Who of the two gets pregnant?
When a couple of women decide to become mothers, they need to decide which of the two will become pregnant. This decision can be made by your own choice or for medical reasons. Depending on the couple and the chosen technique, it will be more convenient for one or the other to get pregnant.
The ROPA method
The ROPA method is one of the most used by lesbian mothers, since it makes one of the members of the couple the genetic mother and the other, the pregnant woman.
The CLOTHING method uses the technique of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), in which the woman’s eggs are extracted and fertilized in the laboratory. The resulting embryos are implanted in the uterus. In this case, the one that provides the eggs is one and the one that gestates the embryo is the other.
This method gets both women involved more than any other. The genetic mother participates in the early stages of the process, that is, in ovarian stimulation and extraction. The pregnant mother takes sides with In Vitro Fertilization from this moment on: the preparation of the endometrium begins, the transfer, the freezing of the remaining embryos, if any, and, finally, the pregnancy.
The ROPA method is almost always applied under medical criteria, in cases for example, in which one of the women does not have oocytes or they are not of good quality, or of absence or severe dysfunction of the ovaries. In these cases, she may be the one who gets pregnant (pregnant mother) and the other one who provides the eggs (genetic mother). On the other hand, if one of the women in the couple has chromosomal or genetic alterations, she will be the one who must become pregnant and
Through Artificial Insemination (AI)
Also a couple of women can become a mother through Artificial Insemination. In this case, it will be the same one that provides the eggs and becomes pregnant. That is, the genetic mother and the pregnant woman coincide, as the eggs of the woman who becomes pregnant are the ones that are fertilized.
In Artificial Insemination (AI), a donor semen sample is inserted into the uterus of the woman who is to become pregnant. This is a fairly straightforward procedure. The ovary is stimulated and the semen sample is treated in the laboratory to increase the chances of pregnancy. Insemination is simple and is done in consultation and without sedation.
This procedure recreates an environment very similar to that of natural fertilization. It is indicated in cases of women under 37 years of age and with a good reproductive diagnosis. Although these are general indications, the specialist medical team will be the one to advise which of the two is the one that should become pregnant to maximize the possibility of pregnancy.
Momstwo, the guide for families of two moms
Taking a further step in supporting this family model, IVI has published a guide that collects the necessary information that solves the most common doubts that arise when setting up a family of two mothers. It’s called momstwo, the guide for families of two moms, and you can download it at this link.
