The 9th Annual NY Men Having Babies Surrogacy Seminar & Gay Parenting Expo, 10.6.13
Part 9: An unprecedented panel on how talk to surrogacy children of gay men about their origins. Among the issues discussed were age appropriate terminology to use in the evolving birth story for the child, decisions regarding the role of the carrier and egg donor in the children's lives, proactive and reactive approaches to dealing with sensitive topics, and up to date research on gay and surrogacy families. The panel was offered in cooperation with the Centre of Family Research of the University of Cambridge, Family Q and the LGBTQ Department at the JCC in Manhattan
Speakers:
- Jeff Parsons, PhD - Chair of Psychology at Hunter College / Men Having Babies board.
- Dr. Lucy Blake - A researcher from The Cambridge University's Centre for Family Research.
- Tara Lombardo - Associate director at the Institute for Human Identity / Family Q
- Ron Poole-Dayan - Executive director of Men Having Babies, father of 13 y.o. surrogacy twins
- Cory Silverberg, M.Ed. - sexuality educator and writer, including "What Makes a Baby"

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The 2013 NYC Men Having Babies conference took place on October 6th, 2013, at the JCC in Manhattan, which also co-sponsored the event. About two hundred parents, prospects and professionals enjoyed 11 hours of educational programs. More than 30 clinics, agencies and community organizations exhibited at the expo and hosted breakout sessions, and for the first time, also offered on-site consultations. MHB provides unparalleled opportunities for any gay person considering having children through surrogacy, to get unbiased information, access a wide range of relevant service providers, and connect with others going through the process. This year the organization also added a book fair and special interest panels for gay men who are already parents, and men who are HIV positive. The conference also marked the official launch of the organization's Gay Parenting Assistance Program.

Check this channel for several more clips from this event.

Men Having Babies, Inc. (MHB) is a nonprofit organization that was spun off in July 2012 from a program that ran at the NYC LGBT Center since 2005. With over 1000 couples and singles from around the world, it is the only international organization dedicated to providing gay biological fathers and fathers-to-be with educational and financial support. It offers seminars, exhibits, and workshops in NY, and teams up with LGBT family associations throughout the world to develop similar programs. The organization's mission also includes promoting the affordability of surrogacy and related services for gay men through financial assistance and the encouragement of cost transparency and customer feedback. To achieve these objectives MHB offers grants, discounts and free services through the Gay Parenting Assistance Program; it runs the SurrogacyAdvisor directory of reviews and ratings of agencies and clinics; the 'Living The New Normal' community blog; and the world's only Gay Parenting Speakers Bureau with hundreds of parents who are willing to speak on events, to the media and researchers.