The A.R.T. of Birthing with Olivia Ford | Part Two: The Old Fashion Gay Way

Part Two: The Old Fashion Gay Way

Are you curious about how to get pregnant when queer?
“Don't use a turkey baster!” Olivia Ford

Olivia started her path to parenthood before being partnered. After her intuition told her it was time to pursue pregnancy, she popped the question to her gay guy friend: how would you like to make a baby with me? After 10 unsuccessful tries, she and her boo (now wife) purchased semen during a BOGO sale at a sperm bank and got pregnant with the second vial. 

Tune in to hear Olivia's nine year journey to Black queer motherhood including:

• intracervical and intrauterine insemination 
• pursuing pregnancy with a known donor who is living with HIV
• dating while trying to get pregnant
• the limitations and possibilities of the fertility industry for Black people and queer folks

During the interview, Olivia mentions this piece from Linda Villarosa in The New York Times Magazine entitled: "Why America’s Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis"

This episode is the second part of a two-part series featuring birth stories that relied on assisted reproductive technologies and it has been edited for clarity and length. To listen to the full interview, visit Patreon.com/TajaLindley.

Olivia Ford (she/her; they/their) has been engaged with HIV-related media since 2007. She is the editorial director for The Well Project, an online information, support, and advocacy resource serving a global audience of women living with HIV. She trained as a doula in 2004 and serves as a perinatal health advocate with Birthmark Doula Collective, a birth justice organization supporting pregnant and parenting people and their families in the New Orleans, Louisiana area. Olivia and her wife are the dazzled, exhausted co-mamas of a smart-mouthed toddler, Orian (pronounced like “Dorian” without the “D”).

Her full interview is available on Patreon (running time: 02:26:18)

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Credits

Creator, Host and HBIC: Taja Lindley

Audio Engineering by Lilah Larson

Music by Emma Alabaster who also served as the Pre-Production Associate Producer

Additional Music Production by Chip Belton

Vocals by Patience Sings

Mixing and Mastering by Chip Belton

Lyrics by Taja Lindley and Emma Alabaster

Logo and Graphic Design Templates by Homegirl HQ

This podcast is produced by Colored Girls Hustle 

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