LGBTQ+ Family Planning and Pregnancy Support

Every family is unique, and everyone should have equal access to care and family planning, no matter your identity.

AHN’s Women and Infants Center at Forbes Hospital is committed to inclusive care, supporting LGBTQ+ patients and diverse families through fertility, pregnancy, and family planning.

Being open with your provider

It can feel overwhelming to talk with your physician about your identity, but your AHN providers are here to support you. They will do everything they can to make you feel comfortable and provide compassionate, hands-on care.

LGBTQ+ patients or couples might seek out care at Forbes for many reasons, including:

• Exploring adoption, foster care, or surrogacy.
• Navigating transgender pregnancy.
• Learning about fertility options for same-sex parents.

To care for you and your family best, your AHN care team will start by learning about you and your health care goals, which may include:

• Stopping or changing your menstrual cycle to avoid periods or pregnancy.
• Getting pregnant or starting a family through non-traditional methods.

Transgender pregnancy

If you’re transgender and have questions about family planning, your doctors will provide a safe space for you to explore your options, including pregnancy planning and whether you want to carry a child.

If pregnancy is not your goal, you can also discuss medications or birth control options. If you’re taking testosterone therapy (treatment to increase testosterone levels and achieve male features) and want to stop your period, there are safe medications that can be used alongside hormone treatment.

Ask your care team questions about AHN’s transgender health care and what treatments are available for you based on your needs.

Understanding fertility options

The fertility team at Forbes can help you explore options for starting a family. AHN offers fertility testing and treatment for people with a range of different needs, like:

• Testing fertility based on age.
• Treatment based on irregular or painful menstrual periods.
• Preparing to use donor eggs or donor sperm.
• Preparing to use a surrogate.

For female same-sex couples that include one partner who wants to carry the pregnancy herself, intra-uterine insemination (IUI) is a common fertility option. IUI uses donor sperm to achieve pregnancy. Your AHN team can help you decide whether IUI, or another fertility method, is right for you.

Exploring surrogacy

If carrying a pregnancy is not an option, egg retrieval can be done to pair your eggs with donor sperm for use with a gestational carrier (surrogate).

There are two types of surrogacies:

• Gestational surrogacy – The surrogate carries the pregnancy but has no genetic link to the child.
• Traditional surrogacy – The surrogate carries the pregnancy and is genetically related to the child. 

Forbes Hospital’s fertility group can help you pursue a surrogate independently or with the help of an agency.

Adoption and foster care options

There are many organizations that help families adopt and foster children. Currently, there are more than 400,000 children in foster care in the U.S., and around 117,000 – ranging in age from infants to young adults – that are waiting to be adopted by a loving family.*

There are two main types of adoption:

• Private adoption – Birth parents choose the adoptive family. Agencies provide counseling and legal support for birth parents and adoptive families.
• Public adoption – A family adopts through the public foster care system (can be a state or county agency), without the birth parents being involved.

If you’re considering adoption, talk with your trusted AHN providers or counselors; they can help you choose the best option for your family.

Seek out the support you need

Building a family is a big decision. AHN’s Women and Infants Center at Forbes Hospital offers LGBTQ+ families the resources and support they need along the way. Reach out today to learn more.