I recieved my free 'Pregnant Pause' booklet from Stonewall today, it's a very informative and has case studies of other lesbians and their methods of getting pregnant.
Armed with this me & C went to our appointment with the nurse at my local GP clinic.
I'd chosen to have our first appointment with a nurse rather than my doctor, as I felt it was more of an information gathering session and a 'chat' so I didn't want to waste the doctors time when he could be seeing patients.
The nurse was very friendly and easy to talk to, and didn't seem fazed by our sexuality. She admitted she wasn't too sure of the next step we had to take, as she hadn't been asked before. She asked me basic questions "Are my periods regular?" (Yes) "Do I smoke?"(No), that sort of thing, nothing too intrusive or uncomfortable. Apart from advice to increase my folic acid intake she had no real information, but promised she would ring the local fertility clinic and find out from them.
We left the doctors with good feelings, although we didn't really know much more than before, we had started the ball rolling! Within the hour she had rung me back.
Luckily our local clinic would be able to help us, however we would not be able to do it on the NHS, but the costs for the private clinic were surprisingly low.
*For the initial consultion and blood tests etc ~ £150
*IVF if needed ~ £3000 (as far as I know I am healthy, so hopefully will get pregnant without fertility drugs etc)
*Each 'course' of insemination ~ £350. We might have to have more than one course, as sometimes it just doesn't work, but fingers crossed!
I was expecting anything from £3000 to £10'000! These costs are for our local clinic, so might differ from area to area.
We do need to be refered by my GP however, and as we're away this weekend I'll make and appointment on our return, hopefully for sometime next week.
20th June 2010
Hi! Welcome to my blog. My name is Sarah and I am a lesbian. I have recently married the love of my life in a civil partnership.
We have both decided it is time to take the next step and start a family. Although, as far as I'm aware, I'm fit and healthy, for obvious reasons this isn't going to be as straightforward as 'normal' couples, but it isn't impossible!
I hope to chart our journey on this blog, and to be as open and frank as possible. Maybe another lesbian couple will stumble upon it and may find the information useful. Maybe no-one will read it but me, and it will just be an on-line diary and a way for me to let off some steam.
Either way, it should be an adventure!
So far we know very little, I know some people manage it from home with a syringe and a willing male friend. Me and C (my partner) don't want to do it this way, there can sometimes be emotional complications, the donor suddenly deciding he wants to be part of the family and help raise the child etc. We want it to be just us and the baby, so we are hoping for help from a fertility clinic.
However, apart from deciding that I will be the one to carry the baby, we don't know where to go from here, or any of the costs or other things involved. I've found a very good website called Stonewall (link on the left) that is a wealth of information for gays and lesbians for all aspects of life. They have an online guide for getting pregnant, but no numbers etc for contacting a fertility clinic.
I've booked an appointment to see a nurse at my local surgery on Thursday, hopefully she will be able to point us in the right direction.
Wish us luck!
We have both decided it is time to take the next step and start a family. Although, as far as I'm aware, I'm fit and healthy, for obvious reasons this isn't going to be as straightforward as 'normal' couples, but it isn't impossible!
I hope to chart our journey on this blog, and to be as open and frank as possible. Maybe another lesbian couple will stumble upon it and may find the information useful. Maybe no-one will read it but me, and it will just be an on-line diary and a way for me to let off some steam.
Either way, it should be an adventure!
So far we know very little, I know some people manage it from home with a syringe and a willing male friend. Me and C (my partner) don't want to do it this way, there can sometimes be emotional complications, the donor suddenly deciding he wants to be part of the family and help raise the child etc. We want it to be just us and the baby, so we are hoping for help from a fertility clinic.
However, apart from deciding that I will be the one to carry the baby, we don't know where to go from here, or any of the costs or other things involved. I've found a very good website called Stonewall (link on the left) that is a wealth of information for gays and lesbians for all aspects of life. They have an online guide for getting pregnant, but no numbers etc for contacting a fertility clinic.
I've booked an appointment to see a nurse at my local surgery on Thursday, hopefully she will be able to point us in the right direction.
Wish us luck!
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