Fertility services are relatively new fields in medicine, and as a patient who underwent fertility treatments for over five years, I can attest that it is a constantly changing field. In my own experience, as a woman in a same sex relationship undergoing fertility in New York City, my doctors used the terms “assisted pregnancy” or “assisted reproduction technology”, otherwise known as ART. ART, which includes IVF and egg donation, is classified as procedures that involve the physical handling of eggs and embryos. Assisted pregnancy includes IUI or ICI, intrauterine insemination or intracervical insemination, where someone, oftentimes a healthcare professional, inserts sperm into the uterus or the cervix immediately prior to ovulation. It also includes IVD, in vitro fertilization, where an egg is fertilized outside the body, then transferred at varying stages of its development, depending on the protocol chosen by you and your doctor. The field is ever evolving, as technology and research alter recommendations for medicine, treatments, preemptive care, and cost of services. In addition, changes in insurance mandates and coverage have also had an extreme effect on what kind of care is on offer. Depending on where you live, the kind of coverage and care you receive can vary drastically. And though fertility services are expanding and becoming more widely available, same sex couples face many obstacles in attaining those services. From insurance protocols geared toward heterosexual couples, inappropriate language on forms, lack of knowledge around the specific needs of same sex couples, and perceived or outright homophobia, these deterrents add to the already mounting stress factors involved in trying to have a baby. In many cases, women in same sex relationships must rely on fertility services in order to get pregnant. In fact, some would argue that it is almost impossible to get pregnant without at least some aid, whether that be in the form of sperm donation or lawyers or the more medical route of ART. And yet, despite the need for these services for women in same sex relationships to get pregnant, the field of fertility is exceptionally difficult to navigate for these couples.
Fertility and Sterility is a publication that focuses on research covering all sorts of reproductive advances and outcomes. If you have ever sat in an office, waiting to discuss your numbers or your ultrasound or your projected fertility rates, then you know that the game was not designed for us. If you want validation for these feelings, then scope the articles below.
| Gay and Bi Men Pursuing Fatherhood | A 2020 article that concludes that facilities need to be better prepared to understand the legal and financial barries GBM face when pursuing reproductive services. |
| Cultural Competence in Fertility Care | This 2021 article concludes that the studies of provider perspectives agreed that same-sex and transgender patients face barriers in fertility care, including discrimination, heteronormativity, provider time constraints, and lack of tailored information. |
| Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Recommendations for Improving ART services | This 2006 article concludes that it is time to assess assisted reproductive technology services developed primarily for heterosexual women to “determine the extent to which they are useful for and accessible to lesbian and bisexual women”. |
| https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(21)02069-0/fulltext | This 2021 article concludes that sexual minority women face an information scarcity both online and in practices, stating that there needs to be a fundamental shift in who seeks and needs reproductive assistance. |
