At-Home Insemination: First Home-Use Kit for Conceiving Available

“Putting the bread in the oven” is easy, right? Well, not always. One in eight couples struggle with emotional and physical challenges trying to conceive a baby. It’s not uncommon to use different ways other than intercourse to put sperm in the vagina toward conception but now there’s an at-home insemination kit that makes the process possible for those who prefer to do it themselves. This is the first product brought to market for this purpose.

New Device for Traditional Method

Maureen Brown and her husband invented Mosie Baby as a solution to their struggle with unexplained infertility. The gentle method they created for at-home insemination gained approval for consumer use by the Food and Drug Administration in December 2023—no prescription needed! Home insemination happens much like intercourse with sperm placed into a needleless, syringe-like device and gently inserted into the vaginal canal.

Artificial insemination has been used for centuries, including by people in same-sex relationships who have the goal of starting a family. With insemination, the goal is to increase the chance of conception because sperm have less distance to travel to reach the egg. Insemination is designed to boost pregnancy chances each month when used during ovulation. The success rate for insemination is 5-30% per cycle.

How to Do Home Insemination

To start, it’s important to learn when you ovulate—or release an egg from one of your ovaries—each month. You can use an ovulation tracking kit and a basal body thermometer to detect that tiny increase in temperature post-ovulation to identify which days of your cycle you typically ovulate within. For many women, this happens between day 10 to 15 if you have a 28-day cycle, for example.

The following tips can help improve success with home insemination:

• Semen should be used once expressed as quickly as possible to maintain its temperature as close as possible to normal body temperature
• To begin insemination, lay on your back with your hips raised on a pillow or two
• Have your partner gently insert the syringe into your vagina as far as it will go
• Once in place, you or your partner can press the plunger until it is empty
• Then leave the syringe in place for 10-15 seconds before withdrawing it

To maximize the opportunity for conception, remain lying down with your hips elevated for 15-30 minutes after insemination. You may choose to only inseminate once during a cycle, or repeat insemination two or three times during your fertile window.

Finally, a note about expectations. On average, it takes five cycles for most women to achieve pregnancy through insemination. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen on your first or second try. By following the tips above, you’ll give yourself the best chance of starting a family.