One in Six

IVF starts with a difficult procedure called the egg retrieval. Jen is relieved when the doctor gets 12 eggs. But Jen and Neil discover the odds become a numbers game, and nothing is guaranteed. While waiting for transfer day, Jen and her mom talk about an upsetting incident from their past that they’ve never discussed before.

Just after Christmas 2019, Jen and Neil deal with more bad news. While trying to decide on their next step forward, the unspeakable happens: a pandemic brings the world to a screeching halt. Jen’s biological clock ticks louder than ever, as they wait for the fertility clinics to re-open.

More from Jen’s chat with Kelsey Puddister and Julia Collins. They further explain what it’s like to deal with infertility as a queer couple, how grief after losing loved ones mirrors the pain they feel with the difficulty for Kelsey to get pregnant, and how they use dark humour to get through the darkest of days.

Jen and Neil get some bad news. They also learn about in vitro fertilization (IVF), but it’s not cheap. The procedure costs tens of thousands of dollars — not including travel and accommodation. For many, it’s just not feasible.

After tallying up the cost of IVF, Jen and Neil are ready to take the plunge. They start the process (more needles!) at home in St. John’s, until the clinic in Calgary calls. Book the next flight across the country, the doctor says. It's go time. But for same-sex couple Kelsey Puddister and Julia Collins, their ongoing wait for fertility treatments feels detrimental — a genetic condition is turning Kelsey’s biological clock into a ticking time bomb.