From the Heart: Our Story
Myself and my partner are in a same-sex relationship (we are both females), and in the last couple of years, have been thinking about having children.
We are thankful for the advances in fertility care – and in societal attitudes – that this was an option for us. Previously, the fact of being gay may have meant that becoming a parent was not on the cards.
There were many different things to think about: the type of treatment we would undergo, the choice of clinic, the pros and cons of different treatment options, and so on. In the end, we decided to undergo egg collection, the embryo created using donor sperm, and then embryo freezing. That would hopefully give us some healthy embryos to use in the next year or two.
As we were making these decisions, our thoughts naturally turned to how we would get ourselves as healthy as possible, in the hopes of us both having successful egg collections and hopefully some healthy eggs for freezing. We were both in our late thirties at this stage. As we researched factors like diet, lifestyle, and exercise, we found increasing references to the importance of gut bacteria in terms of overall health, and in trying to conceive. We started taking NuaBiome Women a few months in advance of our egg collection and continued to take them after. What appealed to us was the combination of vitamins and minerals and the gut bacteria – it felt reassuring to have many things looked after in one small capsule. We also loved the fact that Nua is built on first-hand knowledge of many different fertility journeys and struggles – as a same-sex couple, the language and stories on the Nua website felt very inclusive to us. It’s a small thing, but it really helped, since there are same-sex fertility is still not the norm.
Our egg collection and embryo freezing went very well, with a number of healthy embryos to freeze and hopefully use next year. We will continue to take our Nua Supplements as we prepare for the next stage of the journey. The fertility path can be very daunting – with so many different decisions, choices, ups and downs – it’s great to know that our gut health and supplementation are in good hands.
Anonymous, Dublin July 2022
