The Embryonic Olympics: Making Our Embryos for IVF
After over a year of planning, we have our embryos! This article details the stages in this journey, describing the challenges, stress, and results. This was not what we were expecting, but we are thrilled to have completed what I am now calling the Embryonic Olympics.
Let’s Talk About ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection)
My husband and I are about to make embryos, and our clinic will be using intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) as the procedure for fertilizing the eggs with our sperm. Because of that, I wanted to do a review of ICSI, covering what it is, how it works, who is it for, and how this all measures up with our own reproductive journey.
Navigating Fertility Clinic Success Rates in the United States
Are you starting your journey through assisted reproduction and overwhelmed with how to choose a fertility clinic? After all, how do you know which clinics are ‘good?’ Does ‘good’ to you mean how many procedure they do in a year, or is it more about their success rates? I recently discovered that the U.S. government has a law that requires the approximately 500 fertility clinics in the country to report their data on the patients they work with, the procedures they do, an the success of these procedures in a single database that is curated by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In this article, I review the database, explain how to approach it, discuss what is missing - specifically for queer intended parents - and share my plans for a more queer-friendly database.
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI): Essential Questions and Answers
Intrauterine insemination (IUI). What is it? Who is it for? How much does it cost? How well does it work? How does it compare to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracervical insemination (ICI)? So many fertility acronyms, and this article has them all and all the answers to important questions about IUI.
Contemplating Life, Death, and Divorce while Reviewing Our Egg Donor Contract
Our journey to fatherhood continues with our latest milestone: The egg donor contract. This contract brought up a lot of interesting topics for my husband and me. We had to contemplate our own mortality, relationship, and future in a way that we haven’t yet. In this article, I reflect on this experience to share it with other queer intended dads.
The Waiting Game of Having a Baby Through IVF and Surrogacy
Having a baby through IVF and surrogacy as a queer man is a marathon, not a sprint. In this article, I describe the first 1.5 years of my husband’s and my journey thus far. There have been some amazing highs, but there have also been a number of long periods of waiting. Focusing on the journey, not the destination, is one of the goals of BabyMoon Family, and one that I hope to emulate on my own journey to fatherhood.
I am Writing a Book about IVF and Surrogacy for Queer Men
I am writing a book about IVF and surrogacy for queer men. None exists, and it’s time we have one. In this article, I draft a Table of Contents based on articles I have written, and then I highlight missing content that could be written to fill out the book. Read through and see if there are any topics that are missing or that you would like to have more of in the book.
As Alabama Essentially Bans IVF, My Husband and I Write a Thank You Letter to Our Egg Donor
The Alabama Supreme Court has taken a huge step in essentially banning IVF in the state by stating that embryos are ‘children.’ This comes at a time when my husband and I are continuing our journey to fatherhood through IVF and surrogacy in California, and we are drafting a heartfelt thank you letter to our egg donor. This juxtaposition highlights the political, social, scientific divide we have in our country and the world at the moment. What is the way forward? For BabyMoon Family and I, it is to fight for gay, bi, queer men to have access to the science that allows them to build the rainbow families of their dreams.
10 Questions to Discuss before Pursuing Surrogacy (Part 2)
My husband and I are on our first journey to fatherhood through surrogacy. This article (Part 2 of 2, see below for Part 1) suggests questions that any queer man should try and answer before starting the process of surrogacy. It’s a long journey, but if you think what is important to you and the creation of your family, it can be an even more enjoyable journey.
Queer Future Science: Same Sex Couples Could Have a Child Genetically Related to Both Parents
Recent experiments with mice have allowed two male mice to have genetically related offspring. This process is called in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG. This article discusses how IVG works, the results of the IVG experiments in mice, when IVG could be used in humans, and what this could mean for same sex couples and assisted reproductive technology (ART) in the future.
How to Navigate Picking an Egg Donor
What’s it like picking an egg donor? This article is about the challenges and process that my husband and I have undertaken in approaching our selection of an egg donor. Choosing an egg donor is an exciting and important step in anyone’s journey to fatherhood through IVF and surrogacy, and I hope this article is helpful for anyone embarking on this stage.
Lesbian Moms Can Each Carry Their Baby: New Frontiers in LGBTQ+ Reproduction
Intravaginal culture (IVC) and ‘shared motherhood’ through a novel technology called INVOcell allows lesbian mothers-to-be to each carry their child. How does IVC work? Is IVC as good as IVF? What are the benefits and challenges of IVC? All these questions are answered in this article.
Navigating and Negotiating a U.S. Hospital Bill for International Intended Parents
Many international intended parents (IPs) pay their hospital bill for their newborn in the United States with cash. What can they expect the bill to cost? How do they navigate the bill and negotiate with the hospital? Are there resources to help with this process? All this and more in this original BabyMoon Family article.
What is it Like to Undergo Egg Donation?
What is it like to donate your eggs or ovaries? This article aims to describe this process for women, and also to provide more understanding and empathy for intended parents (IPs). It’s important to know medical details and challenges that women go through in order to make the incredible donation of ovaries.
How Close are We to Becoming ‘The Pod Generation’ and How Would This Affect Queer Intended Dads?
The ‘Pod Generation’ is a movie that dives into the not-to-distant future to explore what it would be like to have a child through an artificial womb, or pod. How close are we to this technology? In this article, I dive into the most recent science to see when (not if, because they will be developed) artificial wombs would become a reality. It’s an amazing field of research, and artificial wombs would be a game changer for queer men having babies.