Fronds

About Family Fronds

Family Fronds is the podcast for independent surrogacy and egg donation. We bring honest conversations to intended parents, surrogates, egg donors, and the professionals who support them all. Produced by Pineapple Family, the platform helping families navigate independent journeys without traditional agency fees, Family Fronds covers the real side of surrogacy and IVF: the costs, the decisions, the challenges, and the things no one tells you until you're already in it. Each episode, we welcome a new "frond of the family" to the table. Reproductive attorneys, fertility specialists, experienced surrogates, former donors, and the communities they create, speaking directly about what this process actually costs, how it actually works, and what it looks like from the inside. No gatekeeping. No sales pitch. Just conversations that make the journey possible. A Pineapple Family Original.

Publisher

Pineapple Family

Category

business · kids & family

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 May 2026

Latest episode

23 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

8 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Oct 2026

   My Wife Wanted To Be A Surrogate. I Thought She Was Crazy.

   What does it take for a husband to say yes when his wife wants to carry a baby for another family? Aymar is a two-time gestational carrier. Hector is the husband whose first reaction, by his own account, was that she’d lost her mind. In this episode of Family Fronds, they sit down together to talk about the part of the journey that rarely makes the highlight reel: the marriage. They get into how Hector got from “she was crazy” to the "yes" Aymar needed, who runs the house when the pregnancy isn’t yours, how they told their kids, why postpartum lasts longer than six weeks, and the hardest question either of them had to ask: what happens if she doesn’t come home? If you and your partner are thinking about this, listen together. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 🔥 Cold Open 00:33 🎙️ Intro: Three Yeses 01:21 Two Starting Points: “She Was Crazy” 05:09 “You’re Not Saying Yes to the Pregnancy” 09:29 The Yes Hector Needed 11:56 Who Runs the House 14:54 Write Down What Makes You Uncomfortable 18:19 Telling the Kids 22:44 What He Learned to Live With 24:02 Postpartum Lasts Longer Than Six Weeks 27:19 Support That Changes Shape 31:03 The Role He Didn’t See Coming 32:16 “We Struggle in Silence” 36:22 The Stigmas, Including That One 41:36 “What Happens If I Die?” 46:28 Falling in Love Again 51:07 🍍 Sign-Off About Pineapple Family Pineapple Family is a family-building technology platform for independent surrogacy and egg donation journeys. Learn more at https://pineapplefamily.org (https://pineapplefamily.org) 🎧 Subscribe to Family Fronds so you don’t miss the next conversation.

2. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Don't Talk Yourself Out of Becoming A Surrogate

   What if the thing you think disqualifies you from becoming a gestational carrier actually doesn’t? For many women considering surrogacy, the psychological evaluation can feel like a test they have to pass. A history of anxiety or depression, medication, therapy, a difficult relationship, or something else in their past can lead them to rule themselves out before they ever speak with an evaluator. In this episode of Family Fronds, we talk with psychologist Karyn Rosenberg about what the surrogacy psych evaluation actually looks for. Karyn has spent more than two decades working in family building. She explains how evaluations work, what psychological testing can and cannot tell an evaluator, how mental health history is considered, and what can genuinely raise concerns. The conversation also goes beyond screening. We talk about alignment between gestational carriers and intended parents, setting expectations early, recognizing when something feels off, and learning to advocate for yourself without feeling like you are being difficult. CHAPTERS 00:00 Don’t Talk Yourself Out of Carrying 02:00 Why Carriers Get Nervous About the Psych Eval 07:00 What the Evaluation Actually Looks For 14:00 Testing vs. the Clinical Conversation 19:00 Mental Health, Medication and Therapy 26:00 What Actually Raises Concerns 31:00 Alignment With Intended Parents 37:00 Boundaries and Self-Advocacy 43:00 Karyn’s Advice for Gestational Carriers

3. 

   21 Aug 2026

   Everyone Prepared for the Baby. No One Prepared Me.

   You spend years preparing for your baby. But almost no one prepares you to become a parent. For families built through surrogacy, the finish line everyone fights for — the match, the contracts, the appointments — turns out to be just the beginning. The nine-month runway that eases most new parents into the role disappears, and everything lands at once: the joy, the exhaustion, and a disorientation almost nobody talks about out loud. In this episode, Tonya Sakowicz, Maryann Robbins, and Brigit Monahan of The Newborn Care Solutions Agency — an education company and placement agency with a combined 90+ years in newborn care, postpartum support, and lactation — join us to unpack what actually happens in those first weeks home, and why families formed through surrogacy often experience that transition differently. We talk about: Why intended parents often prepare meticulously for the birth but never for the after The emotional gap that can show up when a baby arrives without the physical nine-month lead-up How a good newborn care specialist or postpartum doula reads a room — and when to step in versus step back The guilt around asking for help, and why hiring support isn't "cheating" Building a real offload plan before the baby comes, not just for the first two weeks but the first six months What's different — and what's universally the same — for single parents by choice, LGBTQ+ families, and traditionally formed families How to vet a caregiver, lactation consultant, or pediatrician's credentials instead of relying on word of mouth alone Why grief and joy can coexist in the same breath, and why that's normal This conversation is for any intended parent who wants the practical and emotional groundwork laid before baby comes home — not scrambling to find it after. This is not medical advice. This is not legal advice. Always consult a licensed medical or legal professional for guidance specific to your situation. Learn more about The Newborn Care Solutions Agency at TheNCSA.com (http://TheNCSA.com).

4. 

   6 Aug 2026

   All Sides of Surrogacy From the Rule-Writer Who Knows It Best

   Portia Zwicker has carried twice: first for her cousin, before New York had even legalized compensated surrogacy, and later as one of the first gestational carriers matched under the state's new law. In between, she built a second career writing the standard operating procedures agencies actually run on, sits on the SEEDS Standards Committee, and moderates several of the largest gestational carrier communities online. Before we hit record, Portia made one thing clear: she is not endorsing Pineapple Family, or any other agency or platform. She's stayed deliberately unaffiliated so her advice can't be traced back to a paycheck. That vantage point is what makes this conversation different. Portia is not anti-agency, and she's not anti-independent. She's seen both up close, and she knows exactly where the real risk sits: in-house escrow, referral-dependent attorneys and evaluators, psychological screenings treated as a formality instead of a real evaluation, and a state law that still carries a carve-out for the people who wrote it. We talk through what SEEDS membership actually promises (and what it doesn't), why she personally recommends fewer than one in ten agencies she encounters, and what she wishes every GC understood about escrow, life insurance, and contract enforceability before signing anything. We also get into the harder question underneath all of it: whether "agency vs. independent" is even the right frame, or whether the real dividing line is informed versus not. This isn't a takedown episode, and it isn't a sales pitch. It's a conversation with someone who has spent years inside the machinery of this industry and still keeps a healthy distance from all of it. This episode touches on legal and medical topics, including psychological screening and contract enforceability. Nothing in this conversation constitutes legal or medical advice. Consult a licensed reproductive attorney or medical professional for guidance specific to your situation. If this conversation raised questions about what to look for in a provider, Pineapple Family's provider directory is free to search at pineapplefamily.org (http://pineapplefamily.org).

5. 

   23 Jul 2026

   The Agency Made More Than I Did

   Kelly Copeland has done this five times. Domestic and international. Agency and independent. And on her very first journey, she didn't find out until years later that her agency made more money than she did. In this episode, Kelly sits down with Sam to talk about what actually happens behind the scenes of a traditional agency journey, from the moment she was told to stop texting her intended parents during contract negotiations, to the discovery that her international contracts weren't enforceable once her intended parents flew home. This is a conversation about information. Who has it, who withholds it, and what happens to a gestational carrier when she doesn't know what she doesn't know. Kelly and Sam get specific about: Why agencies sometimes restrict communication between carriers and intended parents, and what that actually protects What GC compensation really includes: base pay, milestone payments, and the line items first-time carriers rarely know to ask for What happens legally when an international journey's contract isn't enforceable after the intended parents return home Escrow: what it is, why in-house escrow can be a conflict of interest, and what happens when there isn't a clean third-party system in place Embryo quality and transfer risk, and why some carriers are never told what they're consenting to Why going independent isn't a workaround for safety standards. Clinics, not agencies, set the medical requirements. Kelly's take is not a horror story. It's an unfiltered education, delivered by someone who has seen the system from every angle and wants the next surrogate to walk in with her eyes open. A note on compensation: figures Kelly shares reflect her own personal, historical journeys. Gestational carrier compensation varies widely depending on experience, location, and the terms of each individual agreement. This episode does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed reproductive attorney for guidance specific to your situation. This episode does not constitute medical advice. Consult a licensed medical professional for guidance specific to your situation. If you're a gestational carrier considering your first journey, or an experienced carrier weighing agency versus independent, this episode is the conversation we wish every carrier had before she signed anything. Curious about carrying independently? You choose your family. Nobody assigns you to one. Sign up for free at pineapplefamily.org (http://pineapplefamily.org).

6. 

   12 Jun 2026

   The Cost of Falling Into the "Good Surrogate" Trap

   Surrogacy contracts are negotiated long before anyone knows how the story will unfold. Before the pregnancy. Before the delivery. Before anyone knows what support might be needed later on, down the line. And for many first-time surrogates, the hardest questions aren't the ones they ask. They're the ones they never knew to ask in the first place. The conversation covers Amanda Jones' experience as a two-time surrogate, including her independent surrogacy experience, agency journeys, and the life-threatening delivery complication that changed how she thinks about surrogate protections. Amanda shares candid insights on contract negotiations, insurance coverage, compensation, postpartum recovery, and the support she wishes she'd known to ask for before signing a contract. The discussion explores how first-time surrogates can unintentionally prioritize helping intended parents over advocating for themselves, and why understanding insurance, legal protections, and recovery support is critical before any journey begins. Takeaways • Many surrogates don't discover what they need most until they're already pregnant, recovering, or facing an unexpected complication. • Insurance coverage, life insurance, paid time off, housekeeping support, and recovery benefits should be discussed and negotiated before contracts are signed. • Agencies often focus on moving journeys forward, which can leave surrogates unaware of protections and benefits available to them. • Independent journeys can offer surrogates greater autonomy and flexibility when they are supported by the right legal, medical, and educational resources. • Advocacy is a skill. Surrogates who understand their options are better positioned to protect themselves and their families. Chapters 00:00 Amanda's Near-Fatal Delivery 02:03 Becoming a Surrogate for Her Former Boss 08:27 Compensation and Contract Negotiations 09:37 The Delivery That Changed Everything 18:05 Recovery, Medical Bills, and Advocacy 21:25 Fighting for Support and Benefits 31:50 Agency vs. Independent Surrogacy 38:53 Insurance, Life Insurance, and Hidden Risks 45:12 What Every Surrogate Should Know Before Signing

7. 

   20 May 2026

   Trailer

   Family Fronds is the independent surrogacy podcast that tells the truth about independent surrogacy and egg donation journeys — what it costs, what it takes, and what the agency model doesn't want you to know. Real voices. Real experiences. From the people who have lived through it. A Pineapple Family Original.

8. 

   20 May 2026

   We Paid $45,000 to Learn the System Was Broken

   "We Paid $45,000 to Learn the System Was Broken" In 2019, Daniel Malak and Joshua Brost started the surrogacy process the way most people do: they hired an agency and trusted the system. Six years later, they have two kids, a failed match, a $45,000 lesson, and a family-building platform built on what they learned. This is the episode where they tell the full story — joined by their co-founder and gestational carrier, Sam Martin, who brings the other side of it. Sam carried her first journey through an agency, later discovered that agency owned its own law firm and ran its own escrow, and came out of the experience with a firm belief that gestational carriers deserve to be treated as partners, not inventory. Together, the three founders cover what the agency fee of $30,000–$60,000+ actually funds, how SEEDS governs (or doesn't) the surrogacy industry, private equity consolidation of three of the largest U.S. surrogacy agencies, and what going independent actually requires — including why it doesn't mean skipping the safety standards. In this episode: The failed transfer, the agency's response, and the decision to go independent What $30,000–$60,000 in surrogacy agency fees actually buys SEEDS, self-governance, and the enforcement problem Private equity ownership of three major U.S. surrogacy agencies In-house escrow and in-house legal: why they're a red flag The ASRM psych screening standard agencies routinely skip What Sam wishes she'd known before her first agency journey Why an independent surrogacy and/or egg donation journey doesn't mean unsafe — it means choosing your own providers About the hosts: Daniel Malak and Joshua Brost are co-founders of Pineapple Family. Sam Martin is co-founder and served as gestational carrier for their two children. She holds a law degree and has completed multiple journeys — agency and independent. FTC disclosure: Sam Martin is a co-founder of Pineapple Family and has a financial relationship with the company. This episode is produced by Pineapple Family. If you're thinking about carrying: Start an application at pineapplefamily.org (http://pineapplefamily.org). Nobody assigns you to a family — you see the full profile and you choose. Not ready yet? Join The Grove, our free community for gestational carriers and egg donors, at pineapplefamily.org (http://pineapplefamily.org). Free always. This episode does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed reproductive attorney for guidance specific to your situation. This episode does not constitute medical advice. Consult a licensed medical professional for guidance specific to your situation. Family Fronds is a Pineapple Family original.

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