Fertility Service Utilization of Female Birth Parents in Same-Sex Marriages

Jae Downing , University of South Carolina

Little is known about the fertility experiences of women in same-sex relationships although pathways to fertility differ from those in different-sex relationships. No research we are aware of use population-level administrative data to look at fertility treatments and technologies within legally recognized same-sex marriages. We use all Massachusetts birth certificate records with linked hospital records in 2012 to 2016 to examine fertility services used in each pregnancy, demographics, and pregnancy characteristics for women in same-sex and different-sex married couples. Among pregnancies to women in same-sex marriages (n=1439), 34 percent resulted from in-vitro fertilization (IVF), compared to 4 percent of pregnancies to women in different-sex marriages (n=233,158), respectively. Given the increased risks and costs associated with many fertility treatments, more research is needed to understand the unique fertility experiences of women in same-sex couples.

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 Presented in Session 178. Fertility and Sexual and Reproductive Health of Sexual Minorities