Two paths to two pregnancies: An LGBTQ fertility treatment success story

When Josephine and Kathryn married in 2023, both women knew they wanted to have children. What they didn’t expect was that their path to parenthood through LGBTQ fertility treatment would hold a few surprises along the way.

“As a queer couple, we knew we would need a little help building our family,” Josephine says. “We wanted kids pronto, but obviously, we can’t do it for free. It’s an investment and a process.”

Because Kathryn and Josephine needed intrauterine insemination with donor sperm, the couple’s primary care doctor recommended Texas Fertility Center in Austin. TFC is proud to provide LGBTQ fertility treatment for individuals and couples from across Texas and the United States, including IUI for same-sex couples. 

The couple chose to start the IUI process under the care of Amy Schutt, MD, who was eager to help them achieve their family-building goals.

“From the start, Dr. Schutt said, ‘We can do this,’” Josephine recalls. “She was not worried at all. Nothing can faze her. It was so easy to build a relationship with her and her team. She was such a great resource through the entire fertility journey.”

Because Josephine is seven years older than Kathryn and was in her late 30s, their original idea was for Josephine to get pregnant first, then for Kathryn to carry a sibling later. But after Dr. Schutt ordered fertility testing for both partners, those plans changed. The results revealed that Kathryn’s egg reserve was lower than Josephine’s, so they decided to move forward with intrauterine insemination for Kathryn, then have Josephine carry their second pregnancy. 

Starting the process of IUI for same-sex couples

The first step was choosing their anonymous sperm donor.

“We had some criteria for choosing the donor,” Josephine says. “Kathryn’s family is really tall, so we wanted a tall guy to represent that. The plan was to use the same donor for both babies, and we wanted someone who looked like he could be either of our cousins, so our children would resemble us more than not.”

The couple was able to purchase and store several vials of donor sperm for multiple rounds of fertility treatment. After two rounds of IUI, they were thrilled to receive their first positive pregnancy test. 

“I felt so lucky to conceive on our second IUI try. It was such a relief,” Kathryn says. 

Kathryn gave birth to their daughter, Penelope, in late 2024. She was healthy and full-term, in spite of an early delivery due to a pre-eclampsia diagnosis.

Time to try for baby number two

With baby Penelope bringing so much joy into their lives, Kathryn and Josephine were ready to try for baby number two just a few months after her birth. With Dr. Schutt, Josephine started a series of IUIs at the age of 38. When five cycles of IUI didn’t result in pregnancy, Dr. Schutt recommended that the couple move on to IVF.

Just after their daughter’s first birthday, the family happily celebrated another milestone: Josephine was pregnant with a baby boy. When Dr. Schutt’s nurse called with the news, they could tell that she was as happy and excited as Josephine and Kathryn. 

“Getting pregnant was stressful, and it took almost a year,” Josephine says. “When the nurses would call and say, ‘You’re not pregnant this time,’ I could hear the empathy in their voices. But now, it is amazing being pregnant with a spouse who has been pregnant before. Kathryn is so nice to me, and she doesn’t wonder why I’m crying for no reason because she understands how I’m feeling.”

Now a year and a half old, Penelope is a vivacious, smart toddler who is keeping her mothers busy by climbing, learning to run, and getting excited to welcome her baby brother in the summer of 2026. Because the couple used the same donor’s sperm for both babies, Kathryn and Josephine are eager to see what similarities and differences will appear as their kids grow up.

Where to go in Austin for LGBTQ fertility treatment? Their answer is TFC

Kathryn, Josephine and Penelope look forward to reuniting with Dr. Schutt and the TFC team at TFC Baby Reunions in Austin. 

“We went last year, when Penelope was about five or six months old,” Josephine says. “There were babies there as young as six weeks old, and kids of all ages, including a 17-year old. It’s so fun to see all the different families and the long-lasting legacy of the work they do at TFC.”

For others who want to grow their families through LGBTQ fertility treatment, Kathryn and Josephine have one more bit of advice: Go see Dr Schutt!  “We are the biggest fans of Dr. Schutt and her nurses, who we love so much,” Kathryn says. “She and her team are so supportive and excellent at what they do. We met other practitioners there, too, and we always felt welcome.”