Insemination Articles
Insurance for Fertility Treatments, by Katharine Swan :: Infertility is often defined as the inability to get pregnant within a year of having unprotected intercourse. Lesbian would-be parents often face a harsher reality, however. The success rate for conceiving with frozen sperm hovers between 8 and 15 percent, compared with a 20 to 30 percent chance of conceiving during “breeder” intercourse. These odds lead many lesbian bio-moms to use fertility drugs, which can cost up to $1,000 every month. Read up on the facts on fertility insurance so you know what to expect. more »
GLBT Family Health: How In Vitro Fertilization Affects Your Baby’s Health, by Katharine Swan :: Unfortunately, researchers are now finding that IVF babies are not as healthy as their normally conceived counterparts. If you and your partner opt for in vitro fertilization, how will it likely affect the health of your child? more »
GLBT Parenting and the Marvel of Multiples: Tips for Gay and Lesbian Parents Raising Twins, Triplets, and More, by Katharine Swan :: Raising multiples presents many challenges for gay and lesbian parents, but it can also be rewarding in many ways. Many parents find it delightful to see the vastly different personalities exhibited in their twins or triplets. Nothing is quite so astonishing as realizing how different two (or more) children can be, regardless of how alike they look or how many months they spent twined around each other in the womb. more »
Who Should Be the Bio-Mom?, by Katharine Swan :: Deciding who will be the bio-mom and who will be the other-mother is usually seen as a hurdle unique to lesbian couples. However, it might be more accurate to describe this decision as a luxury straight couples don’t have. Unlike a straight couple, you get to decide which parent is the logical choice for bearing and breastfeeding the baby. more »
The Artificial Insemination Guide: How to Buy and Use Sperm, by Katharine Swan :: So you and your partner have decided to have a child – you’ve even decided who will carry it. But for many lesbian mothers-to-be, the question is where to get the sperm – and how to perform the artificial insemination once you have it. more »
What To Expect When Donating Your Sperm, by Katharine Swan :: Donating your sperm isn’t a walk in the park by any means – it is a serious decision that requires a lot of thought, and most likely a lot more work than you ever imagined. Click below to read up on the “ins and outs” of putting forth some of your lil’ swimmers. more »
Intro to In Vitro, by Judith E. Beckett, R.N. :: In vitro fertilization is one of several methods of assisted reproduction. It was first accomplished successfully in England in 1978. Louise Brown was the first so-called “test tube baby” conceived using IVF. more »
The Egg and You, by Judith E. Beckett, R.N. :: Some lesbian women may not be as aware of the course of their monthly menstrual cycles as their heterosexual sisters are because they have not needed to use this information to prevent conception. For a lesbian woman planning to get pregnant, however, this knowledge is essential. more »
Getting to Know Your Reproductive Hormones, by Judith E. Beckett, R.N. :: There are really only five hormones you need to know about in order to understand your menstrual cycle, why and when you ovulate, and why changes in body temperature and cervical mucus indicate when you have the best shot at conceiving a baby. more »
How Do I Know When I’m Ovulating?, by Judith E. Beckett, R.N. :: While you are keeping a calendar to track your monthly menstrual cycle and to determine the days when you are most likely to get pregnant, you will also be using three other methods to further pinpoint the day you ovulate. more »
Sperm Donor Tests :: What screening test should our sperm donor undergo? Look here for a suggested list of important tests. more »
At-Home Insemination :: There are basically three ways of doing an at-home insemination… find out more about them in this article . more »
Dictionary of Insemination Terms :: A handy guide to frequently used terms about insemination. more »
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