How to Get Yourself Pregnant with Home Insemination

Home Insemination is a cheaper and less-invasive way to get pregnant than using a Fertility Clinic

Home insemination is an option for lesbian couples, single women, and even straight couples who need to use donor sperm. If there are no fertility issues, home insemination is a cheaper, less invasive option than a clinic, and can be more intimate.  Here are our tips on how to do it yourself!

There are two different methods of actual insemination – and we will show you how to do both.  The first is the more traditional ‘Turkey Baster’ method, the other is the more modern ‘Cup’ method.

More Reading: M & G conceived after three cycles – read their story here –>

The Advantages of Home Insemination

There are so many advantages to doing your home insemination yourself.  You can avoid the huge medical bills that IVF Clinics and other types of fertility clinics will charge you for the service.  You have full control and privacy over the insemination process. Plus being in the privacy of your own home or safe space, with your partner means that it is a less stressful process.  But it does come with a few cons.

The Disadvantages of Home Insemination

With any medical process that is undertaken at home, there are always risks.  Ensure that any devices that you use during the insemination process are sterile and clean or you could risk infection.

If you are sourcing a donor from a friend or other means, the sample won’t go through the rigorous medical checking that a fertility clinic may use to process the sperm before use.

Find Your Baby Gravy Sample

Unless you have a man who is ready to be your donor, you’ll have to go searching. Some people find donors online or through social groups. Meet with the potential donor, and be clear about your expectations. Ask about his expectations; you need to agree on the terms of the donation. It’s essential that the donor gets tested for sexually transmitted diseases and you may also want him to undertake genetic testing.

Or Find a Donor Sperm

Otherwise, you can find an appropriate sperm donor for home insemination.  There are two ways to go about acquiring donor sperm.  The first way is through either a fertility clinic, where the sperm will be screened thoroughly for diseases such as cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy and many more. And yes, there is even a ‘catalogue’ of the donors with descriptions of their physical attributes and family history – no photographs though!  Once the sperm is harvested, it is tested, frozen for a period of six months, then tested again.  There are limited donors in Australia, so much of the donated sperm is from overseas, particularly in the United States.

The other way to acquire sperm is to sign up to one of the few ‘Sperm donor’ websites or Facebook Groups.  But this can be dodgy (random men giving away their sperm… yeah you are going to get a few crazies!).

Reputable groups and sites do exist though such as:

• Sperm Donation Australia is a Facebook Page that is recommended by quite a few women seeking a donor.
• Sperm Donors Australia has information on the donation of sperm and how to access donor sperm.
• Fairfax Cryobank

In Australia, it is illegal to be paid for a sperm donation.

There are also a couple of sperm banks that are usually associated with fertility clinics.

• Rainbow Fertility
• Hunter IVF

Grab a Sperm Collection Kit

You want to ensure that your Sperm Donor collects his sample in a sanitary (and easy) way.  There are a limited number of sperm collection kits available to the public – but I have found a couple that looks good!

They include:

• Moxie Baby has all your home insemination needs including a sperm collection kit, ovulation tests and syringes.

The Sperm Collection Kit by Moxie Baby 

The Legalities of Sperm Donation in Australia

It is always a good idea to get professional legal advice before going through with donor sperm.  In Australia, a donor-conceived individual is entitled to know who their genetic parents are once they have reached the age of 18.

Check out the latest legalities at Sperm Donation Australia.

The Legalities of Sperm Donation in the United States

In the United States, there are no legalities on who can engage in sperm donation however there are recommedations on how many pregnancies a sperm donor can make.  Many Sperm Banks have a limit of six pregnancies to six different women.

However, some couples choose not to report the donation of sperm so it is very under-reported.

Sign On The Dotted Line

You, your partner, and your donor (if you aren’t going through a fertility clinic) need to sign a donor agreement. The agreement should explicitly detail the terms of the donation, as well as the relationship and contact if any, the donor will have with the child. It is recommended you consult a lawyer familiar with donor agreements, however, there are donor agreement templates online. It’s important to remember that donor agreement are not enforceable by law.

Gather The Supplies for Home Insemination

No matter what process you want to use for home insemination (Turkey Baster Method or Cup Method), you will need Ovulation strips and a basal thermometer tohelp you track your fertility. Your donor will need a specimen sample cup, and for the insemination, you’ll need a 5mL syringe (FYI: ‘turkey basters’ are too big). If you or your donor think you’ll need lubricant, make sure it is a sperm-friendly one. You’ll find all of these items at the pharmacy. You’ll also want to supply some tissues for your donor.

Ovulation Tests like this one are an easy way to predict your ovulation cycle.

Your Place Or Mine?

For home insemination, ideally, your donor would come to you, use a spare room and make his donation. If your donor prefers to be at home, you can pick the semen up and drive it home, but it must be stored at body temperature and should be inseminated within an hour of ‘production’. If your home insemination donor lives more than 45 minutes away, a motel close to your donor’s house might be necessary.

You need to be clear about the donation and insemination procedure. If you find your sperm donor privately, you will likely encounter one who wants sexual intercourse. Thankfully, these are not the majority, but they are out there. Be sure to include the agreed procedures of sperm retrieval in the donor agreement to avoid any confusion.

Get In The Mood for Baby Making

Home insemination means you can be more intimate with your partner during the process, and you should be! Arousal fluid isn’t just a sexual lubricant, it also protects the sperm and helps sperm to get through the vagina. Make sure you have everything you need, and then get hot and heavy (with your partner if you have one) while your donor is off doing his thing.

The Turkey Baster Method of Insemination

Have your sperm donor ejaculate into a sterile medical cup or a condom.  Use a syringe to very gently suction the sample into the syringe chamber.

Insert the syringe into the vagina and aim it down towards the back, to get the sperm close to the cervix. Slowly push the plunger to empty the syringe, and then leave it in position for 10-15 seconds before withdrawing it slowly.

Now it’s up to those tiny ‘swimmers’. To help them along you can do one more thing”

The Cup Method of Insemination:

The Cup Method of home insemination is the use of a menstrual cup to both collect the sperm, and then insert it into the vagina effectively ‘sealing the sperm into the cervix.  You collect the sperm in exactly the same method as above, but the man uses the clean and sterile menstrual cup to ejactulate into.

Once the menstrual cup has the baby gravy inside, pinch the top and fold in half with the semen in the bottom of the cup, and carefully insert it into the vagina and fit the cup into place.

Perhaps give this a try a few times before the actual event to get some practise if you haven’t used a menstrual cup before.  Try and get ‘as shallow’ a menstrual cup as you can so the semen is as close to the cervix as possible. The most shallow one we could find was the Intimina Ziggy Cup.

Then lay back and get hot and heavy with your partner for a great big orgasm to help those sperm get pumped into the uterus.

The Big Finale of Home Insemination

Orgasms are thought to help by ‘sucking’ the sperm up and reducing the distance they have to swim. It’s not an essential part of the baby-making process, but it is a fun way to finish things off! Just be careful – lesbian partners could get pregnant at the same time during their after-insemination antics!

And now you wait. Some say you should tilt your hips up on a pillow for half an hour, and others insert a menstrual cup to keep the semen inside the vagina for as long as possible. Inseminating two or three times per cycle can also increase your chances of pregnancy.

What Are Your Chances of Success Through Home Insemination

The chances of success using home insemination are similar to those achieved through natural intercourse and that sits around 12 – 15% per menstrual cycle.

If you’ve used a private sperm donor, what are your top tips for successful home insemination?