Our clinic is in the West Seattle neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.

No! We can provide everything BUT the IUI procedure no matter where you live. This includes clinical preconception care, classes, and support groups.  We often work with families at a distance who are getting their IUIs in a fertility clinic or with a less experienced IUI midwife.

Yes, you can schedule a brief meet and greet. 

Schedule your  "Meet the Midwife" appointment.

It is ideal to start preconception care up to a year before you are ready to conceive, although it is most common to start care 3-6 months before your first cycle attempt.

We require that you establish care at least one month before your first IUI procedure with us, followed by an IUI 
Cycle Confirmation visit during the first week of your IUI cycle.

We accept direct payment from you, including using your HSA funds, at or before the time of service. We are happy to provide a superbill for you to submit to your insurance company if you have fertility benefits, or we can provide the information needed to submit to your HSA program. You may be able to submit for reimbursement for some of our classes as well.

We will order lab work as part of your preconception care.

We can order lab work for clients anywhere in the United States.

Yes, we can provide you with an order for a semen analysis.

You can download the chart here.

Not unless you have a lot of lead time or you simply enjoy charting your cycles! We recommend meeting with the midwife after you have completed your very first cycle chart so that you can receive feedback that will assist you going forward.

At this time, Licensed Midwives in WA do not have access to prescriptive authority for these types of medications. However, the evidence shows that for individuals without infertility who simply need donor sperm to conceive, unmedicated cycles have higher success rates, without increasing the risk of twins (which is more than FOUR TIMES higher with medications like clomid). If you are having difficulty conceiving, or if your clinical picture warrants it, we will not hesitate to refer you to a fertility specialist or another provider who can provide you with a prescription for ovulation induction medications.

Liam is not providing clinical prenatal care or attending births at this time. However, he provides adjunct care for many pregnant families through our LGBTQ+ Pregnancy and Parenting Program.

Yes! Many clients find the Family Building Consultation to be immensely helpful for understanding the process and receiving counseling around the decision to become a parent.

Absolutely. Although the ultimate decision is of course yours, we can discuss some of the emotional and practical considerations in a Family Building Consultation. You may also opt to complete an initial fertility visit for each of you so that clinical information can guide your decision-making process.

While this is discussed more thoroughly in Queer Conception: The Complete Fertility Guide for Queer and Trans Parents-to-Be, for many reasons we do not recommend simultaneous pregnancies within a family unit.

We can help you with considerations for using a known donor, navigating sperm banks, and deciding which route may be best for your family.

Yes, we provide this service once you have established care with us. Almost all sperm banks accept our clinical authority to sign your release form, however, please note that Xytex sperm bank in Atlanta will only accept a signature from an MD.

Most sperm banks will ship your sample in a nitrogen tank that keeps the sample frozen for 7 days (Seattle Sperm Bank will provide a 14-day tank). Most will deliver to your home or to our clinic.

If you have fresh samples from a partner, co-parent, or known donor whose fertility has been verified, self insemination may be preferable, although this comes with legal and clinical risks. However, for those conceiving with frozen sperm, studies show that intrauterine insemination (IUI) doubles your chances of conception. Because the sperm are placed directly inside the uterus, they can travel quickly to the fallopian tubes and get ready to fertilize an egg. For those who have access to fresh sperm, IUI may be performed to increase chances of conception, especially for those with impaired fertility or those who have tried for a while without success.

IUI timing is precise and must be done as close to ovulation as possible, ideally within 12 hours of the release of your egg. Most fertility clinics administer a trigger shot (with lower success rates compared to spontaneous ovulation) or schedule IUI on the day following a once daily OPK test, which can be inaccurate and overly broad. At Maia, we help you achieve the best timing for your own body based on your unique pattern of physiological signs of ovulation. We provide you with the know-how to determine your body’s best time to inseminate, which is critical when using frozen sperm.

The IUI procedure is the same at Maia as anywhere else – we just do it differently than most other providers. We provide a gentle, comfortable experience, explaining everything as we go. As with all pelvic exams at Maia, we utilize a trauma-informed approach, which means that you say when the exam begins, and your consent is given before we proceed to each step of the procedure. Unlike most IUI providers, we never use a tenaculum (metal cervical clamp) to assist the IUI procedure. Instead, we rely on skill, finesse, and good timing, which is key for easy passage through the cervix. The glowing feedback we receive about the comfort and ease of our IUI technique speaks volumes – most notably from those who have experienced IUI with other providers and had a completely different experience with us.

This refers to preparation of a semen sample for IUI. Because seminal fluid cannot be placed directly within the uterus, the sperm cells must be separated from the seminal fluid through a process of combining the sample with a wash medium and placing it in a centrifuge. The sperm cells are isolated, and the seminal fluid is removed. Then the sperm cells are resuspended in a carrier medium for placement in the uterus.

No, we refer to Donor Home Delivery for this service.

We will arrange for this once you have established care with us.

No, the course is priced per participant.

No, the IUI Provider Course is only appropriate for practicing midwives who have already completed their midwifery education.

Yes. Providing Culturally Sensitive Care for LGBTQ+ Families provides 7 contact hours through MEAC. The IUI Provider Course provides 20 contact hours through ACNM.