#fertility management

[ivflondon]

Dr. Parijat Bhattacharjee - Expert Consultant in Obstetrics & Gynecology | IVF Specialist London

Consultant Obstetrician and Private Gynaecologist Dr. Parijat Bhattacharjee provides personalized care for fertility patients. Experience the top fertility clinic in London at IVF London.

[thewertsearch]

@bladekindeyewear asked: Quote asker: "Feferi is the one who set up the dreambubbles" -- Mild correction there, what she said was, "CC: Soon I will go to sleep and speak to t)(e gods. CC: I will convince t)(em to establis)( a series of stable dream bubbles, w)(ere we can meet in our sleep!" Emphasis on "stable" and "meet" - the dead might end up in the dream bubbles regardless for all we know, from what Aradia said, but their respective bubbles likely wouldn't have INTERSECTED as frequently without Feferi's request.

I think the key word here is stable.

We've occasionally seen more fluid, abstract dreamscapes, such as WV's shared dream with Vriska, or Jade's chaotic post-death nap. These, I think, are the Dream Bubbles as they naturally occur, without the Horrorterrors keeping them coherent. They're unstable, liable to mutate or collapse without warning.

The Bubbles might always have existed - but, thanks to Feferi, they're solid now, and can be used as a medium for consistent communication.

[prolibytherium]

There's a LOT of things people do wrong when constructing fantasy beliefs in pantheons of gods, but one of the more specific is having only one god related to fertility and it kind of being just a horny sex thing.

Like you'll have one in the entire bunch whose sphere is listed as fertility and it's basically like Yeah this is the sex one. She's always depicted naked (but not TOO naked because censorship and/or the writer's own skittishness). She's going to have the exact body type epitomized in contemporary western beauty standards and there's usually no chance in hell that she's gonna be fat (unless MAYBE they're referencing 'venus' figurines). Her thing is fertility, which means having sex and making babies. Might be a goddess of beauty or love or marriage too, because these are kinda sex things, but that's probably it. And yeah that sort of thing is virtually nonexistent in real life.

Like the concept of fertility is so fundamentally important to the function of most societies in human history in ways that it is just Not in industrialized imperial core countries. Most people are getting food from stores, and not having to worry about harvesting crops or breeding livestock or foraging for food or having enough animals to hunt, so fertility only really comes up as a concern if you're trying to have kids (and there is certainly societal pressure to have children, but your wellbeing and survival is rarely going to Depend on it). And I think writing only from that perspective and not even trying to learn about WHY fertility is so conceptually important is why you see this trend.

There's no absolute universal statement about how people believe in gods but it's broadly accurate that systems with many deities will Usually have more than one deity associated with fertility, and these associations will certainly include human reproduction but also the fertility of livestock/hunted animals, plants, the land itself.

Some fertility deities may also be heavily associated with seasonal changes or environmental factors that agriculture or foraging is dependent on (spring/summer/fall, seasonal rains, seasonal flooding, rain itself, sunlight, good soil, rivers, wetlands, etc). Some certainly might be related to love, marriage, sex, and beauty, but that's VERY RARELY going to be the sole way the concept of fertility is embodied. And they'll often will have other associations not directly about fertility, or related to fertility in culturally specific ways.

[reasonsforhope]

"In Washington D.C., a sophisticated sewage treatment plant is turning the capital’s waste into a form of capital: living capital that is fertilizing the gardens of farms of the Mid-Atlantic region and saving vast quantities of resources.

Described by the workers’ there as a “resource recovery plant,” D.C. Water run a biogas plant and high-quality fertilizer production in the course of their dirty duty to ensure the city’s waste finds a safe endpoint.

The nation’s capital is exceptional at producing waste from the toilet bowls of the 2.2 million people who live, work, and commute through the city and its suburbs.

Reporting by Lina Zeldovich reveals that rather than trucking it all to a landfill, D.C. Water extract an awful lot of value from the capital crap, by looking at it as a resource to send through the world’s largest advanced wastewater treatment plant, which uses a “thermal hydrolysis process” in which it is sterilized, broken down, and shipped off for processing into “Bloom,” a nitrogen-rich, slow-release fertilizer product. 

The other “Black Gold”

At their facility in southwest Washington, huge aeration tanks percolate the poo of everyone from tourists to the President. After it’s all fed into enormous pressure cookers where, under the gravity of six earth atmospheres and 300°F, the vast black sludge is rendered harmless.

Next this “Black Gold,” as Zeldovich described it, is pumped into massive bacterial-rich tanks where microbes breakdown large molecules like fats, proteins, and carbs into smaller components, shrinking the overall tonnage of sewage to 450 tons per day down from 1,100 at the start of the process.

This mass-micro-munching also produces methane, which when fed into an onsite turbine, generates a whopping 10 megawatts of green energy which can power 8,000 nearby homes. [Note: Natural gas (which is mostly methane) is definitely greener than coal and oil, but it still causes a significant amount of emissions and greenhouse gases.] The 450 tons of remaining waste from the D.C. feces are sent into another room where conveyor belts ring out excess fluid before feeding it through large rollers which squash it into small congregate chunks.

D.C. Water sends this to another company called Homestead Gardens for drying, aging, and packaging before it’s sold as Bloom.

“I grow everything with it, squashes, tomatoes, eggplants,” Bill Brower, one of the plant’s engineers, tells Zeldovich. “Everything grows great and tastes great,” he adds.

“And I’m not the only one who thinks so. We’ve heard from a lot of people that they’ve got the best response they’ve ever seen from the plants. Particularly with leafy greens because that nitrogen boost does well with leafy plants. And the plants seem to have fewer diseases and fewer pests around—probably because Bloom helps build healthy soils.”

While farms around the country are facing nutrient depletion in soils from over-farming, turning to synthetic fertilizers to make up the difference, introducing more such thermal hydrolysis plants could truly revolutionize the way humans look at their feces—as a way of restoring the country’s soils rather than polluting them. As Mike Rowe would say, it only takes a person who’s willing to get their hands dirty."

-via Good News Network, November 23, 2021

Note: You can buy this fertilizer yourself here!

[shame-kink]

the misbegotten are sooo underrated its insane

[corpusdiem-seizethedead]

Angel’s Adventures in Double Dying: Episode 78

Angel: Hey Smiles, what’s under there?

Alastor: Hm? Under where?

Angel: *snorts*

Alastor: *gif of Baldi slowly frowning*

[unexpectedbrickattack]

idk why but you reblogging that ask u did about Peppino performing for Brick reminded me, and I just NEEDED to share this silly idea but... Peppino gardening... just, like, garlic and tomato plants n stuff, it's cheaper than buying all the time, even if he's not exactly growing enough to make that much of a dent in his bills, it's about the PROCESS PEOPLE and just aekssf Peppino in his little garden tending to his little plants and some flowers, it started out as something to help with personal costs but now it's such a soothing activity it's his little zone and he tells no one about it and making a pizza with his own home grown tomatoes just hits different when he's in a real rough mood. just yeah peppino gardening...

WAUGH this is so cute omg…I cant see him growing TOO MUCH bc some veggies are so fucking delicate but garlic seems doable! Same with stuff like basil and thyme and oregano. Its not necessarily low maintenance but you dont need to constantly get expensive resources to maintain them. Maybe he uses SOME of it for his shop but i can definitely see him using most of it for his own cooking bc hes been doing it since he was young, way back when he was still living w his parents (and he just got the habit from them)

I hc him with a small house (that hes forced to use as collateral to keep the shop open) so like, he would definitely have the space to grow some other small veggies like spinach n tomatoes. With his shop failing miserably hes got Plenty of time to at least go out and make sure theyre not dying 😭 But i can see him making it look more lively postgame when hes got the proper funds to keep the shop open. Old man tending to his tiny little garden :) its mindless work really and it keeps his hands busy. When hes more used to Gus and Brick (and any company in general lbr) coming over to visit; Brick helps with gardening too; his hugeass Rat Hands can tear up at the soil way better than Peppino and his little trowel can. And w the shop doing well he can afford to take days off and even open later in the day so he has more time to himself to do other things (like tend to his tiny garden) (or maybe fucking sleep in for once)

[violetskies65]

A PCOS Girl's Guide to Period Tracker Apps

I have had a phone by my side and in my hand for years now, since the age of 13. In today's day and age, that even seems old, but it was the age I received my first phone. I have been menstruating since age 11, and tracking since perhaps, my junior year of high school. Throughout all these years, I have dealt with acne, poor body image, and semi-irregular menstruation. What was a fun way to track how my body felt, prevent (or now, PREPARE!) for pregnancy, now sort of consumes my entire life, right next to that handy MyFitnessPal app in my health tab. From traditional apps like FLO, built in trackers like Apple Health, and then Clue, these apps help me deal and manage my symptoms with hidden perks.

Flo

Flo was ideally my first app, I have used logged and documented everything from my sexcapades, crippling moodswings, and now more sensitive subjects such as ovulation and vaginal discharge. I will admit, at that age I wasn't perfect at logging everything, and while it tries to reprogram the predicted period and ovulation based on your latest previous cycle (Not good for PCOS Girlies!), it holds the secrets to my confusing and moody reproductive system. The Flo App is actually the first app that merely suggested my irregular cycle patterns may present PCOS, of course with me brushing it aside, as my periods would become and stay consistent and regular as I went along. While it does notify you of cycle patterns and keeps data of every cycle, as with many apps, menstural trackers or not, there is a monthly fee to the added insights and help they offer. I paid for it for a month, it is a neat feature, but even to me, not even worth it.

Some extra features with the Flo app are the different modes, changing from normal period tracking, optimizing your chance of pregnancy, and to track your pregnancy. With each cycle tracked, I'd say Flo becomes somewhat more accurate. My personal PCOS journey is due to weight flunctuations. I have ovulated and have had periods semi regularly my entire life, until this year unfortunately. I have had (a guestimate, as you are unsure if you ovulate every cycle.) one to two ovulatory cycles. Sometimes it just isn't about becoming pregnant, as it is extremely unhealthy to go 3-4 months without a period, natural or medically induced. It is better for your body to have a period, from my personal stance, and Flo will be there to remind you how abnormal your cycle trends are, and what they mean.

I would give Flo a 8/10, and I find it very PCOS friendly!

Stardust

Stardust is the second app I have ever used, as I remember ads on Facebook & TikTok. Stardust is a period tracking app for the spiritual gals, although many of the quirks are added for fun. Based on your cycle type (the periods in which your experience ovulation and menstruation) you are organized a specific witch type with some insight on yourself, and yes, mine changes all the time due to spontaneous ovulation and delayed menstruation. So again, just for fun. Although Stardust will organize you into a percentage group based on your witch group. Despite the overall quirkiness of the app, there is a neat little wheel lined with each day of your cycle and the corresponding predicted phase, with differing colors. The app works to highlight your ovulatory, luteal, and menstrual phases. Unlike Flo and other apps, it will simply tell you your cycle day and each month has the same predicted ovulation and menstrual pattern.

The app does not have any mode to help enhance pregnancy chances, although you can still log your pregnancy test and ovulation test, although you can only log one type of ovulation test result, and you cannot log both a pregnancy and ovulation test. This seems like it would be common knowledge, but when you have gone a couple months without a period, or there are conflicting hormonal signs, sometimes you just gotta multitask! The app will also let you know upon opening that your period is late, but it doesn't bombard you with texts or digital guides about PCOS, Endo, etc, so I always preferred Flo, and even deleted Stardust at one point in time.

The app seems to be difficult to toggle, with Flo you can change your ovulatory prediction and tracking by logging tests. Upon logging a test, your little blue days will shift. Stardust does not let you do this, whether you log a test at all. The app has a quirky spiritual theme, but a bit too spiritual, that it appears to try to be more in tune with your body than you. Although certain antibiotic usage and normal PCOS irregularities make ovulation hard to predict, with the help of tests and being in tune with discharge changes, I hate how I can't toggle ovulation and menstruall dates.

Throughout the updates and expansions, the Stardust app lets you mark many symptoms and changes throughout your cycle phases, log exercise, and even log cycle stressors such as trauma, stress, and even travel. Perhaps my favorite feature is the ability to log marijuana, adderal, alcohol, or even psychedelic usage. although it does not document any trends or reports to your cycle if you continiously log these potential cycle disruptions or health changes, so you'll have to make some assertions yourself. I really applaud them for adding a stimulant and marijuana (which is so common nowadays next to alcohol).

Overall, I would give the Stardust a 6/10. This is a very fun and creative app, but I am not counting on it for any particular cycle or health related insights, so personally for me, it is merely for fun. Perhaps with time the app will continue to expand and add more observatory features and cycle tracking insights. It is not really PCOS friendly, as it doesn't seem to work or move around or put effort into altering any cycle predictions. It is set in stone until of course you log your menstrual period yourself.

Clue

The Clue app works to give you (somewhat) of a Clue about your ever so changing menstural cycle. Like Flo, it attempts to move your cycle patterns to fit current trends and give a prediction of ovulation. I must admit, I am a new user to Clue, and I have logged ovulation tests (just pregmate LH strips for now, I did out of curiosity) but they were all negative, and I am not exactly sure if the ovulation time moves with you and I have not done a false log as I do not want to risk messing up my cycle, but it is much more customizable than Stardust, although a lot of features I feel would benefit those suffering from PCOS, are locked behind a pesky monthly paywall, one that is very tempting at that.

Similar to Stardust, Clue is complete with a wheel that you can spin through and observe your different cycle phases. Red representing the dreaded (or if you have PCOS, the heavily missed, long anticipated) arrival of aunt flow, or a nice crisp blue part of the ring signaling potential ovulatory days, With the Clue app, you can log exercise, and potential cycle stressors such as alcohol, cigarettes, or even simply being hungover. However, no specific medications such as Adderal, Concerta, or anything else mental health related, You have the ability to log medications such as HRT (Hormone Therapy), OTC/Prescribed Painkillers, allergy meds, antibiotics, cold and flu meds, the morning after pill, and different hormone therapy pills, such as estrogen, progesterone, and testerone. Cycle Stressors under the "Ailments" tab can also be logged, ranging from a simple cold, to UTI's and STI's. It seems to be the only tracker to log all forms of birth control and administration dates, the a simple pill, to the IUD. They offer insights into the birth control ring, implant and patch. I feel this is a very neat feature to offer, as birth control & clomid are ready to be prescribed to women dealing with PCOS, with birth control being pushed extremely heavily.

Like other apps, you can log both pregnancy and ovulation tests, but there is no built in LH strip analyzer, you simply make your own evaluation and click positive, or negative. Although there seems to be no cycle trends and specific insights, you are able to log differing appointments in regards to your health, and trust me, I have a lot of those. You digestive data, hair texture, skin concerns and a daily analysis of your social life and mood can also all be logged and tracked underneath their specific tab. There is a tab to check your discharge, but in comparison to other apps like Flo, there are only four different discharge textures displayed, and the app doesn't explictly state whether they are in regards to ovulation or not. Behind the paywall and subscription service, you can log pregnancy experiences, your journey into menopause, vulvar feelings, urine changes, breast changes, and the daily supplements you take.

Clue is a very well thought of app with unique analysis to your cycle and potential stressors to said menstrual period, whether you suffer from PCOS or not. I really look forward to growing with this app more and making sure to continously log and track everything However, it would appear as if all the good PCOS-centered features, like the supplements tab are locked behind a monthly subscription. I would have to give Clue a 7.5 out of ten, very user accesesible with in-depth symptom and data tabs, but everything else helpful is behind that damn pay wall!

Apple's Health App

From my Macbook air to my iphone, I'm pretty much Apple-pilled. However, no Apple watch over here. I just have a cheap fitbit to help me along with more insights into my fitness journey. So the cycle tracking feature that was added in the health data tab is damn near the only thing I use. I know Apple has a specific knack for simplicity and smooth easy accessible apps and services, but the menstural tracking is a bit lacking. It is actually on-par with Fitbi's Menstrual tracker that is horribly laid out. I find myself even forgetting to log any symptoms, as if you simply hit "No Flow", and close, nothing will show you even logged that day. Now Apple, you know damn well I'm not having debilitating symptoms everyday. You simply click if your period began or not, you go through a generalized symptom list that contains slight issues like acne, to fatigue and hair-loss. You can log an ovulation test result, a progesterone test result (the only unique feature), a pregnancy test result, the quality and state of your cervical mucus, and your potentially changing basal body temperature. That is is really, and it is good for what it is, while also trying to be more by offering different testing tabs. Based on my current cycle that I am supplementing with Progestin, Apple's calendar was actually the MOST off.

I give Apple Health's tracker a very simple 3/10.

Last but not least, we have the Pregmate app, to partner with their ovulation and pregnancy testing strips. Their testing methods are just simply buy-in-bulk strips found at your local CVS, but for some in the TTC community are a tried and true cheap and easy method for either getting pregnant, or general cycle tracking. The app however, is not cheap at all, and is actually similar to Flo in looks and design. It pretty much has all the same logging features that Flo does, and it seems to be damn near identical. Although they push for you to download the app and log photos of your ovulation and pregnancy strips, there isn't anything particularly special about said app, but nothing bad either. I have not used this app, but I don't think it is one I could depend on personally for managing and tracking my current PCOS symptoms and journey, but defintely fun for those looking to actively concieve.

I would give the Pregmate app a 5/10. Very user friendly and an encouraging way to get pregnant, but as the name would suggest, it does not give very detailed hormonal insights.

[worstloki]

*guy who is really passionate about advocating for a 3-day weekend at any cost voice* can we really call the nation secular if Shabbat and Lord's Day are recognised days off but Jumu'ah isn't?

[takemetotheastralagain]

none of you can handle my power (planted strawberries in stardew valley. Totally not later into the season than planned we prommy)

[spkyscry]

@nemxricultrix sent: Anything odd to know about offspring with Rhok'zan or is it just left to interpreting?

Her offspring, unless being between two eldritch entities, are often the typical species and race of the other party. They're mostly up to the genetic lottery, but her traits are often only used to diversify the pool and keep it from being an exact clone of the other parent.

They may get purple hair, eyes, etc. Maybe stronger/softer features, maybe even more inclined to druidic supernatural activities, the occult, what have you. They may even hit the genetic jackpot and be incredibly skilled in those regards, but that's a rarity and not the norm. Just expect them to look good, at the very least, whatever good is in your definition.

Unless it's another deific figure or an eldritch entity like herself? Expect what you'd expect from any mating between two of the same species, with perhaps more or less bizarre traits if what she brings to the table isn't compatible with the norms.

Because, more oft than not, she's going to intentionally do that when it comes to another's offspring, because she wouldn't want them to be outcast for not fitting in.

One of the more bizarre traits of someone who's meant for this and has a very notable amount of control over what her offspring will come out like. She chooses for them to be the norm, above-average- the pinnacle of their species at her leisure. She could even choose to have a dragon with a human mate if she really wanted.

But, no, you're more likely to get what you expect from your species. She doesn't like to rock the boat in this modern age. Unless you're in a real and proper relationship with her, which isn't something she's looking for at present, then you're going to get your species with perhaps a few traits of her own that wouldn't scare anyone.

[immobiliter]

things i would have loved to see in veilguard: evidence of active cooperation between the north and the south instead of just snippets of info from the south in inky's missives that were completely detached from the rest of the plot

[hazzabeeforlou]

.

[arcxnumvitae]

An all too familiar woman stepped into the clearing, a mixture of fear and determination on the fae's delicate features. Guinnein crossed the foot bridge, entering the hut, and stopped short at the hag waiting inside. Two cups of steaming tea sat on the table, and without another word, as if knowing what was expected of her, Guinnein slipped to the second chair and sat down upon it.

"What brings the Queen of Seelie to my humble abode?" The being's tone was not nearly as deferential as her words were. If anything, they seemed slightly amused, like an adult wondering why a child had suddenly appeared before them. Which, all things considered, likely wasn't very far off. She had heard of the being deep within Seelie with great power that made deals. She'd made it her mission to find them, but now that the queen sat there in that hut it seemed more as if the hag had allowed herself to be found.

Guinnein's slender hands curled around the tea cup, trying to seek comfort from its warmth. And yet there was no comfort to be found.

"I desire to bear more children."

"More?" The hag's imperceptible brow raised. "Do you not have the dear prince? That is already more than most."

"I-- yes, I have Camhlaidh, and he is a dear boy. There is nothing wrong with him, but--" Guinnein bit her lip. "It has already been several years, and I have yet to bear Oisean another. His Council's whispers to take on other lovers grow with each passing day. For the safety of Seelie the king must secure the line, and if I cannot bear him more children--" The woman shook her head, blonde locks flowing in a cascade with the movement. Finally, she whispered despairingly, "I cannot bear the thought of him in the arms of another." Nights spent in bed alone knowing her husband was bedding another. Would he look at them as endearingly as he did her? And if his seed were to take, if another babe of his were to be born with some other as their parent? A tie would forever exist between them. One without her. The duties of the crown were steep, she knew that, and yet...

"Please," Guinnein pleaded, "I will give whatever I must to ensure he stays mine forever."

"Those are dangerous words you speak, my darling." The hag cautioned the queen. A long finger traced along the edge of the teacup. "To create life-- to create the possibility of it, the price will be steep. Incredibly so."

Guinnein's eyes shone with desperation. "Anything."

"Half of your life."

The words sent a cold shock through her, and her lips parted. "What...?"

"What exists of your remaining lifespan, I will take half of it. In return, your womb will be fruitful, and you will bear your king what you desire."

Guinnein fell silent. The hag waited patiently as time stretched onwards, until...

"I--I accept."

Laughter shook the being's frame. "Little queen, you would doom your family to a life of grief solely to keep your husband's eyes on you?"

"G-grief is inevitable. Besides," a hand rested against her stomach. "They will have each other through it."

The hag watched her with a scrutinizing, and, out of nowhere, the being burst into uproarious laughter as if she had seen something highly amusing.

"What an interesting choice! What interesting choices that will lead from it! Fine then, little queen, you shall have your desire! You will bear, and your remaining years with your family will be mine as payment!

"The deal is set!"

[coochiequeens]

Maybe now that the people with the money to buy babies are being scammed even IVF proponents will admit that there needs to be regulations in the Buy a Baby Business

Dominique Side, the owner of Surrogacy Escrow Account Management, poses in 2023 at Vegan Fashion Week in Los Angeles.

(Gilbert Flores / WWD via Getty Images)

By Matt Hamilton Staff Writer June 30, 2024 

They scrimped, and they saved. Some asked family and friends to pitch in. Others took out loans for tens of thousands of dollars.

Their goal was twofold: To raise the small fortune necessary to pay for a surrogate mother. And to realize a dream previously impossible — having a child of their own.

Hundreds of people across California, the U.S. and around the globe put their money, sometimes $50,000 or more, into the hands of a Texas-based escrow company so the funds could be held in trust and doled out to a surrogate for healthcare costs, insurance and compensation.

But this month, expectant parents and their surrogates learned the money they had set aside at Houston-based Surrogacy Escrow Account Management, or SEAM, is inaccessible and likely gone.

“We want answers,” said Chris Kettmann of Fair Oaks, Calif., a suburb of Sacramento. “Is there recourse to get the money back? If not, what can we do?”

Chris Kettmann and his wife with their ultrasound in an undated photo. (Chris Kettmann)

Kettmann, 33, said he and his wife had about $45,000 in their escrow account, money owed to their surrogate mother, who is pregnant with their baby boy and due in October. “We don’t know enough to say what happened,” he said. “We just know there’s something crazy going on.”

Police in Houston have opened a wide-reaching investigation. Christina Garza, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Houston field office, confirmed last week that the agency also is investigating SEAM. The FBI has developed a public portal for SEAM clients to report their account information and how much money they believe they are owed. Garza, however, cautioned that the inquiry was in its early stages and said, “We’re trying to compile as much information as possible.”

A married same-sex couple in Washington, D.C., says they are out $55,000. A Los Feliz couple said they demanded their $40,111 be returned and believe it is gone. Arielle Mitton, an L.A. native who recently moved to Bellingham, Wash., can recite the amount that she and her husband are missing down to the cent: $37,721.44.

“I assumed naively that an escrow account was a safe thing,” said Mitton, whose surrogate mother in Indiana is pregnant with their daughter and is due to deliver on Christmas Eve.

Mitton has joined hundreds of affected parents and surrogates in a private Facebook group that has become a forum for venting, grieving, exchanging information and trying to answer the overriding questions: What happened here? And where did all their money go?

Scrutiny has centered on the sole owner of SEAM, Dominique Side, who has told customers that she had once been a surrogate. The 44-year-old billed herself as an entrepreneur of multimillion dollar businesses in the Houston area, including a vegan grocery store, a nonprofit school, a vegan music studio, and the surrogacy escrow outfit. She walked the red carpet in L.A. for vegan fashion events and ran a concierge service for those seeking a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

“One common thread runs through all my businesses: each is based firmly on a foundation of compassion — for others, for myself and for the planet,” she told a Houston publication in 2022.

Side did not respond to calls or written questions. Emails to Side triggered an auto-response that doubled as a press statement. Citing the “active investigation by federal authorities,” Side wrote in the email, “Under the advice of counsel, I am not permitted to respond to any inquiries regarding the investigation.”

On Thursday, Side and SEAM were hit by a lawsuit from a merchant cash-advance lender, the third such lawsuit this year. Merchant cash advance lenders provide small businesses with quick infusions of money at high fees akin to interest rates of 50% to 100%.

A judge in Texas also froze all of the company’s accounts along with Side’s other businesses after a SEAM client, Marieke Slik, sued over her “vanished” $28,000.

Calling herself a “victim of a scam,” Slik alleged that Side and her company had lured her and others “into a fiduciary relationship in order to steal their escrow funds,” according to her lawsuit, which was filed in Texas. “The Defendants have left hundreds of surrogates throughout the country — who are pregnant with a child that does not belong to them — with no way to pay for necessary prenatal care.”

Sides’ actions, according to the lawsuit, “are nothing short of evil.”

Struggling parents

Many surrogacies often involve LGBTQ+ couples who want children, or older couples for whom childbearing is no longer a viable possibility.

For others, the road to surrogacy is one of heartbreak and tragedy.

The married woman in Los Feliz said she had had multiple miscarriages. She was recently pregnant but gave birth in the second trimester. The newborn died at Cedars-Sinai in his parents’ arms.

The couple turned to surrogacy after exhausting all other options. They selected a surrogate mother, completed the necessary contract — which often requires using an escrow firm — and put more than $40,000 into the account, a portion of the overall cost. But their embryo had yet to be transferred into the surrogate mother.

“Nothing is clear,” she said, explaining that she and her husband demanded their funds weeks ago. “Obviously that fell on deaf ears — we didn’t get our money back,” she said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because their extended family remains unaware of their attempt at using a surrogate.

“I’d love to carry this child,” she said, and “not spend any money on a surrogate. There’s a level of that, where you feel so terribly sad. You feel sad about the money, but you feel sad about the situation.”

‘Something really bad has happened’

For intended parents and surrogates, trouble emerged around late May, when surrogates did not receive their usual payments.

Arielle Mitton gives surrogate mother Tena Doan’s belly a kiss. Doan is carrying Mitton’s baby.  (Arielle Mitton)

In early June, Tena Doan — a 42-year-old surrogate mother in Indiana — said she noticed her bank account balance was lower than expected and realized her monthly payment and allowance had not come through. Her surrogacy agency told her that banking issues at SEAM had delayed the arrival of the money.

“I said, ‘No problem, they’ll get it fixed,’” Doan recalled, figuring that banking issues happen. When she logged into SEAM’s portal, she saw that the money listed as due her was still there.

Then came a June 12 email from Side claiming that fraudulent charges had prompted Capitol One to freeze SEAM’s account.

“Some payments were able to go through before the accounts were frozen,” Side wrote in the email. She stated that new bank accounts were established and promised service would be restored.

Two days later, however, Side sent another email indicating that “all operations have been placed on hold” due to legal action.

Doan said that the email stopped her in her tracks.

“That’s when we were like, ‘Oh s—, this is not good. Something really bad has happened,’” Doan recalled. “From there, it’s been a whirlwind.”

Mitton — the mother of the child that Doan is carrying — was at home more than 2,000 miles west.

“The first few days, I barely slept, I was nauseous from all the emotional aspects and had vertigo,” Mitton remembered.

She contacted the FBI, Houston police, the Texas attorney general. Mitton even emailed the CEO of Capital One, questioning how the money could apparently vanish.

Tena Doan, left, and Arielle Mitton. (Arielle Mitton)

Both Doan and Mitton joined the Facebook group and realized they were part of a club they never wanted membership in: those affected by SEAM’s financial collapse.

An informal poll among members suggested that about $10 million was unaccounted for. Parents and surrogates from across the country and around the world have traded information in the Facebook group about current police investigations and become sleuths themselves.

They’ve pored over Side’s various businesses — the Vgn Bae Music Studio, and Nikki Green, a luxury vegan fashion line. They’ve also mined her social media accounts.

A recent post on Side’s Instagram page VgnBaeDom, which has since been deleted, recounted her birthday week in June: Side said she flew to L.A., enjoyed a vegan dinner at the upscale Culver City vegan restaurant Shojin, dined at Crossroads Kitchen and Craig’s — both frequent celebrity hotspots — enjoyed a “full day of spa and cabana” at the Four Seasons, before doing fittings at Celine, the luxury French fashion house.

“The week this was going down was also her birthday week,” said Mitton, who recalled thinking, “She’s probably spending our escrow money there.”

Signs of financial difficulty SEAM was first registered in Texas in 2014. Testimonials from 2017 onward show glowing reviews, and one parent told The Times he had used SEAM for their first child without issue.

Lawsuits from cash advance lenders filed against SEAM and Side in New York this year indicate mounting financial trouble in recent months.

So-called merchant cash-advance lenders send sums of money to distressed businesses, often with a rapid turnaround, and, in exchange, a business lets the lender withdraw a portion of future receipts directly from the business’ bank account to pay off the debt. Cash-advance lenders often insist they aren’t lenders and that cash advances against future revenue aren’t technically loans — but New York’s former attorney general had lambasted the industry for predatory debt-collection practices.

In January, Side received an unspecified sum from Pearl Delta Funding and agreed to pay back $69,500. But she defaulted the next month, prompting the lender to sue her in New York in March. (Pearl Delta’s attorney did not respond to an email seeking comment.)

On May 6, Side secured $650,000 from Dynasty Capital and agreed to pay $975,000, or 150% of the amount borrowed, according to court records.

Under the agreement, the lender was allowed to debit $12,500 per day from SEAM’s account until the full amount was paid back. On May 31, Dynasty Capital said in court papers, SEAM “breached the agreement” and either failed to put revenue into the business account or diverted it elsewhere, leaving Dynasty unable to recoup its money.

Dynasty Capital sued Side, SEAM and her various businesses on June 18. Dynasty’s lawyer declined to comment.

On May 29, Side obtained $100,000 from Arsenal Funding and agreed to allow Arsenal to deduct 1.25% of SEAM’s daily revenue from its business bank account until $149,000 was paid off.

Arsenal sued Side and SEAM last week after Side stopped making payments on June 21 and defaulted, according to the lawsuit filed in New York, which demands about $190,000 to cover the outstanding debt and fees.

To secure the loan from Arsenal, Side had to disclose her largest revenue sources. She listed three companies, all in Southern California: US Harvest Babies Surrogacy in the City of Industry; Mle & Mlang International Surrogacy in L.A.; and a Shady Grove Fertility office in Solana Beach.

But there is reason to doubt the accuracy of what Side told the lender. In a statement, Shady Grove said it had no financial relationship with Side or SEAM and did not refer patients to the company, explaining that “some patients may have independently engaged with SEAM.”

Further, the name that Side had listed as her contact has never been an employee of Shady Grove, according to a person familiar with the company’s operations. And the address she listed for Shady Grove is a small branch in the San Diego area that’s been open for only a few months; Shady Grove is headquartered in Maryland and has 49 locations nationwide.

Neither Harvest Babies or Mlan responded to requests for comment.

Side told Arsenal that she was the 100% owner of SEAM and projected an average monthly revenue of $2.78 million, according to a copy of the financial agreement that Arsenal included with its lawsuit.

Lori Hood, a Houston-based attorney who is representing Slik — the client who sued Side this month in Texas — said she was confounded by SEAM’s financial practices. She said the lawsuit from Dynasty Capital indicated that escrow money was used to secure the $650,000 cash payment.

“How do you put up escrow funds as collateral?” said Hood. “That’s my first indication that something’s desperately wrong. You don’t recognize escrow funds as revenue.”

Second, Hood said, SEAM’s tax records that she’s reviewed also showed revenue of “millions of dollars.”

“Did her company make millions of dollars, or is she putting into the tax returns that the escrow money was her revenue?” Hood asked.

To press their client’s lawsuit against SEAM, Hood and her law partner, Marianne Robak, petitioned a judge to freeze all of SEAM’s accounts at Capital One along with other accounts owned or controlled by Side.

“The evidence shows that SEAM’s escrow account with Capital One ... has no funds available,” notes the request for a restraining order to freeze all accounts. “SEAM is insolvent.”

In the filing, Hood also accused SEAM of diverting money into accounts in the name of Life Escrow LLC, a company registered last year to Side’s business partner, Anthony Hall, who is also a defendant in the suit filed by Slik.

Side’s “actions appear to be to avoid having to face the clients she defrauded. It appears she had absconded,” states the restraining order, which a Harris County, Texas, judge signed off on June 21.

Reached by phone on Thursday, Hall said he “had no connection with SEAM,” adding, “I wish I had answers.” Hall said he was a business partner of Side in the vegan music studio, Vgn Bae Studios, adding, “Everything was great until it wasn’t.”

Hall said he did not know if Side had an attorney and said that he was speaking only for himself.

“She’s not gonna respond,” he said of Side. “I’m defending myself. I don’t know what they have going on.”

Pregnancies don’t wait

For Hood and hundreds of surrogate mothers and parents, questions mount.

“I won’t cast blame on any of the parents. They did everything they were supposed to do,” Hood said.

Time is short, however, for ongoing pregnancies and those couples who hope to have a surrogate receive an embryo soon.

Kettmann, from the Sacramento area, said their surrogate mother is 22 weeks pregnant. Of the $57,000 they put into SEAM, he said, $45,000 is missing. The rest had already been distributed to the surrogate.

“It’s a scramble,” he said. He and his wife had some money saved for additional expenses, which they’ve used to cover the June payment that never arrived from SEAM. He’s now fundraising from family and friends.

“We told her we’ll do everything we can to keep her up to date on payments,” he said, “but [we’re] asking her to be patient.”

Mitton and her surrogate mother, Doan, have started collecting donations through GoFundMe and plan to extend the payment terms two years, rather than having all the money sent to Doan shortly after delivery.

“I’m growing a healthy baby girl for them,” Doan said, “and that’s all that matters.”

[butch-errant]

I wish I was a cougar or some other type of big cat. I wanna go scream outside ppls windows at night and eat deers without needing to worry about cwd