© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Bring On The Babies: Egg Donation, Surrogacy, and the Future of IVF

Right now the world population is 7.8 billion, and growing fast. We have doubled our population over just the past 50 years!

Even though the population is growing, fertility rates, overall, are dropping. So, more people are here, but we’re having fewer babies. There’s a lot of reasons for that, and one of them is infertility. The CDC estimates that nearly one out of eight couples struggles to conceive, but because of assisted reproductive technology, we’re upping the population numbers in the United States. The CDC reports that almost 2 percent of all U.S. births annually - or about 4 million babies - are here as a result of things like in-vitro-fertilization (IVF), surrogacy, and egg donation.

Today, you'll meet a fertility doctor, a woman who’s donated eggs five times, one who’s been a surrogate, and one who - through a pandemic - has finally become pregnant using IVF. 

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and email.

GUESTS:

  • Dr. Spencer Richlin is a board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologist with Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut, where he is a partner and Surgical Director
  • Sue Cope from-old Lyme, Connecticut, donated her eggs five times
  • Heather Manojlovic from Fort Wayne Indiana was a two-time surrogate
  • Heather Bower of Wilton, Connecticut, is currently pregnant after using IVF

Catie Talarski contributed to this show.

Chion Wolf is the host of Audacious with Chion Wolf on Connecticut Public.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content