Advice Wanted! Home insemination crisis!

Hi - another successful self insemination Mum here! We just used a clean yoghurt pot - not sterile. The sperm needs to be preferably kept warm and dark, and used within 20 minutes. Dp and I used our donor's spare room - arranged a time for us to go round and he very kindly let us use his spare room - and then lay on the bed after with a pillow under our bums for about 15 - 20 minutes. Worked for both of us - good luck!!!

Just a suggestion but could you not go with your DH to collect the sperm an inseminate there, in a bathroom, if necessary. Not quite as romantic as your own bedroom perhaps but it would solve the problem wouldn't it?

Hello SweetFudge - I am another one of the successful lesbian mums.

1] We didn't use a sterile jar. We used a (clean) plastic babyfood container with a lid.

2] The jar doesn't need to be stored in a flask. It should be kept at body temperature. I seem to remember holding it under my arm. Between the legs while driving would have the same effect.

3] The sooner you can get the sperm inside you the better. It's not that it would be no use after an hour, but fresher is better. The longer you wait, the more sperm will die off.

Could you work out some kind of system where you arrange the approximate time for the donation, dh drives over to the area and then waits somewhere nearby for a phone call from the donor when he has "produced." Then you would only have the sperm outside the body for half an hour.

When having tests for infertility etc, DH had to take a sample - it did not have to be sterile pot but had to be kept warm ( kept it under arm pit) and had to be delivered with in one hour ( any more and no good ) ant way after all this it ws a problm with mebut hope this helps you

Obviously it should be in a container while it is in your bra.

Hello from one of mumsnet's 'successful lesbian mothers'! We did not use a sterile jar and nothing bad happened. Our donor produced the goods into a clean yoghurt pot or something like that, then sucked it up into a syringe (one of those needle-less ones you use for giving medicine to tiny babies) which we used to inseminate.

I haven't got direct experience of transporting the sperm as we didn't have to, but I have heard stories of people carrying sperm across town in their bras, to keep it at body temperature. Obviously this would be tricky for your dh but maybe he can figure out something. Sorry but I don't know how long it lives outside the body.

This might seem too awkward but would it be possible for you to go to the donor's house and inseminate there, or alternatively for him to come to your house and 'do the business' there? We did both of these at different times, but we were good friends with the donor.

After inseminating we (me and, when she was trying to get pregnant, my dp) used to stick loads of pillows under our hips and lie there for 20 minutes, but I'm not sure if that's really essential. Not many people do it after the more traditional method after all!

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I should think it would be crucial to use a sterile jar! And I think that the warmth is good for sperm, they need to be kept warm. I also seem to remember that inseminated should ideally be performed an hour after the semen has been collected, but I'm sure that just over an hour won't make much difference. And you need to put your legs up on pillows for ages.

Don't ask me how I know all this, I must have read it somewhere!

I think you might well look on the Pink Parents website, you know. And/or do a google search on 'lesbian mothers'.

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