No matter where you are on your family-building journey, holidays like Mother's Day can sting. If you're still in the trenches of trying to conceive, navigating fertility treatment or coping with losses, this day is even harder. Here are some words of comfort from a veteran fertility nurse.

Last updated June 16, 2026 At a Glance → Gay Parents To Be is an educational and community resource hub for LGBTQ+ family building, not a separate clinic or treatment service. → Connecticut-based Illume Fertility is the clinical practice behind Gay Parents To Be, delivering every aspect of fertility and family-building care for LGBTQ+ patients across the Northeast and beyond → Gay Parents To Be was launched in 2012 by Dr. Mark Leondires, Illume's Founder and Medical Director, after he navigated his own personal family-building journey as a gay dad. → The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has named Illume a Healthcare Equality Leader for eight consecutive years, making us the only freestanding fertility center in the Northeast to hold the designation. If you've landed here, you're probably wondering about the connection between Illume Fertility and Gay Parents To Be. You may have noticed that the two share a lot of overlap, from team members to patient stories. Learn why Gay Parents To Be was created, and how both can support and empower your LGBTQ+ family-building journey.

As a fertility practice dedicated to providing inclusive fertility and family-building care for all, we are honored to be recognized by the Human Rights Campaign for our seventh year.

Despite the prevalence of infertility (now impacting 1 in 6 people globally), many still feel they have to hide their struggles. In honor of National Infertility Awareness Week, former fertility patients choose to tell their stories - in the hopes of helping others feel less alone.

Recent research shows that 42% of U.S. adults have utilized fertility treatment or know someone who has. But even with the increasing prevalence of treatments like IVF, some still struggle for years to conceive. In this story, one couple opens up about their difficult journey.

When you have to pay for fertility treatment out of pocket, it's natural to want to give yourself the best possible chances of success. Hear from one uninsured couple who had two sets of fraternal twins as a result of their choices during IVF treatment.

Last updated August 15, 2025 Choosing an egg donor is one of the first big decisions you'll need to make as a dad-to-be pursuing surrogacy. In this guide, we provide a comprehensive overview of the emotional, medical, and legal aspects to help you navigate the process of finding an ideal egg donor.

The path to parenthood through gestational surrogacy is complex, requiring coordinated efforts from many different parties: the intended parent(s), a physician, fertility clinic team, surrogacy agency, legal experts, and sometimes donors. In this story, one woman shares how her experience working in a fertility clinic led her to become a surrogate herself.