At Inovi, our goal is to help everyone experience the joy of parenthood including LGBTQ patients and their partners. Whether you’re single or in a same-sex partnership, our fertility treatments can bring to life your dreams of becoming a parent.
First Steps in LGBTQ Family Planning
During your initial visit, you and your partner will undergo various tests and answer questions about your medical history in order to determine any roadblocks to fertility. For men wishing to use their sperm, this will include a semen analysis to evaluate your sperm’s shape (morphology), motion (motility), and quantity. Women wishing to use their eggs or carry the pregnancy will be evaluated with an ultrasound and hormone testing to ensure their ability to do so.
If fertility issues are uncovered, your Inovi fertility specialist will recommend the appropriate course of treatment to allow you to conceive or have children. If no fertility factors are found, we will proceed with the steps necessary to achieve pregnancy.
How can a female same-sex couple have a baby?
Same-sex female couples have a few options when it comes to having a baby. Intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF) are the most common methods that allow women in a same-sex relationship to conceive. Typically one of the partners will carry the pregnancy, but surrogacy is also an option.
Sperm Donor
The first step toward conception for a same-sex female couples is to identify a sperm donor. You may request a known sperm donor such as a friend, or you may select a sperm donor from a sperm bank. We can help guide you through the sperm donor selection process by providing you information about potential donors and executing legal contracts to protect everyone.
Once a sperm donor is selected, assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments can be performed to help you conceive.
Intrauterine insemination (IUI)
IUI is the least-invasive fertility treatment option for same-sex female individuals or couples. During IUI the sperm from your selected sperm donor is injected into your uterus through the cervix during ovulation. This method simulates conception through intercourse, allowing the sperm to fertilize the egg on its own.
In vitro fertilization (IVF)
If you choose IVF, your egg(s) will be fertilized outside the body in the laboratory using the donor sperm. Then, the resulting embryo will be transferred to your uterus or your partner’s at the appropriate time.
IVF is often recommended for same-sex female couples that wish to share the experience of pregnancy with one woman donating the eggs and the other carrying the pregnancy. IVF may also be preferable in instances where IUI success rates are expected to be low due to a woman’s age or diminishing egg supply, or previous IUI failures.
It is possible to perform both IUI and/or IVF procedures on both female partners as long as there are no fertility issues or risks from one partner carrying the pregnancy.
Additional Family Planning Information
How can a same-sex male couple have a baby?
In order to have a baby, a same-sex male couple needs both an egg donor and a surrogate. Once the egg donor and surrogate are established, one or both men may donate sperm for fertilization.
In Texas, gestational surrogacy is the only legal option for same-sex male couples to father a child. Another method, traditional surrogacy, whereby the woman chosen to carry the pregnancy also furnishes the eggs and is impregnated using intrauterine insemination (IUI), is only allowed in a handful of states, not including Texas.
Gestational surrogacy is what we offer at Inovi. This process is when a woman is chosen to carry a pregnancy but a separate egg donor is selected. The eggs from the donor are fertilized by your sperm in a process called in vitro fertilization (IVF). The resulting embryo is then transferred to your surrogate’s uterus at the appropriate time.
If you or your partner have fertility issues or if you do not wish to donate your sperm, a sperm donor is always an option.
Fertility Preservation for Transgender People
If you are transgender, there are several things to consider before undergoing a gender affirming surgery, including the preservation of your eggs or sperm for future use. In most cases the surgery itself or hormones taken to aid in your transition will interfere with your ability to have a biological child unless you have preserved your fertility beforehand.
At Inovi, we can freeze your eggs or sperm prior to gender affirming surgery so that you will be able to use them with a sperm/egg donor and partner/surrogate in the future.
Let us help build your family
If you are LGBTQ+ and are looking to preserve future fertility or pursue pregnancy, let us help! Dr. Stephan Krotz has the knowledge and ability to facilitate a method of conception that will put you on the path to parenthood. Give us a call today at 713-401-9000 to schedule your fertility evaluation.
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