about
On this page, you’ll have the opportunity to find out if you might be able to have a “Pride Baby” and how can we help you with.
Considering that this is a project targeted for the LGBTQIA+ community, Pride Babies recognises the importance of respecting the idiosyncrasies and the needs of each person, and the unconditional acceptance of everybody who wants to fulfil their parenthood project, despite their sexual orientation or gender identity. Supporting freedom of sexual orientation and gender identity is our mission.
We also believe that the abbreviation LGBTQIA+ might rise controversy and might not cover all ways of living/being, so if you think our communication could be more inclusive and respectful, please contact us and let us know your views (email: info@ferticentro.pt).
The following orientations are not specific, they intend to be a general approach, all cases must be clinically assessed before any procedure.
What does LGBTQIA+ stand for?
The letters “LGB” stand for the sexual orientation of the person, in other words, the way one connects affectively and/or sexually with other person. The second part, “TQIA+”, refers to the gender identity, this means how the person identifies him/herself, which goes beyond the female or male gender (binary).
To whom is
dedicated?
Cisgender and Transgender
First of all, it is crucial to distinguish between Cisgender (“Cis”) and Transgender (“Trans”). A Cisgender describes an individual that matches, in all aspects, with the gender assigned at birth.
On the other hand, a Transgender is somebody who shift genders, which means, even though they were born with a male or female reproductive system, they match with the opposite gender.
Lesbian: Cisgender or Transgender person who matches with the female gender and has an affective and/or sexual relationship with other people of the female gender.
#PrideBabiesCanHelp: In general, admitting that the health conditions of the individual are granted, a lesbian person is able to carry a fertility treatment. A lesbian couple or a lesbian single woman, can undergo an Intra Uterine Insemination with Donor Sperm, an In Vitro Fertilization with Donor Sperm or Shared Motherhood (one element of the couple gets pregnant with the embryo created from the oocyte of the other element of the couple and the sperm of a donor).
Gay: Cisgender or Transgender person that matches with the male gender and has an affective and/or sexual relationship with other people of the male gender.
#PrideBabiesCanHelp: Unfortunately, in Portugal, a gay couple can’t carry a fertility treatment to achieve parenthood. However, they can cryopreserve their sperm.
Bissexual: Somebody who affectively or sexually gets along with people from the same gender as theirs or from other genders.
#PrideBabiesCanHelp: In general, admitting that the health conditions of the individual are granted, a bisexual person is able to carry a fertility treatment. One of the elements of the couple must be a woman, because in Portugal exclusive male couples don’t have the possibility to undergo fertility treatments.
Know more
Donor Choice
Why Portugal
It is important to say that Portugal has one of the most progressive laws in Europe in the area of Medically Assisted Procreation.
The members of the couple have exactly the same rights over the children, regardless of the member of the couple whose eggs were used in the treatment (which may also be the result of double donation or embryo donation) or who became pregnant and gave birth to( s) child(ren).
This is an extremely simple process from a bureaucratic point of view, in which pregnancy is obtained using sperm donated by a donor.
In Portugal, children born from treatment with the donation of troughs have the right to know the identity of their donor, which is not only a fundamental right of the child, but it can be very important for health reasons. Donor records are kept for at least 75 years, as defined in the Law, which makes treatments carried out in our country particularly safe from the child's point of view.
These guarantees make Portugal the safest country to carry out Reciprocal Fertilization.
- Non-Anonymity Law of donors
- Access to all PMA methods (Insemination, IVF and ROPA)
- The possibility to choose a donor from an external bank or from our private bank
- Psychological support provided if needed (the first psychological appointment is free of charges)
- Psychological assessment is not necessary to access fertility treatments
- The couple doesn’t need to be married, even for a ROPA method.
testimonials
Isabel is from Guimarães and Daniela is from Torres Novas, but was in Leiria that they came together as a couple in June 2014. It was also in Leiria that, on 15th September 2017, they got married in the presence of family and friends.
They initiated the process for becoming mothers in 2016. After three unsuccessful intra-uterine inseminations, it was at Ferticentro, trough ROPA – shared motherhood, that they finally became pregnant of Leonor.
Isabel and Daniela
« Capucine & I are together since 5 years, and married. We are french. We knew exactly what we wanted for our PMA process, and Ferticentro met all our expectations…
On the first try, I was pregnant ! Today, our daughter Liv is our joy. »
Capucine e Léa
They were neighbours.
They exchanged distant greetings every time they saw each other on the street.
Their professional lives led them not to see each other sporadically, but often. Whenever they were together there was complicity and understanding.
One of them knew in advance of her homosexuality, the other found out when they met. It was love. They had no doubts!
They stick to each other and the desire to become mothers grew rapidly.
It was in Procriar that they had a treatment and today they are mothers of a girl – Lea!
Kari and Andreia
They are Irish, actresses and fighters for the rights of the LGBT+ couples and their children.
“Equality for Children” is the platform they manage and stand for. They have two daughters, being the younger the result of a treatment in Ferticentro.
Ranae and Audrey
"We are Lígia and Liliana. We are both from Viseu. We started to date there, but now we are living in Alcobaça. It was here that we created our independency as a couple.
Our relationship has 11 years and we accomplish our biggest dream – be mothers of Leonor – with Ferticentro."
Lígia and Liliana
“We are Carina and Diana, both from Oporto and we started dating in 2014; we lived in Coimbra for three years but we returned to our home city, where we got married, in 2018.
We have always had the dream of being mothers; in 2020 with Procriar we achieved our dream - to hold in our arms our daughter, our Liz, born in 24th of September of 2020!
We want to thank PROCRIAR for the wonderful team they are and that assists in everything, even when things didn’t go well in our first attempt, they were always there to support us and were there too when it went well! We will definitely return in the future for another baby, if life allows it.
THANK YOU TO ALL THE TEAM!”
Carina and Diana
They met 18 years ago, but only in 2012 they start to notice each other and talk regularly. They created a strong bond of friendship and the relation develop from there. In November 2013 they start to date. From heterosexual past relations there were already two children that always support them.
They married in 2015 and in 2019 resort to Ferticentro to have a child.
They have already a boy – Luan!
Fátima and Carina
"We are Andreia and Ângela.
We live in a village in Constância and we are a homosexual couple with many dreams, one of which is to be mothers. It all started 7 years ago. I, Andreia, 30 years old, always had heterosexual relationships, the last one lasted eight years, and one of the last years of this relationship was no longer the same thing, for me we were two people who shared the same house. Until in September 2014 I started to know Angela more, we exchanged contacts and I realized that she was an open homosexual. The contacts started to be constant and I started to feel “butterflies in my belly”. In November 2014 I ended the eight-year relationship and started a new life with Angela. It was not an easy start, I was alone. I had Angela and my mother-in-law (they were my support). It was very difficult to notice the look of people when we went out together on the street. We suffer discrimination. It was at Nazaré beach in 2015 that Angela asked me to marry her and the following year we were getting married. My parents were. It was the best day of our lives. Now we want to be mothers. After our trip to the TV show, our group of friends got together and we managed to raise 1,630 euros, it was good but it didn't arrive. However, with some effort, we managed to start treatment at Ferticentro in October. We have already made two transfers and there have been two negatives. We got discouraged, but the clinic didn't give up on us. That gives us hope. We will fight until the end to fulfill the dream of being mothers. "
In 2020, we decided to take the biggest step of our lives, having a child. It was 7 years of great love, complicity and companionship, when my partner surprised me in the morning with an email to procreate the first appointment. I cried with emotion, and hugged we cried and smiled together, the best gift, after all our dream was getting closer and closer.
When we entered the Procriar clinic for the first time, hand in hand, we looked and said with a smile, today is the day of the beginning of the realization of our dream. We cannot say that the process is easy, as it involves time, dedication, money, exams, injections, and doing everything in secret has become even more complicated. But we can say that it was worth all the efforts.
In June 2020, at the first medical consultation, they explained how the process works and requested some tests.
In July, my partner started menstruating and started injections to stimulate the ovaries, to remove the good eggs and be fertilized. The day was set to remove the eggs, and we managed to remove 9 eggs, which only 7 evolved and were frozen.
After a week I started menstruating and started the treatment to receive the much desired embryo.
The 30th of July arrived, the expected day, the day that could be the happiest of our lives, the transfer of my partner's embryo to my uterus was carried out (shared maternity, ROPA process).
After the transfer, we had to wait 15 days to take the BETA exam and find out the test result. The most stressful and distressing days of our lives. One day, the phone rings and we hear a voice in the background CONGRATULATIONS, they are pregnant, we didn't even want to believe it, we jumped, wept, we laughed with such joy. What a day…. What a joy!!! After a month and a half of treatment we have our baby in the belly. We did it on our first try!
On April 10, 2021, our girl, our GABRIELA, arrived, the gift given by God and science. Being with our daughter in our arms is a dream come true.
We have no words to thank, to the whole Procriar family, we thank you for all the respect, professionalism, support, care, attention and for the enormous affection that you have always had with us.
We have seen through this testimony to help other people who wish to be mothers, to choose the best clinic, the best medical team, to PROCRIAR!
"Never give up on your dreams, everything comes at the right time, with faith, persistence, science and the best medical team"
Thank you very much Procriar and Ferticentro team! Keep making families happy!
PS. They haven't gotten rid of us yet, we'll be back, in a few years for sure
Patrícia and Júlia
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