Latest Season of ASRM Today Offers a Resource for LGBTQ-Inclusive Reproductive Care

Latest Season of ASRM Today Offers a Resource for LGBTQ-Inclusive Reproductive Care

This season of ASRM Today is a resource for health professionals who are committed to being LGBTQ-friendly providers.

Since 2020, the ASRM Today podcast has served as a repository of knowledge and an educational tool, offering timely conversations on the issues shaping reproductive medicine. This season, ASRM's Education Department turned its focus toward LGBTQ+ family building, working with the LGBTQ Special Interest Group to develop a series that speaks directly to the needs of providers, patients, and the many professionals who support the family-building process.

"There was a lot of creativity. How do we want to divide this up? What would the topics be? Who would the speakers be? Let's find the experts," said Dr. Courtney Marsh, chair of the LGBTQ Special Interest Group. "We just went to town and thought about all the different areas in terms of family building and separated them out."

"There was a lot of creativity," said Dr. Courtney Marsh, chair of the LGBTQ Special Interest Group. "How do we want to divide this up? What would the topics be? Who would the speakers be? Let's find the experts. We just went to town and thought about all the different areas in terms of family building and separated them out."

What they created is a series of conversations that offer many angles for understanding the LGBTQ+ family-building experience. More than that, the season gives healthcare providers practical insight into how to engage with LGBTQ+ patients in ways that do not create further harm during what is already an intimate, personal, and vulnerable time.

Hosted by Jeffrey Hayes with co-host Dr. Lowell Ku, the season explores legal and logistical considerations, reciprocal IVF, donor sperm, political and legal barriers, fertility preservation and gender-affirming hormone therapy, psychosocial support, gestational carriers, and inclusive fertility care. Across the episodes, the message is clear: LGBTQ-inclusive care is not a niche interest. It is part of providing excellent reproductive healthcare.

"LGBTQ+ individuals and couples have always built families," said Dr. Ku, "but their experiences have often been underrepresented in discussions about fertility and reproductive healthcare."

For many providers, that underrepresentation begins in training. Medical education has not always equipped healthcare professionals to address the needs, concerns, and lived experiences of marginalized communities. That gap can leave even well-intentioned providers unsure of what to say, what to ask, or how to create a care environment that feels safe and affirming.

"When I first started out, I was really nervous because in my curriculum in medical school, we didn't really have anything that addressed gender differences or anything that you would do with exams or being sensitive to things," explained Dr. Marsh. "So it was kind of like just go out there on your own and learn how to do it."

That is part of why peer-to-peer education is so valuable. Throughout the season, experts speak candidly about the questions, assumptions, and practical barriers that can arise in clinical settings. Those conversations build comfort and competence, especially for providers who want to do better but may not have had formal training in LGBTQ+ reproductive health.

In the episode on fertility preservation and gender-affirming hormone therapy, Dr. Molly Moravek reflected on an important lesson from her own practice. As both a reproductive endocrinologist and a gender-affirming hormone prescriber, she felt that describing herself as LGBTQ-friendly was enough to communicate safety to patients. She later realized that patients form an impression long before they meet the physician.

A clinic's website, patient photos, intake forms, front desk interactions, pronoun use, waiting room environment, and staff knowledge all communicate whether a patient is welcome.

"It's not enough to just be affirming yourself," Moravek says. "You need to make sure that everything about your practice and everyone in it is affirming and is educated."

The conversations throughout the season make one thing clear; allyship is practical, not performative. It is not limited to a rainbow sticker or a statement of support. It is reflected in whether the patient registration process allows people to accurately identify themselves. It is reflected in whether staff know how to use correct names and pronouns. It is reflected in whether consent forms use gender-neutral language when appropriate. It is reflected in whether providers ask questions without making assumptions about a patient's body, partner, sexual orientation, gender identity, or family-building goals.

These details may seem small to providers, but they are not small to patients. Dr. Strumsa noted that many patients arrive in fertility clinics carrying the weight of previous healthcare experiences. "They carry trauma of a variety of sorts," she reminds listeners.

For LGBTQ+ patients, and particularly transgender patients, a single dismissive interaction can reinforce the fear that medical environments are not safe. On the other hand, a thoughtful and informed interaction can help restore trust.

ASRM Today gives providers language, context, and practical examples to begin that work. It also reminds listeners that inclusive care is not about perfection. It is about humility, education, correction, and the willingness to keep learning.

"People are not going to feel comfortable with things if we're not talking about it, if we're not having these discussions, if we're not educating," says Dr. Marsh.

This season offers a place to start, and a reason to keep going. It invites providers to look beyond their own intentions and examine the full patient experience: what patients see, hear, read, and feel from the first point of contact through treatment and beyond.

At its core, the season is about helping providers create clinical environments where LGBTQ+ patients are not simply included, but affirmed, respected, and supported as they pursue the families they hope to build. Make sure to check out the full season here.

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