What I’m really thinking: the same-sex IVF couple

The other couples avoid eye contact. I can see their curiosity fizzing – how on earth did two women get fertility treatment on the NHS?

We see the way heads turn when we walk into the waiting area, the way other people sneak glances at my more androgynous-looking partner to check if she really is a woman. They are making sure they are seeing what they think they are – two women at this mainly NHS-funded clinic.

Our treatment over the past five years has taken us through several unsuccessful and heartbreaking rounds of IUI and a round of IVF. We have been through countless hospital visits and spent hundreds of hours in waiting-room limbo. Yet I could count on one hand the other same-sex female couples I’ve seen. There is always a small flash of recognition, but nothing more. I wouldn’t dream of intruding further. You don’t know what show-stopping news they may have just received.

Related: What I’m really thinking: the A&E doctor

Continue reading... December 16, 2017 at 02:30PM