Perez Hilton Welcomes Daughter Mayte Amor

Perez Hilton is a dad again!

The 39-year-old father of two and infamous gossip blogger (whose given name is Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr.) welcomed daughter Mayte Amor on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 3:26 p.m. Born via surrogacy, the baby girl weighed in at 7 lbs., 4 oz., measuring 20 inches long.

Hilton shared the good news with his followers on Instagram Tuesday — uploading a photo of himself holding the newborn baby in the hospital alongside his mother, Teresita Lavandeira.

“I am beaming with joy and pride as I share with you that my family has grown yet again,” he wrote in the sweet picture’s caption, adding “she’s perfect.”

Global IVF Launches the Global Community Forums

Global IVF is the only one-stop informational website for IVF travelers -- people looking to pursue ART treatments outside of their own country. Now potential Global IVF patients can interact with other people looking to go global for fertility treatments, i.e.; IVF, egg and/or sperm donation, surrogacy. The goals of the Global IVF Forums is to provide education and support to individuals who are interested in learning more about current IVF costs, Reproductive Clinics, Treatments, Third Party Family Building, Laws, Policies and Services world-wide. It is the goal of the Global IVF Forums to create a tight-knit community that encompasses those who are striving to find the best places to under go their IVF treatments, find Surrogates and Egg Donors, and for those who are just exploring their Family Building Options. Some of the forum categories include General IVF Travelers Discussion, Gay & Lesbian Issues, plus discussions by countries including Africa, Australia, Europe, South American, Canada and the United States, to name a few.

Free membership to GlobalIVF.com also includes bi-monthly newsletters and full access to Global IVF’s blogs as well as the online chat forums, allowing intended parents to share experiences and collect advice about specific clinics and treatments currently offered worldwide. Due to our newest technological upgrades those who have signed up for these forums in the past need to sign up once again to gain access.

GlobalIVF.com also highlights a leading expert in the field of fertility each month with in-depth video interviews and featured articles about fertility advancements and the latest of care. Some of the upcoming 2010 experts are Dr. Vicken Sahakian (Pacific Fertility Center, CA), Andrea Bryman (psychologist specializing in infertility), Wendie Wilson (Gifted Journeys Egg Donor Agency), Dr. David Tourgeman (Huntington Reproductive Center, CA), and Richard Vaughn (National Fertility Law, CA).

Join Global IVF today and start your own world wide Family Building Journey!

ABOUT THE FOUNDERS:
After working for a combined thirty-five years producing television shows for network and cable TV, Ms. Kaycoff-Manos and Ms.de Brito redirected their creative, managerial and people skills into helping others. It was years of their own personal fertility struggles -- where the two independently underwent numerous fertility-related surgeries, alternative and controversial treatments, multiple miscarriages, IVFs, three egg donors and four surrogates before successfully having their own families – that naturally transformed them from television producers to baby producers.

In 2004, they opened Agency for Surrogacy Solutions, Inc. in Los Angeles, where they took their business acumen and compassion and created one of the world’s most successful and well-respected surrogacy agencies. They later expanded it to include Agency for Fertility Solutions, which offers fertility plans, financial counseling and personalized egg donor searches. Their dealings with fertility patients from across the globe alerted them to the strong need for a website where IVF travelers from all corners of the earth could find informative, up-to-date information on services worldwide, connect with experts, and share experiences with fellow IVF travelers in one place. To fill this ever-growing niche, GlobalIVF.com was created.

Besides bringing their heads and hearts to helping people unravel their fertility options, Ms. de Brito and Ms. Kaycoff-Manos have developed extremely strong relationships with the country's top infertility clinics, psychologists, attorneys, and support personnel. Both women are sought-after speakers at fertility conferences and groups throughout the United States and on the internet. They've written and appeared in numerous magazine articles and on radio and television programs. Ms. de Brito and Ms. Kaycoff-Manos are currently collaborating on a book focusing on Cross-Border IVF Travelers.

Kathryn Kaycoff-Manos is a mother of identical twin boys and Lauri de Brito is mother to 3 children and is currently embarking on her third gestational surrogacy journey.

GLOBAL IVF: To learn more about Global IVF, visit www.GlobalIVF.com. To advertise on the site, or to be a featured expert, email Marketing@GlobalIVF.com or call 818.232.9300

Video Shoot for Global IVF.com

This weekend was exciting! Both Kathryn and I had the pleasure of being part of an extensive 'expert' video shoot for the new website GlobalIVF.com If you haven't checked it out, please do! It's a great site, full of information for those IPs looking to travel overseas for any Assisted Reproduction services, and for those coming to the States for the same. It lists clinics, laws, costs, etc around the globe - and I know these days, many of us are thinking of going abroad for (most often) egg donation - and sometimes surrogacy. Our interviews of course focused on surrogacy and why we think the United States is still the best and safest place to go to do it. But we're certainly not blind to the fact that egg donation and surrogacy are becoming part of a much bigger, global picture - and that the costs in the United States for these services are sometimes too heavy a financial burden. That's why Global IVF.com is such a valuable resource -- finally a one stop place to get all of the necessary information to make an educated decision about creating your family. Knowledge is empowerment!

Our segments will most likely be 'airing' on GlobalIVF.com in the next few months -- we'll keep you posted!!

I know that GlobalIVF.com is always looking for stories from IPs who have gone abroad for services or IPs who have come to the United States... there are blogs, articles, forums... so if you've got a story to share, or an upcoming fertility trip, please get in touch with them at info@globalivf.com so that your experiences might help others.

Have a great day!
Lauri de Brito

Reflecting on 2009

I sit here on the night before New Year’s Eve, reflecting on the year that has slipped by so quickly. It almost feels like it went too quickly, like nothing monumental happened. But in fact, that is so very far from the truth. Agency for Surrogacy Solutions, Inc has been privileged to play a part in creating so many families this past year – families that would never have existed without surrogacy, egg donation, assisted reproduction. My heart is full of love for the incredible women who help us (those who cannot have children the so-called ‘normal’ way) and with every life that our agency was fortunate enough to have played a hand in, our glass is that much fuller. I look at my own children – now 10, 4 & 3 and I am so very very humbled to be their mother. I never thought infertility would become such a big part of my life and while I was going through, I only wished for it to end. And now I realize that it will never end and I am thankful for that – because it has brought such meaning to my life. It has made me stronger, more compassionate, more dedicated… and by far, a much better mom. To those of you who are surrogates or egg donors – you are amazing. To those of you who are parents via surrogacy or egg donation – you are warriors (remember eye on the prize!). And to those of you in the throes of infertility right now… you are not alone. Open your hearts and allow others to help. We’re here and we’ve walked in your shoes. Here's wishing us all a prosperous, peaceful and fertile 2010! Lauri & Kathryn

What is the process of becoming pregnant via Gestational Surrogacy

The medical procedure for the Embryo Transfer (ET) to the Gestational Surrogate (GS) is similar to having a Pap smear. In most cases it's pain-free. First, your menstrual cycle and the menstrual cycle of the Intended Mother (IM) or Egg Donor (ED) are synchronized using birth control pills and daily injections of Lupron, a drug that suppresses ovulation. If it seems scary, don�t worry! Everyone who has been through the process feels intimidated at first. Often after the first few days they're amazed at how simple and relatively painless it is. The nurse at the reproductive clinic will talk you through the first injections, and we can always help you, too. You will also be taking Estrogen before the transfer, and the Intended Mother or Egg Donor (ED) will be taking daily injections of fertility drugs.

During this time, the development of the Intended Mother or ED's eggs is monitored by periodic blood work and ultrasounds. At the same time, the thickness of the lining of your uterus, which is crucial to the success of the Embryo Transfer, will be evaluated using blood tests and transvaginal ultrasounds. You can expect to visit the Reproductive Endocrinologist a few times before the Embryo Transfer in order to check your uterine lining for its readiness to receive the embryo. That exam is entirely painless. Three to five days after the eggs have been retrieved from the biological Mother (or Egg Donor) and fertilized with the sperm of the biological father (or Sperm Donor), the physician will transfer the embryos to you. As we've noted, that procedure is something like a Pap smear, and it's completed under sterile conditions. Depending on the physician, you may then begin progesterone injections and/or suppositories.

Many clinics require a period of bed rest after the Embryo Transfer. That can range from 12 to 72 hours. The Intended Parents will expect you treat the doctor's instructions seriously. If you need childcare to allow you to stay in bed, that will be provided as specified in your contract. Your contract will cover all such eventualities, so you will never have to worry about money to meet your surrogacy obligations. About 10 to 12 days after the embryo transfer, you'll get a pregnancy test. This will usually be done by drawing blood at the clinic or local lab.

Agency for Surrogacy Solutions, Inc.: Our Goal for Intended Parents

Our goal at Agency for Surrogacy Solutions is to help our Intended Parents' surrogacy journey become as problem-free and as emotionally rewarding as possible. We will guide you through the process of surrogacy from the initial steps until after you take your baby or babies home with you. Being former Intended Parents, we know how expensive a surrogacy pregnancy can be. Therefore, we try our best to keep costs to a minimum, and are sometimes able to negotiate lower rates with psychologists, lawyers, and other professionals with whom you'll be dealing. We also understand the psychological challenges of being an Intended Parent. Learning to trust and giving up control are two of the bigger hurdles. We offer counsel and support in dealing with the strong emotions that inevitably emerge.Often people ask -- what would motivate a woman to become a Gestational Surrogate? Here is what we've discovered through our work with these amazing, giving women:

*They enjoy being pregnant

*They have a great deal of empathy for childless couples or those unable to expand their families without assistance

*Their own children have brought great happiness to their lives

*They have an opportunity to make a unique contribution to the world
*They have a history of easy, uncomplicated pregnancies
*This gives them an opportunity to feel special
*They can utilize the financial gain for their family
It is an opportunity to make up for a pregnancy previously terminated

The surrogacy process is complex for all the parties, but the rewards can be great. We cannot describe the depth of our feelings upon holding our children for the very first time. We are both extremely grateful to our Surrogates, and our very special friendships continue to grow. We hope that we can help you and your future Surrogate create just such a bond.