#what is in vitro fertilization

[shinobicyrus]

Obviously, the Alabama Supreme Court actually putting fetal personhood into law is another victory for creeping Christian Authoritarianism and yet another attack on health care, womens' rights, and bodily autonomy....but watching the Republicans flip their shit now that IVF clinics are in danger of closing is hilarious in a "the clown car is on fire" kind of way.

Because of course this was going to happen. Fetal personhood and anti-surrogacy (especially in the context of same-sex parents) has been bouncing around in conservative religious and legal circles (but what's the difference?) for decades, with those pesky liberals warning about it for just as long. Anyone with an inkling of awareness of the issue could have seen it coming.

So the fact that they were caught so off guard is myopic enough. And they're panicking for a very good reason, because yanno who generally goes to IVF clinics?

The people who can afford it.

Certainly the abortion bans in various states were bad, but if you had a lot of disposable income you could just...go to another state. Extremely inconvenient, yes, but not insurmountable. But this?

Oh my god, now the far-right pro-life politics that you've been cultivating for going on fifty years is now in a position to affect people with money? People that matter? Now you have to try and contend with the very extremist judges you installed that don't have to worry about getting elected and whose decisions are now putting you on the political chopping block?

Join us the in misery you're created for everyone else, assholes.

[kefnut-the-gweilologist]

hm

[yashodaivffertilitycentre]

Understanding Menopause: Definition, Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Introduction

Menopause marks the natural end of a woman’s menstrual cycles, representing a significant transition in her life. This phase, defined as the absence of menstrual periods for twelve consecutive months, occurs when the ovaries stop producing eggs due to aging, leading to a hormonal imbalance. Though it is a normal biological process, menopause can present emotional challenges, especially for those who have not completed their families. Thankfully, modern Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) offers hope for parenthood even after menopause (Menopause meaning in Marathi), providing a ray of light to those wishing to experience the joys of parenthood. Additionally, understanding PCOD is crucial as it is associated with various physical and emotional problems requiring treatment.

What Happens During Menopause?

Menopause signifies a decline in the primary reproductive hormones, estrogen and progesterone, leading to irregular ovulation and eventually the cessation of egg release from the ovaries. This hormonal imbalance triggers physical and emotional changes, affecting a woman’s overall health.(Menopause meaning in Hindi)

When Does Menopause Begin?

Menopause typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, though the onset can vary for each woman. Some may experience early menopause, known as premature menopause, which can begin between the ages of 35 and 40.

Types and Stages of Menopause

Menopause can be classified into natural and induced categories. Natural menopause occurs when the ovaries naturally stop producing follicles, while induced menopause results from medical interventions.

Menopausal transition unfolds gradually in three stages: perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause.

Perimenopause: Eight to 10 years before menopause, the initial stage of menopause begins. The ovaries produce less oestrogen during this time. This stage typically starts in a woman’s 40s and lasts until menopause, when the ovaries stop releasing eggs. At the end of perimenopause, estrogen levels drop significantly, though menstruation continues, and pregnancy is still possible.

Menopause: Menopause is marked by the cessation of menstrual periods. At this stage, the ovaries have stopped releasing eggs and producing most of their estrogen. Significant hormonal changes occur during this time.

Postmenopause: This stage begins a year after the last menstrual period and continues for the rest of a woman’s life. While symptoms may lessen, some women might still face issues. Reduced estrogen levels increase the risk of health conditions such as osteoporosis and heart disease during postmenopause.

Fertility During and After Menopause

Pregnancy during perimenopause is possible due to irregular ovulation, but it may require medical assistance. Women wishing to conceive during menopause should seek advice from reproductive doctors and consider lifestyle changes such as stress management and a healthy diet. Despite the common belief that pregnancy is impossible after menopause, advanced ART techniques offered by top IVF centers, such as the best IVF centre in Mumbai, can make parenthood achievable through methods like hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Menopause Symptoms and Effects

During perimenopause, a variety of symptoms may appear, including:

-Irregular periods -Vaginal dryness -Hot flashes -Chills -Night sweats -Sleep problems -Mood changes -Weight gain and slowed metabolism -Thinning hair and dry skin -Loss of breast fullness You may notice some irregularities in your menstrual cycle before it ends completely. Periods might return after several months and then stop again. The cycle may become shorter. Even during perimenopause, you should check for pregnancy if you miss a period.

Menopause symptoms include irregular periods, hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, and fatigue. It also impacts reproductive health by reducing the number of follicles, lowering reproductive hormone levels, and causing vaginal dryness and decreased libido. Early menopause, occurring before age 40, presents additional challenges, but options like egg donor programs and ovarian tissue transplants provide paths to conception.

Early Menopause

Early menopause, also known as premature ovarian failure, occurs before age 40. This early onset of menopause means the end of reproductive capability at a younger age, posing significant challenges for women.

Causes of Early Menopause: -Genetics -Lifestyle factors -Autoimmune disorders -Chemotherapy or radiation therapy -Smoking or alcohol consumption -Ovarian surgery -Removal of ovaries -Impact of Menopause on Reproductive Health

Menopause significantly affects a woman's fertility:

Decreased number of follicles Lowered levels of reproductive hormones like estrogen and progesterone Irregular periods followed by cessation Reduced quality of eggs suitable for conception due to decreased reproductive hormone levels Pain during intercourse, vaginal dryness, and thinning of vaginal tissues

Treatment Options for Menopausal Pregnancy

Although menopause marks the end of a woman's reproductive years, modern medical advancements provide various options for conception. Hormone replacement therapy, IVF, egg donor programs, ovarian tissue transplantation, and other advanced reproductive technologies can help women fulfill their parenthood dreams even after menopause. Among the numerous IVF treatment options in Navi Mumbai, Yashoda IVF Fertility & IVF Centre has emerged as a leading choice. Our team of infertility specialists, with over 15 years of experience, offers a wide range of services tailored to your specific needs, making us the best IVF centre in Mumbai.

Conclusion

Menopause is a significant turning point in a woman's life, involving physical changes and mood swings. However, seeking medical assistance to manage its signs and symptoms during this period is crucial. Advanced reproductive technologies have made parenthood possible even after menopause. Prioritizing health and proactive management during menopause brings out a woman’s strength, opening doors to a bright and dynamic life. Trust Yashoda IVF Fertility and IVF Centre on your journey to parenthood, and receive the compassionate care and expertise you deserve. Contact us today to learn more about our IVF centre in Navi Mumbai.

[fertilitytreatment001]

What is IVF and how is it done?

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a process of assisted reproduction where an egg is fertilized with sperm in a laboratory dish. The fertilized egg (embryo) is then transferred to the woman's uterus, where it can implant and grow into a baby.

IVF is a complex process that involves many steps, including:

Stimulating the ovaries: The woman takes fertility medications to stimulate her ovaries to produce multiple eggs.

Egg retrieval: The eggs are retrieved from the woman's ovaries using a needle and ultrasound guidance.

Fertilization: The eggs are fertilized with sperm in a laboratory dish.

Embryo culture: The fertilized eggs are cultured in a laboratory for several days.

Embryo transfer: The best-quality embryos are transferred to the woman's uterus.

The success rate of IVF treatment varies depending on the woman's age and other factors. The average success rate for women under age 35 is about 40%.

IVF is a safe procedure, but it does have some risks, including:

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome: This is a rare but serious condition that can occur when the ovaries are overstimulated by fertility medications.

Multiple pregnancy: Because multiple embryos are often transferred to the uterus, there is an increased risk of having twins, triplets, or more.

Ectopic pregnancy: This is a serious condition that occurs when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus.

IVF is a major decision, and it is important to talk to your fertility doctor about the risks and benefits before deciding if it is right for you.

[crowsintheforest]

you can look at the vorkosigan saga books and assume (correctly!) that it's a lot of space opera/space war stories, with daring rescues and laser gun pew pew and clones wandering around. but they're also full of other things, like

probably most famously, jane austen via space russia (a civil campaign my beloved)

look I swear we're going to finish our honeymoon but my boss's ships got impounded and whoops I seem to have found a murder mystery

oh no we lost a dead body before we could do future medicine to bring it back oh no we lost the protagonist

fake wedding turns out to be a real wedding and your cousin won't stop laughing at you

great news shareholders, we've genetically engineered humans to live in null G by giving them arms instead of legs! what do you mean humanity invented artificial gravity

culture and medical exchange's influence on gendered politics, or how does nobility's patrilineal inheritance work when you can trans your gender

navigating polyamory when one of you is dead

basically a decades-long multibook treatise on the impacts of providing and utilizing alternatives to in vitro fertilization and live births

[kvetchlandia]

<Sigh>

It looks like absolutely the worst has come to pass in the United States. It appears Trump will be re-elected and that his cult will control both houses of Congresses. A bigger nightmare is hard to imagine. This result speaks very badly of the American people. I'm not a Democrat, I'm not particularly fond of Harris and her boring, status quo politics. But Trump, the venal, racist, misogynistic, corrupt, multiply convicted felon and serial liar, was known to everyone. His racism is no secret, nor is his sexism. His crudeness is everywhere and his self-interest should really have been apparent to all, since it's been in the press and online constantly for years. Yet in spite of this, it looks like he and his lackeys, toadies and lickspittles will be running this country for the foreseeable future, much to the detriment of everyone on the planet, because the voting majority of the American people chose to either reward those things or to ignore them. And the result? I don't have a crystal ball, but I know what's been promised. Women's right to control their own body? It's gone. Hell, there are members of the Trump Cult who even want to move against birth control and in vitro fertilization. Project 2025? Much of it will be enacted, if not all of it. The courts will be filled with fundamentalists and fanatics who will gut social and consumer protections and force Christian dogma down all of our throats. The environment will be destroyed. And everyone who voted for Trump and for his cult members knew this and chose to vote for them anyway. This is just too much to take.

I'm too depressed to say anything else. When I calm down I'll come back and engage in my usual posting silliness. Well, either that or I'll fucking stick my head in the oven. Oh, don't worry. My oven is electric. All that'll happen is I'll scorch my eyebrows.

[a-d-nox]

web of wyrd: annual energies and potential surgeries associated with the year

the outer rim of the wyrd web foretells the themes of our year ahead. today i will be covering some common surgeries that tend to occur. in no way does one number mean a single surgery type. each number can mean different surgeries - multiple surgeries - no surgery... this is just what i associate medically with these energies and i have seen correlate with other charts when surgery occurred. your lack of a number correlation with an experience below does not mean to minimize your experience. this is a general hypothesis not a fact.

tw: sensitive topics like amputation, ivf, addiction, weight, physical trauma, and end of life care are included in post.

1 (the magician): laser surgery

skill, precision, and transformation. this technique uses precision tools to create change in the body.

2 (the high priestess): diagnostic surgery

intuition, secrets, and hidden knowledge. seeks to uncover hidden issues or provide clarity about a medical condition (will be common for 2000 baby around the time doctors start recommending colonoscopies and mammograms).

3 (the empress): fertility surgery

surgeries like in vitro fertilization (IVF) or other fertility-related procedures.

4 (the emperor): orthopedic surgery

structure and stability. anything involves bones, joints, and structural support of the body, resonates with this energy.

5 (the hierophant): cardiovascular or oral surgery

what maintains order/structure in the body a.k.a. anything dealing with the heart and blood flow. oral surgery is because of this card connection to the throat and sharing of beliefs which requires the mouth - it might be time for your wisdom teeth extraction.

6 (the lovers): cosmetic or reconstructive surgery

this is often elective surgery / chosen for personal reasons related to self-image.

7 (the chariot): neurosurgery

deals with the brain and nervous system (the body's control center), which aligns with the chariot's themes of mastery and control.

8 (strength): physical rehabilitation surgery

requires a lot of resilience as muscles and tendons aren't easy to heal...

9 (the hermit): gastrointestinal surgery

involves the digestive system, relates to the internal processes and inner workings (aligning with hermit energy).

10 (the wheel of fortune): emergency surgery

often needed unexpectedly and dictated by fate, aligns with the theme of chance.

11 (justice): corrective surgery

aims to fix or balance out bodily functions or appearance, mirrors the themes of rectifying and balancing.

12 (the hanged man): organ transplant

sacrifice, suspension, and new perspectives. transplant surgery involves the sacrifice of one organ for the life of another, offering a new lease on life.

13 (death): amputation

a literal removal or ending of a part of the body, that can also lead to a transformative process of healing and adapting.

14 (temperance) : bariatric surgery

used to achieve weight balance and improve health.

15 (the devil): addiction, breast reduction, and reproductive surgery

surgeries that address addiction-related issues, such as gastric banding for overeating. but also reproductive surgery like a tubal ligation or vasectomy. any surgery where something big/open becomes small, constricted, snipped, or thinned.

16 (tower): trauma surgery

sudden upheaval, destruction, and revelation. this type of surgery is often performed in response to sudden, life-altering accidents or injuries, echoes the energies themes of sudden change and crisis.

17 (the star): reconstructive/plastic surgery

hope, healing, and renewal are themes of this energy - this surgery which restores form and function after trauma or illness, aligns with the themes of healing and rejuvenation.

18 (the moon): biopsies and tissue collections

biopsy involves extracting tissue to investigate potential issues, often when there’s uncertainty about a diagnosis or the presence of something hidden (like tumors or other abnormalities).

19 (the sun): pediatric surgery

performed on children and ensures their health and vitality, which connects with the energy's themes of life, energy, and well-being.

20 (judgment): organ transplant or some other life changing/saving surgery

life-saving surgeries, such as heart or organ transplants, can offer a second chance at life, reflecting the energy's themes of renewal and awakening.

21 (the world): making a full recovery or end-of-life care

surgeries that lead to a full recovery or decisions around end-of-life care align with the themes of closure and achieving a state of completeness found with this energy.

22 (the fool): exploratory surgery

represents the unknown. aligns with entering a medical situation without knowing what will be found.

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© a-d-nox 2024 all rights reserved

[sunny44]

I would love you either way

Pairing: Carlos Sainz x girlfriend!reader

Warnings: pregnancy talk, infertility etc…

Summary: Carlos notices that you’ve been acting weird and he decides to ask you why.

Y/n had been acting strangely lately, and it didn't go unnoticed by me and I couldn't help but worry about her.

We’ve have been together for a few years, and our relationship was filled with love and happiness but something had been bothering Y/n and I was determined to find out what it was.

So today was the day, as I sat on her side I took her hand in mine and she looked at me.

“Y/n." he began. "You've been very distant lately and it's been worrying me. Is there something you're not telling me?"

She hesitated for a moment, her eyes filled with tears. She took a deep breath and started to talk.

"Carlos, I went to see a doctor a few days ago and she told me something that's been weighing on my mind.”

I was very concerned when she said she went to see the doctor and bad things started to cross my mind.

“Tell me, love. What did the doctor say?"

Y/n took another deep breath before revealing.

“The doctor told me that the chances of me getting pregnant are very low, almost non-existent. It's been bothering me because I've always dreamed of having children one day and I know you wanted too and I was scared that when I told you about this you would leave me for someone that can give you this.”

I was silent for a moment, processing the news.

I could see the pain in her eyes and he knew I needed to choose my words carefully.

“Babe, I love you so much and I would never leave you for something like this. This isn’t the only way we could have kids.” She cried more. “I know that it’s not the same that having the full experience of having a baby but this doesn’t mean we can’t give a child a new home and parents that would love them so much.”

“It’s just that I feel so useless.”

“Don’t say that, you’re not useless.” I hold her face. “I know you want to be a mom and we can think about this when were both ready to have a baby. You don’t need to worry about this now, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Did the doctor said that you can’t get pregnant in any way or in the normal way?”

“What do you mean?”

“Because it has the In vitro fertilization, we can try that if the doctor thinks that it could work.”

“We didn’t talk further about it, I was so shocked and sad that I just wanted to get out of there.”

“Okay, so we can discuss the options when we’re ready for it.”

“Okay.” I hugged her and kissed her forehead. “Are we okay?”

“Of course we are, I love you so much and when the time comes, I can’t wait to be the father of your children.” She laughed a little.

“And I can’t wait to be the mother of your children.”

Bonus scene!

Yourusername Instagram stories

“Some days off with my lover.”

[mariacallous]

Hi mariacallous! Some of my friends have started spouting the 'abortion is a class issue because rich women always have access to abortion' BS, and I was wondering if you had any resources/articles etc that might be helpful in convincing them. Sorry to barge into your inbox!

The notion that rich women will be fine, regardless of what the law says, is probably comforting to some. But it is simply not true.

Yes, abortion bans will disproportionately affect poor women and women of color in a country that already has appallingly high maternal mortality rates, no federal paid family leave and little support for parents who struggle to provide for their children financially. As Rebecca Traister pointed out in New York magazine, this is nothing new: The Hyde Amendment and state restrictions have already made abortion effectively inaccessible to many women without means or mobility.

But we should not lose sight of the reality that the Supreme Court decision has created a crisis for all American women. Even the richest Americans — the one-percenters and the upper middle class — will not escape the effects.

Attenuating the rights of half of the population will have systemic effects akin to climate change. Just as no amount of investment in Mars-bound space colonization, air-conditioned bunkers and private firefighting services will save the rich from terrible outcomes if the planet becomes uninhabitable, the rich cannot avoid the effects of the overturning of Roe. Residents of blue states won’t be exempt. And men who think the ban won’t affect them are mistaken; it will affect women they know and love, and it will change the political economy in which they live and operate.

The persistent myth that the wealthy will be unaffected is predicated on the vague notion that they’ll be able to find and purchase abortion pills by mail, travel to places where abortion is legal or get abortions from local providers willing to break the law.

And sure, it’s easy to imagine a scenario in which a red state one-percenter has his daughter or wife airlifted to another state for an abortion — or, potentially, for in vitro fertilization, if it becomes illegal to terminate embryos. We are accustomed to different rules and privileges for the wealthy, and witness these injustices daily. People with more money and privilege conferred by race and class — people who have access to better lawyers — experience our justice system differently. They also get better health care and pay less in taxes as a share of income. We hold the rich to a lower, not higher, standard and tacitly accept that they will get away with cheating various systems.

But the wealthiest are in for some unpleasant surprises when it comes to abortion. The scenarios in which a woman needs an abortion include medical emergencies in which any delay in treatment can have severe, even fatal, consequences — and in those circumstances abortion pills obtained by mail won’t help.

One in 50 pregnancies in the United States is ectopic, for example, in which a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus. The embryo must be removed, and delaying that treatment can result in sepsis, internal bleeding and death. Placental abruptions must be addressed immediately to avoid extensive bleeding, renal failure and even, in some instances, death.

Any woman who finds herself in either of these scenarios is not going to be able to pack her bags and go for a long drive. Even for someone with the means, an airlift to a medical facility in another state may not be quick enough to save her. She will need to be treated locally and immediately. Some of the bans going into effect around the country include medical exceptions for these situations, but if there’s any ambiguity about what the law allows, the time it takes a medical professional to consult a lawyer may be the difference between life and death.

Some states are expected to try to ban interstate travel for abortions. Bans in Texas and Oklahoma leave room for that possibility. Planned Parenthood’s Montana branch has reportedly decided that it will no longer provide medication abortions for patients from certain states where bans are in effect or in the works, citing the “rapidly changing” legal landscape. It’s also clear that many Republicans view the Roe reversal as an inroad to a total federal ban. If they gain electoral victories in 2024, this is a very likely outcome, and in that case there will be no blue state abortion clinics to travel to. Even now, the lines and waiting times at abortion clinics in safe haven states are likely to get very long.

Many people also assume the wealthy can always find a local doctor willing to perform an abortion, even in a state where it has become illegal. This seems unlikely. While some providers did flout the law and provide women with abortions before Roe in 1973, the ubiquity of digital surveillance and other mechanisms for violating the privacy of women seeking abortions have made it far more difficult for them to do so privately and safely. Trigger laws are already forcing medical professionals to consult lawyers before they provide care, and laws that criminalize abortion leave health care workers with little incentive to violate them. When faced with the prospect of prosecution or losing a medical license, how many doctors will take this risk, even when money is offered? Meanwhile, anti-choice conservatives are already working to make it harder to obtain abortion pills.

Some believe abortion bans won’t affect them because they’ll never find themselves in need of an abortion. Conservatives might imagine the typical woman who needs one fits an archetype: poor, single, liberal, promiscuous, anti-family and irresponsible. But most women who get abortions are already mothers (60 percent). Nearly half of abortion seekers live below the poverty line, but a significant portion are not poor. (Women with higher incomes have more access to contraception, but that dynamic might change if the Supreme Court follows through on Justice Clarence Thomas’s suggestion to revisit earlier rulings, including the right to contraception.) Conservative families also include teenagers and young women whose privacy, autonomy and ability to seek medical care, regardless of whether their parents approve, will be severely compromised by abortion bans.

The reality is that women from every demographic need abortions. Well-off conservative women are not immune to contraception failures, gynecological emergencies, miscarriages, incest or rape. Many women find that despite their beliefs, carrying a pregnancy to term is just not something they can go through with, for a range of reasons. Pregnancy itself can be life-threatening for women with certain existing medical conditions, and even for women who don’t have those risks, it is life-altering. The kind of person who might need or want an abortion is, put simply, any person capable of getting pregnant.

Women will die because of this — disproportionately poor and middle-class women but not just poor and middle-class women. Rich women could just as easily suffer and die, too, even those who think that they would never need an abortion or that they would never be denied essential medical care in the United States of America in 2022.

There will be other effects: Roe is a privacy law, and there are implications for the ruling outside of the issue of abortion. Forced birth will take women out of the work force in an already tight labor market. Women could be treated like criminals for having miscarriages, which are incredibly common. And women who are pregnant when their partners don’t want them to be will be more at risk for domestic violence and homicide. Individual wealth won’t prevent these outcomes, either.

It is, of course, true that the wealthy are the least vulnerable in the new post-Roe world, and this is not a requiem for them on a tiny violin. But it is important for all parties to understand that all people are going to participate in this nightmare, whether they realize it now or not. The wealthy unfortunately have an outsize influence on politics, so how much the bans harm them, inconvenience them or enrage them will most likely affect the will of politicians to vote for and maintain abortion bans.

The overturning of Roe will affect all of us. And if you are lucky enough to be wealthy, your money probably won’t shield you.

The Persistent Myth That Restricting Abortion Rights Won’t Affect the Rich

the problem is that it's a class issue, but not only in the way they think, and the point is that all women are impacted by it, but obviously some way more than others

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The Harris campaign kicks into high gear

July 26, 2024

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

Kamala Harris has the Trump campaign on its back foot. Whatever Trump’s advisers expected from V.P. Harris, they were wrong. Although Trump and his surrogates have tried several lines of attack, each attempt backfires as Trump offends important constituencies he needs to win. In attacking Kamala Harris, Trump is offending Black Americans, successful women, mothers raising blended families, couples trying to conceive, young people, and more. The Harris campaign has responded forcefully, using a pointed sense of humor that is refreshing and attractive to younger voters who see the internet as a battlefield of ideas.

On Thursday, the Harris campaign released a powerful television ad that was a “no-holds-barred” look at the threat to democracy posed by Trump. See The Guardian, ‘We choose freedom’: Kamala Harris campaign launches first ad. The ad is embedded in The Guardian article; I urge you to watch it. If you don’t, here is The Guardian’s description of the ad:

Released on Thursday morning, the ad opens with shots of Harris’s smiling face behind a podium, the word Kamala, the word Harris, and the American flag. The soundtrack is the beginning of Beyoncé’s song Freedom, to which Harris entered and exited her first speech to campaign staffers after gaining lightning speed momentum on the road to becoming the presumptive nominee. The ad is narrated by Harris, whose first words are, “In this election we each face a question. What kind of country do we want to live in?” She continues: “There are some people who think we should be a country of chaos. Of fear. Of hate,” she says, over shots of Trump and JD Vance. “But us, we choose something different.”

On social media, the Harris campaign has been even more aggressive. The Harris campaign took a clip of Trump imitating Kamala Harris, saying, “I’m the prosecutor and he is the convicted felon.” After Trump admits that he is a convicted felon and Harris is a prosecutor, the ad immediately cuts to a picture of Kamala Harris with her voice saying, “I am Kamala Harris and I approve this message.” The Harris campaign is showing early signs of social media savvy—just as Barack Obama’s campaign did in 2008.

The Harris campaign also went after JD Vance, who described Kamala Harris in 2021 as a “childless cat lady” who should not have an equal voice in the future of America because she does not have biological children. (Harris is a stepmother to two children with Doug Emhoff.) Thursday was “In Vitro Fertilization Day.” The Harris campaign released a statement saying, “Happy World IVF Day To Everyone Except JD Vance.” See HuffPo, Harris Campaign Wishes Happy World IVF Day To Everyone Except 1 Person.

The confidence and swagger of that ad was reflected in the Harris campaign’s immediate acceptance of debate with Donald Trump, set for September 10. But as Kamala Harris demonstrated an eagerness to debate, Trump began hedging his bets, saying he “did not like the idea” of a debate on ABC. See CNBC, ‘Let’s go’: Harris agrees to debate Trump, accuses him of ‘backpedaling’ on Sept. 10 date.

The Harris campaign also used social media to troll Trump's morning appearance on Fox News, during which Trump called Kamala Harris “garbage.” The Harris campaign issued a press release entitled Statement on a 78-Year-Old Criminal’s Fox News Appearance. The press release said,

After watching Fox News this morning we only have one question, is Donald Trump ok? Trump is old and quite weird [and] this guy shouldn’t be president ever again.

For their part, Trump and his surrogates were reduced to claiming that Kamala Harris is a “DEI hire,” a “failed border czar,” and a socialist who will destroy the economy of America.

Luckily for Kamala Harris, economic growth and border security both improved in the second quarter. On Thursday, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the gross domestic product grew at a 2.8% rate in the second quarter, well above the consensus prediction of 1.9% by economists. See USA Today, US GDP report: Latest data shows economy grew 2.8% in Q2 (usatoday.com)

At the border, crossings by immigrants dropped to their lowest level since 2020 (under Donald Trump). See CBS News, Migrant crossings continue to plunge, nearing the level that would lift Biden's border crackdown. Per CBS News,

July is on track to see the fifth consecutive monthly drop in migrant apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border and the lowest level in illegal immigration there since the fall of 2020, during the Trump administration, the internal Department of Homeland Security figures show.

My point in noting the responses by the Harris campaign is not to revel in the “zingers” and “smackdowns” that are long overdue. Rather, it is to highlight the nimbleness, swagger, and professionalism of the Harris campaign. The lightning-quick responses would be exemplary for any presidential campaign; they are stunning for a presidential campaign that is four days old.

Although it is still early, it seems clear that the Harris campaign will focus on Trump's criminality, incoherence, age, and hateful agenda. And it is doing so with a satirical edge that transfers easily into internet memes—which is an effective way to create viral messaging that reaches young people. Meanwhile, the Trump campaign has been caught flat-footed, trying to ignore the awkward creepiness of JD Vance and Trump's part-time approach to campaigning.

All of this should give Democrats confidence that Kamala Harris will run a strong campaign against an opponent who will wage a vile and hate-filled counter-offensive. If the first few days of the campaign are any indication, Kamala Harris is up to the task.

Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter

[chrisgotitall]

Heyyy can you do one where mike and the reader are trying to have a baby but are struggling. Like they might have to do IVF and the reader is frustrated but mike is rlly supportive and then it does work

You and Mike were trying to have a baby.

You were finally ready to be parents and you couldn't wait to raise a baby with the love of your life. 

It was fun, for the most part. Mike would get back home from work and he would smother you with kisses and then you would fool around.

You were just two little lovebirds. But the part that wasn’t fun was taking the pregnancy test, at least lately. The first times you were excited, cause you were hoping for it to come out positive, but it never did. 

You’d been trying for 2 months now. You were losing hope and there wasn’t so much excitement anymore.

One morning, after the test came out negative yet again, you went downstairs where Mike was making you breakfast. You hug his waist and put your head on his shoulder.

“Nothing?” he asks.

You hum a “No”. 

“There is definitely something wrong with me…” you say detaching from him. 

“Ehi… for all that we know, I could be the problem” he says trying to cheer you up and approaching you to kiss your head. 

“Maybe it’s just the universe telling me I wouldn’t be a good mom” you add.

“You’ll make a great mom… now, eat your french toast” he says, putting a plate of steaming french toasts in front of you.

You start eating your breakfast.

“I want to go to a doctor, tho, I need to know what’s wrong” you tell him.

“Okay, we’ll go to the doctor”

So you go to the doctor and unfortunately she tells you it won’t be easy for you to get pregnant. At least in the traditional way. 

“Have you thought about adoption, maybe?” she asks.

You look at Mike, “Yes, but-” you start.

“But you’d obviously rather try to have a child of your own” she says understanding, “It’s okay, it’s not a bad thing to say…”

You nod at her thankfully and grip on Mike’s hand tighter.

“There’s a procedure we can try… it’s called IVF, in vitro fertilization, are you familiar with that?”

So you start your journey trying to get pregnant through IVF. The doctor gave you a medicine to suppress your menstrual cycle so that treatment medicines can work better. Then you take a fertility hormone. You get checked really often. Then your eggs get collected. They get fertilized. Finally the embryos get transferred into your womb.

After 2 weeks you got asked to finally do a pregnancy test. Out of all the things this procedure asked you to do, this is the hardest part of it all because even if you did everything right, it doesn’t mean the procedure has worked.

You get back home after a couple of hours, Mike is already home. You didn’t tell him that you had your test today. 

“Hi” you greet him approaching him on the couch.

“Hi baby” he gives you a peck on the lips. 

You fix yourself a carton of ice cream and sit next to him. When you sit down he looks at you but doesn’t say anything.

“Don’t look at me like that, I have to eat for two” you say nonchalantly.

He freezes in his seat, “What?”

You smile.

“What?” he repeats, “Oh my god!” 

He kisses you passionately. 

[luvrrszn]

hello! i would like to request a miguel x f!reader that’s a little…out there.

basically, miguel and reader have been trying for a baby for whileeee. natural, in vitro, all that, but nothing has been working. it puts a strain on their relationship and they are about to give up until reader begs him that they try one more time, and that’s when they get their little one

a/n: i'm soooo sorry for taking so long with this request, i've just been in a horrible slump lately :' i hope the anon who requested sees this :) xx

infertility.

the atmosphere in your house is perpetually tense.

for the past two and a half years, miguel and you had been trying for a baby. the both of you had tried several different methods, and in excruciating detail.

when the simple process of unprotected sex failed to get you pregnant, the two of you began tracking your ovulation. the process of making love to have a child together became a somewhat tedious process. this was the first sign of strain on your marriage.

after trying for almost eight months, the two of you started looking into in vitro fertilisation, or IVF. you threw yourself into researching good doctors and clinics, spending all your free time looking at reviews on said clinics. miguel did the same. at some point, the only topic of conversation between the two of you was IVF: doctors, clinics, success rates. another sign of strain on your marriage. too determined to find a way to have a child, the two of you didn't realise how much of a toll it was taking on your marriage.

when several rounds of IVF did not work, and the bills were piling up, you made the decision to stop trying through IVF. you were heartbroken, knowing how much miguel wanted a child of his own. you were thrown into a spiral, feeling that you had disappointed miguel, that you had let him down in some way.

for the past two and a half years, you suffered multiple miscarriages, never successfully delivering a healthy baby.

you were heartbroken that despite your efforts to get pregnant, you seemed to fail every time. you were by no means old, you were still at the age where you were able to have children. but for some reason, you still weren't able to get pregnant.

as you stared at yet another set of negative pregnancy tests on the sink counter, you turned to look at miguel sitting on the toilet bowl cover, resting his head in his hands.

"i'm so sorry miguel." you whispered.

without a word, miguel stood up and stormed out of the bathroom, and out of the house.

you were sad, hurt, and angry. all for a multitude of reasons. you were sad that you had let miguel down. you were sad that despite trying to hard, all your efforts were to no avail. you were hurt that instead of comforting you and acknowledging that both of you shared the pain, miguel left you all alone. you were angry that miguel did not seem to care much about you anymore. all he cared about was making a baby. not making love, not fucking, just the monotonous process of making a baby. neither love and tenderness, nor passion and lust.

that night, you made up your mind to stand up for yourself.

when miguel returned, you were sitting at the dining table, nursing a hot cup of tea. tea which apparently increased fertility. what bullshit.

"nice of you to return." you said, taking a sip of your tea.

"what do you want from me?" miguel sighed, taking off his shoes.

"i want you to treat me like your wife again, miguel. i want you to treat me like a person. i'm not just here for you to try and make a baby. and how dare you walk out on me today? you're not the only one who's disappointed, you know?" when you finished your sentence, you felt your heart drop, something you thought wasn't physically possible.

as you blinked, tears ran down your face. you didn't move to wipe them off.

the silence spoke volumes.

miguel closed the space between the two of you. gently wiping the tears off your face, he said, "mi corazón, i'm so sorry. there is no excuse for the way i have been acting. i should have talked to you about it, and i should have been there for you. i hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

the emotions you had been suppressing for so long came crashing down on you all at once. you said nothing in response to miguel, sobbing in his arms. he rubbed gentle circles on your back, pressing light kisses to the side of your head.

that night, you fell asleep wrapped in miguel's arms for the first time in what felt like a decade.

—

a week after your "fight", you were still in a terrible space, physically and mentally. you were exhausted to say the least. the countless miscarriages and the numerous failed attempts at conceiving a child were all piling up and slamming into you like a truck.

you were lifeless, tired, and you had just about given up. you and miguel had tried everything, and nothing worked. you had come to accept the fact that maybe, just maybe there was no more point on trying. you just had to accept the cards you'd been dealt.

you were tired of trying and trying, only to be disappointed every single time. you were tired of feeling guilty, like you had let down miguel, like you had robbed him the opportunity of the happy family he'd always wanted.

you knew how much it meant to him, but you were simply too exhausted to bear the weight of the constant disappointment and guilt.

so, you made up your mind to talk to miguel. to ask him to just consider that maybe it was time to give up. and that was exactly what you did.

that night, when miguel returned home, you sat him down at the dining table, and told him that the two of you needed to have a talk.

"miguel, i'm tired. i know all you want is a family, but i don't think i can do this anymore. i'm grumpy all the time, i feel like shit, nothing we've tried is working."

"but—" miguel cut himself off, swallowing. you knew he was against it. but you decided to keep quiet and wait for him to express his opinions. after a pause, miguel continued, "okay. querida, i want you to know that you could never, ever disappoint me. i am so, so proud of you for soldiering on til this point. i love you so, so much. but would you consider trying one last time? tonight? please."

miguel looked so hopeful that even you had a spark of hope. seeing no harm in agreeing, you said yes.

that night, before miguel lead you into the bedroom, you prayed to every God, that the two of you would be blessed with a little bundle of joy.

—

in the weeks following your last attempt at conceiving a child, you decided to focus on yourself, and take better care of yourself.

you began eating healthier, going on walks, sleeping earlier. you did everything you could to start feeling like yourself again.

you did things like make smoothies in the morning, cook more meals, and even took up painting.

life was starting to return to normal, and you felt the best you'd felt in months, years even.

you did everything right.

which is why you and miguel were so concerned when you started feeling fatigued, when your body started aching. when your favourite foods started tasting unpleasant, when there was always a persisting metallic taste in your mouth.

so you went to the doctor, who brought you news you'd never thought you'd hear.

—

"well, mr and mrs o'hara, congratulations. mrs o'hara, all these symptoms you've been experiencing are all common symptoms of early stages of pregnancy." the doctor beamed as she shared the news.

you were shocked, to say the least. you turned to miguel, and saw a sparkle in his eye, right before he swiftly picked you up and spun you around as you let out a laugh.

you carried on with the rest of your day with a bounce in your step.

—

the nine months blew by quicker than you'd expected. you had maintained your healthy eating and lifestyle, making sure to keep fit. you took prenatal supplements and vitamins, and did everything you could to make sure that you would safely carry your little bean to term.

miguel had converted the guest room into a nursery, built a crib, painted the walls, he did everything.

before you knew it, your little bundle of joy, your baby girl, was in your arms, sleeping. (not without an excruciatingly long labour, nothing less you'd expect of an o'hara baby).

miguel spent all his time buying new thingsfor your baby, and hovering over you, making sure that the both of you were safe at any given moment.

the struggle with infertility had been long and challenging, but the arrival of your daughter made every tear, every heartache, and every moment of uncertainty and disappointment worth it.

[yashodaivffertilitycentre]

Whats difference between PCOD and PCOS. if you want to know more about, visit our best ivf centre in navi mumbai.

[dfortrafalgar]

I'm Losing You... (But We're Filling the Cracks)

Having a family isn't always as easy as fairy tales make it seem.

Warnings: Read chapter 1 for warnings. This chapter also has some suggestive themes and language

Taglist: @phsycochan | @mirillua | @augustanna | @chaixsherlock | @whore-of-many-hot-men

Chapter 20

[Prev] [Next]

Law’s grip on your sweaty hand was grounding for you as you fidgeted in your seat.  Across the table from the two of you in the tiny medical conference room was Robin, who was silently shuffling through papers in front of her.  The room was so silent you could almost pick out the sound of the clock hands ticking away each passing second, each interval seeming to grow longer and longer.  You anxiously bit the inside of your cheek as you watched your doctor diligently sort through your comprehensive patient history.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally looked up.  “I think IVF will be a good method to try.  The success rate for women with endometriosis successfully conceiving and carrying to term with IVF is much higher than going without.  Additionally, you have undergone some treatment for your condition, which improves your chances much more substantially.”

You breathed a heavy sigh of relief, the tension seeming to roll off of your shoulders.  You glanced up at Law beside you, whose face was contorted in confusion.  The sight made you stifle a chuckle.

“Sorry, can you, uhm… explain what IVF is?” he asked Robin.  “Sorry I’m a bit useless with gynecological stuff.”

The question made Robin smile, appreciating his candidness.  “Of course, Law.  IVF stands for in vitro fertilization.  It’s a procedure where a mature egg is fertilized outside of the body and is then implanted into the uterus, thereby increasing chances of successful conception and embryo growth.  Of course, that’s the layman’s version of it.  But once I have your official go-ahead, I will explain in much greater detail.”

You could see the gears turning in your husband’s head, making you grin.  You loved the way he was clearly dissecting the mental image of what Robin had just explained.  He silently nodded.

“I would like to go through with it,” you affirmed.  “If it will increase our chances, then I’ll do anything.”

Robin organized your patient files in front of her, a content grin on her lips.  “I’m delighted to hear that.  If you’re ready, we can begin discussing the full process, since I imagine you would like to begin as soon as you possibly can.”

You eagerly nodded.  “Yes, absolutely.”

Law was counting in his head.  “How long has it been since the last miscarriage?”  He was growing so nervous in the stifling room that he was losing track of time.  You started to worry that he might be the one to pass out this time.

“Almost six months, I think,” you answered, rubbing the surface of your glass ring with your thumb.

Robin nodded.  “I believe that’s correct.  That’s a good amount of time for your body to heal, so you should be ready to conceive again with little issue.”  The black-haired woman reached into her bag in the chair beside her and procured her laptop, opening the device and clicking through a few windows.  “Are you okay if we begin discussing the procedure?”

“Yes I am,” you confirmed.  Law nodded beside you.

“Perfect.  The entire process could take anywhere between six to eight weeks, so I want you to be prepared for that waiting period.  Because, trust me, there will be a lot of waiting,” she explained.  She turned her computer around, displaying an illustrated diagram of a uterus and ovary.  She used her finger to point around the screen.  “I’m sure you’re more than familiar with what you’re looking at, so I won’t have to explain the anatomy.  We’ll monitor your menstruation cycle briefly, and then the process will begin with ovarian stimulation, which alone can last anywhere from eight to fourteen weeks.  This will ensure that multiple eggs can grow to maturity, instead of just one.  We will most likely use an injectable hormone medication for you, considering your condition.  Are you following?”

You once again nodded your head, laser focused on her words as her fingers moved around the diagram.  “Following.”  You weren’t so sure about Law, but you thought somewhere in that thick head of his he was absorbing your doctor’s long-winded explanation.

“Alright.  After ovarian stimulation, we’ll be monitoring your eggs while they’re still in your body every few days to ensure they are maturing properly with the medication.  36 hours before the retrieval, you’ll be given what’s called a “trigger shot,” to stimulate your eggs to complete maturation.  Egg retrieval will be done as a minimally invasive procedure, so you will be put under general anesthesia, but the process is quite short.  A suction tube will be inserted through your vagina with the help of an ultrasound, and a small needle will be placed through the tube to puncture your ovary and extract a small amount of mature eggs.  The eggs are stored on a petri dish and placed in an incubator to prepare them for fertilization.”

“Kind of like chicken eggs,” you joked.

Robin snapped her fingers with a chuckle.  “That’s a good comparison.  Once they’re ready to be fertilized, a single sperm will be injected into each egg on the dish.  It’s likely that not all the eggs will successfully be fertilized, but having the multitude of mature eggs greatly increases the chances that at least one will form an embryo.  You’ll have to wait a few days while the embryos develop on the dish, but once they have progressed far enough, they will be able to be transferred.  You also have the option to freeze unused fertilized embryos, in case you want to conceive again in the future.”

You and Law nodded along with her words.

“The embryo transfer itself is a very quick procedure, similar to a pap smear.  A speculum will be inserted into the vagina, and a catheter will be used to insert one or more of the fertilized embryos into your uterus.  Your body will usually take care of the embryo from there, having it latch to your uterine wall and form a placenta.  After about 14 days, we’ll give you a blood test that will determine if the pregnancy was successful.  If it is, then we’ll go about the usual pregnancy monitoring.  If not, we try again after a few menstrual cycles.  Understood?”

You and your husband leaned back in your chairs, taking deep breaths.  The explanation of the process was almost as exhausting as actually carrying out the procedure, but something in your chest told you that this was a good idea.  You had a giddy feeling develop deep within, almost begging you to go through with the long, arduous process, somehow promising that it would be worth it.

“I understand.  I want to go through with it,” you once again confirmed.

Robin smiled, amused by your willingness.  “I’m happy to hear that, we’ll be there constantly to support you and monitor your progress.  Let’s officially begin the process in a week.  We’ll need to do a comprehensive full blood panel, infectious disease screening for both of you, an evaluation of your reproductive system, and a male fertility test.  It’s just a formality,” she explained.

Law became slightly rigid in his seat, alerting your attention.  He appeared nervous as he asked, “Will I have to go back to the fertility clinic?”

Robin looked confused at his question.  “Yes, is there a problem with that?”

You thought briefly about why your husband would be so uncomfortable with returning to the clinic, until a sudden memory flashed into your brain.  The sight of Law, hunched over your kitchen counter with his head in his hands, guilt plaguing his entire being as he informed you he couldn’t ejaculate into the cup at the fertility clinic until he watched 15 minutes of porn on his phone with the volume as low as it could go.  You had laughed at his misery then, and you had to fight your entire body to hold in your laugh now.

Law quickly shook his head, collecting himself.  “No, no problem at all.”

The gynecologist’s eyebrow tilted up in confusion, but she dropped the subject as she wrote a list of instructions on a piece of paper before handing it to you.  “Take this to the reception desk to schedule your appointment for next week.  Most of the tests on you we can perform in this clinic, but your blood panel will have to be done at the outpatient laboratory.  I’m also going to file a prescription for estrogen patches so we can begin regulating your cycle.  Once all your tests are done and approved, we can proceed to the next step!”

You enthusiastically took the paper from her, reading over her guidelines and dates.  You smiled at your doctor, standing when she did and shaking her hand cordially.  “Thank you so much, Dr. Robin, I really appreciate it!”

“Of course, I’m more than happy to be able to help you two with this.  I’ll see you next week, alright?” she asked as she gathered her papers and laptop into her bag, preparing to leave the room and let you two continue on with your day.

You and Law gave her an affirmative nod as you departed, your husband following you like a lost dog to the reception desk so you could schedule your next appointments.  The only thing in his mind at that moment, however, was the dread of returning to the fertility clinic.  He did not want to have to deal with Dr. Franky again next week.

—

“HEYYYY, TRAFALGAR!  It’s good to see you again, welcome back!”

The booming voice of Dr. Franky made Law wince as the giant man entered the small room, another clear plastic cup clutched in his abnormally large hand.  The cardiac surgeon looked at the fertility doctor differently now that he knew that your gynecologist was this man’s wife.  What a small world.

“How are those swimmers doing, huh?” the blue-haired doctor asked, a bright smile on his face as he plopped himself down in the swiveling stool that rested below the medical counter.  He clacked a few times on his keyboard, looking up Law’s patient info.  “Here for another sperm sample, I see.”

“Just part of a protocol,” Law muttered, his face growing red with shame.

“Ahh, got it, got it.”  Dr. Franky nodded a few times as he typed.

Law felt his phone buzz a few times in his pocket, but ignored the urge to reach in and check his device while the boisterous man was in the room.

“Well, you know the drill!  Just–”

“I know, Doctor, I know…” Law mumbled, fighting the reflex of pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

With a pout, Franky passed over the clear cup, gave his regards, and left Law alone in the room.  Finally surrounded by silence, the man slipped his phone out of his pocket to see who had texted him during his brief yet horrendously awkward discussion with the fertility doctor.  His spirits immediately brightened upon seeing your name on the screen, followed by slight confusion upon reading your messages.

Wifey

Good luck at the clinic today baby!!!

Wifey

Thought these might help you ;)

Wifey

[3 Image Attachments]

Wifey

[1 Video Attachment]

Wifey

See you later darling <3

Law felt his face grow heated upon seeing the images you had sent him.  Suffice to say, he was not expecting it.

But his wife’s beautiful body was always worlds better than porn.

—

“Hey, I’m home!” you called into your apartment, kicking off your shoes.  The excited tapping sounds of Bepo greeted you, your cloud of a dog skidding across the floor into your entryway, his bushy tail wagging a mile a minute while his pink tongue lolled out of his mouth as he smiled up at you.  “Look who’s happy to see me!”

“Hey, hon,” Law called from around the corner, leaning against the wall as he watched you be smothered by the thick, billowing fur of your four-legged baby.  He had a smirk on his face as you stood to greet him, a surprised gasp leaving your throat as he grabbed your arms in his calloused hands and brought your lips to his, kissing you dumb.

When he finally pulled away, you flashed him a knowing grin.  “I take it you appreciated the ‘help’ I sent you?”  You used air quotes to punctuate your sentence.

“Oh, I more than appreciated it,” he hummed back, pressing a kiss to the side of your neck where he knew you were the most ticklish.  He delighted in the giggle that left your lips as you fisted his shirt in your hands.

Bepo eagerly butted in between your pairs of legs, demanding the attention to be on him.  He had spent so much time with Shachi and Penguin as of late that he was desperate for the love from his parents.  His big, beady eyes gazed up at the both of you as he silently demanded you to go to the living room and sit on the couch so he could curl up next to you.

“Okay, okay, let’s go sit down,” you relented, laughing as your dog immediately sprinted to his favorite couch cushion.  You followed your furry baby, Law’s hand in your own, a pleasant, content grin on your face.  You flopped down next to your dog, your husband following your lead and pulling your body down on top of his, your ear resting over his heart.  You could hear it thrumming away, endlessly excited about the concept of holding you.

“You know what I like about you, Law?” you asked, adjusting yourself to be more comfortable.  

“Other than the fact that I’m married to you?” he teased.

“Yes, other than all the obvious things that I like about you,” you joked back, poking a finger into his side.  “I like that you still treat me like you did when we were dating.”

Law’s eyebrows furrowed, trying to deconstruct what your words meant.  “What do you mean?”

You sighed.  “I don’t know… I was just thinking about it today.  Like, some married couples drift apart after they have kids or after big life tragedies, but you didn’t do that.  And I like that about you.”

Law wrapped his arms around you, linking his fingers together as they rested over the small of your back.  “Couples who leave each other after having kids probably didn’t have a spark to begin with,” he replied.  “Same with couples who give up on each other after bad events happen to them.  But that’s not us, it never has been and it never will be.”

“So you’ll still like me when I’m old and shriveled?” you asked, your voice holding a hint of sincere insecurity along with your joking tone.

“I’ll love you even when we’re decaying skeletons six feet underground,” he replied, planting a kiss to the crown of your head.  “Who knows, maybe the 80-year-old you will be even sexier than you are now.  Only one way to find out.”

“Law!” you yelped, laughing at his flirtatious remark.  A few more jokes were tossed between you two, lighthearted giggles floating through the air as you cuddled before you finally relaxed in his embrace.

“How did your tests go today?” your husband asked, idly trailing his hands up and down your sides.

“They went well, my blood panel was completely normal, but the nurse said I should try to up my Vitamin D intake,” you explained.  “My ultrasound and saline sonogram were fine, there was some endometrial tissue on the outside of my uterus but Robin said it shouldn’t pose a problem.  And my infectious disease panel…”

The way your voice trailed off made Law pick up his head to look at you, concern bubbling in his chest.

You gazed back up at him with a cheeky smile.  “No tuberculosis.”

Law barked out a laugh.  “I sure as hell hope not!”

You giggled along with him, dropping your head back down onto his test.  “Aside from my texts, how did your test go?”

Your husband grinned, though you couldn’t see with your current position.  “It went fine, thanks to you I was out of there much quicker.  Nothing abnormal with my semen, and I hope to whatever’s up there in the universe that I won’t have to go back there again.”

“Is it really that bad?” you asked, holding in your laughter.

“It’s just that Franky guy.  He’s so… loud.  He’s always the last person I see before I’m supposed to jerk off into a cup,” he lamented.

“Fertility doctors don’t get you hard?” you teased.

“Not when they call semen ‘little swimmers,’' he griped back.

The conversation was making you giggle uncontrollably, your body trembling in your husband’s grasp as you poked fun at his misfortune before finally getting your energy out and settling down.  “Well… for your sake, I’m happy you’re done with that, too.”

Another comfortable silence settled over the two of you as you lay back on the couch, your dog snuggled with both pairs of your feet.

“Are you feeling ready to start this whole thing?” Law asked.

You pondered your thoughts briefly.  “I’m… I’m definitely really nervous, but I think I’m ready.”

Law’s hand rested on the back of your head, supporting you against his chest.  “I’m not leaving you, baby.  I’ll keep promising that until my tongue falls out.”

His words made a relieved, content grin crawl to your lips as you buried your head further into the junction between his shoulder and neck.  “I love you, Law.”

“I love you, darling.”

[necrotic-nephilim]

for the ask game

tim creates a clone of kon, but this is dicktim tim has to carry the fetus or breastfeed it, but dick suddenly gets a mommy kink and immediately falls in love

for the ask game!

DICKTIM MOMMY KINK. how did you know i have such a thing for just about any Batcest ship where the other person calls Tim mommy. i don't even know why i just think that shit is so fun.

it'd have to be Omegaverse for me, that's the only scenario i personally could write m-preg. i like the thought of no one knowing that Tim has gone on this crusade. and after 99 failures, Tim's so desperate and angry he tries in vitro fertilization. the first few times it doesn't work so he doesn't take it too seriously, at this point it's just a compulsion. he gets to a point he stops taking the pregnancy tests. so when about a month later, he's experiencing morning sickness and he's missed his heat, Tim has an 'oh, shit.' moment. and well. telling Dick first is his *natural* answer. (i think he'd also go to Steph, but in canon she'd be "dead" at this point) Tim doesn't know what to do, he didn't think he'd get this far. Dick is comforting and grounding, agreeing to help Tim hide this the best he can. Tim has to time it right, fake a bad injury so it makes sense he's benched and wearing baggy sweaters for a few months.

it's platonic at first. Dick is an alpha but his bond with Tim is more of a pack bond and he's just trying to help Tim through this awkward situation he got himself into. (and not laugh at him too much in the process bc well. only Tim. only Tim could manage this.) the pregnancy hormones have Tim all over the place. he's seeking comfort and Dick is trying to keep it platonic and professional, even when he's cuddling Tim or bringing him weird cravings at 2 am. the trust in Dick and Tim's bond makes Dick Tim's only real support system. (also just bc the Titans were a goddamn mess in this era) maybe at some point they tell Bruce the truth but Bruce is dealing with Jason so. bigger fish. it forces them closer as Dick is the only one who can help Tim with the awkward sides of pregnancy. Dick is basically living with Tim and because Tim can't satiate the itch to be in the field (he's tried sneaking out, it earned him a lecture from Dick and a warning that Dick would handcuff him to the radiator if Tim tried that again) so Tim runs comms. for anyone who asks, but mostly for Dick, to the point he's in Dick's ear even when Dick doesn't need the backup, just to keep each other company.

i think, as the pregnancy went on and Tim's chest started to fill out and his hips are bigger, that's when Dick's feeling shift. one second Tim is just his pack, the next Tim is suddenly a very pretty, very vulnerable omega that's Dick is protecting and his wires get all kinds of crossed about it. he starts dousing himself in scent blockers so Tim doesn't notice the change, can't smell how much Dick wants him. which makes Tim annoyed because Dick's scent has been a consistent calming factor keeping the worst of his hormones in check. it'd lead to an awkward fight where Dick is dancing around the truth and Tim just wants to bite him out of anger. finally, Dick admits it and. Tim kind of bluescreens bc sure he's had a crush on Dick for years, but it's sort of like your celebrity crush calling you up and asking for a date. it makes no sense and he can't wrap his head around it. he almost thinks Dick is making fun of him, because Tim is super self-conscious about the pregnancy and mortified he put himself in this situation. it takes a lot of reassurance and a long conversation, but. well, they do end up having sex.

Dick doesn't *mean* to call Tim mommy the first time. he knows Tim hates being emasculated as an omega, and knows Tim is vulnerable about being pregnant. their sex is gentle, no matter how much Tim insists he can take it because Dick doesn't want to hurt the baby, or Tim. it's when Tim finally huffs with annoyance and flips them over -reminding Dick that Tim is still trained and deadly, even like this- to take control and actually get the rough sex he needs right now, when it slips out. there's something just very pretty about Tim taking control and taking what he needs from Dick, but still being whiny and squirmy on top of him. so the first time Dick calls him mommy is an accident and they're *both* startled by just how much they like it. their sex life goes from soft and caring to *very* interesting overnight, where Dick doesn't hide how much he likes Tim's chest. and well. breastfeeding kink. for completely scientific reasons, of course. just to help the milk flow and make sure Tim's body is adjusting well. definitely not bc of the noises Tim makes when Dick does it no sir.

when Tim finally has the clone baby, they're both smitten with this tiny clone. i think they'd end up mating and either say it's Dick's baby or they adopted it. (the lie only works short term bc well, sooner or later that baby's going to start lifting trucks. not to mention Kon does come back to life and is perturbed by how much Tim's kid looks like him.) it's a very cute, fluffy happily ever after sort of deal, with plenty of mommy kink. i think Tim would be huffy and annoyed at how long he'd have to wait for sex bc in my mind, Tim uses sex as a stress relief and is very annoyed when he's deprived of it so, they'd find creative ways around it.

[glitteraffe-art]

This is a pretty simple explanation of the topic, and does not cover every detail, but hopefully it is a nice overview!

Slide text in text form, and reference and image source URLs under the cut:

Title Card: Cloning Mercenaries 101: How Real-Life Cloning Works

CW: Mentions of animal death (in a research context)

Slide 1: Foreword

If you're into TF2, chances are you've come across fanworks depicting the "clone theory" to explain why there's more than one of each mercenary.

Clone theories generally fall into the categories of either respawn/teleportation cloning, or biological cloning. Today, we'll focus on real-life biological cloning.

"But TF2 is a Looney-Tunes comedy! Why bother with the science of a fairly common, but minimally supported headcanon?"

It's always worth understanding how the real-life version of something really works!

Slide 2: What is Cloning?

"Cloning" broadly refers to the process of producing individuals who are genetically identical to another individual. It can include single- and multi-cellular organisms.

Cloning includes both natural cloning (like plant cuttings, asexual reproduction) and artificial cloning (like cloning DNA fragments, cells, and organisms).

"Reproductive cloning", is the cloning of a multicellular organism to create a new genetically identical individual.

Engie speech bubble: Natural cloning is more common than you may think: for example, plants grown from cuttings are clones of their "parent"!

Slide 3: Reproductive Cloning

There are 2 methods of reproductive cloning for mammals:

Embryo Splitting

- Used to create identical twins from 1 egg and 1 sperm cell after in-vitro fertilization (IVF)

- Not really for cloning an existing adult so we won't focus on it.

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT)

- Used to create a number of clones of an individual organism from 1 body cell (somatic cell) from the organism and 1 donor egg cell

Engie speech bubble: We’ll be focusing on SCNT here!

Slide 4: Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (Diagram)

1. Nucleus removed from body (somatic) cell of individual to be cloned (by pipette)

2. Nucleus removed from donor egg cell

3. Somatic nucleus placed into empty donor egg cell

4. Resulting egg stimulated and begins to divide

5. Resulting embryo transferred to uterus of a surrogate mother to develop.

Slide 5: Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

The resulting clone embryo is not 100% identical to that of the individual to be cloned.

- The body (somatic) cell's nucleus may have contained mutations

- The mitochondria (powerhouse of the cell) of the resulting clone embryo will be the donor egg's mitochondria

That's right! If the donor egg is NOT from the individual or their matenal line (mitochondria are passed down maternally) the resulting clone embryo will NOT be 100% identical.

Engie speech bubble: With different mitochondria, a clone may have differences in body parts with high energy demand, like muscles, heart, eyes, or brain.

Slide 6: Dolly the Sheep

Some methods using the principles of SCNT were used as early as the 1950s (based on earlier work in the 1920s) to clone amphibians.

The first successful mammalian clone using SCNT was Dolly, a cloned sheep born in 1996 in Scotland, and announced to the public in 1997.

Dolly eventually developed severe arthritis and a progressive lung disease and was

euthanized at age 6 despite sheep's average lifespan being 11-12 years.

Engie speech bubble: Dolly was named after Dolly Parton!

Slide 7: Some Downsides

Inefficiency & Failure Rate:

SCNT has a high failure rate - many clones die during gestation, and newborn clones may die of abnormalities. For example, for Dolly, 277 fertilized eggs -> 29 embryos -> 3 lambs born -> only Dolly survived.

Advanced Aging(?):

Due to Dolly's age-related diseases it was speculated her DNA was already genetically "old". Later studies of further clones found no evidence of having age-related diseases, but the idea of "advanced" or "accelerated" aging of clones made its way into pop culture.

Engie speech bubble: More recent cloning using SCNT have reported higher success rates, but still have many failures.

Slide 8: What Does this Mean in TF2?

A resulting baby born from SCNT will, in fact, be a baby. The baby will NOT have the memories, experiences, muscle mass, or, well... anything past genetics, of the individual they were cloned from.

In terms of TF2, a lot of time and money would need to be spent raising, feeding, and teaching the resulting baby for the next 18 or so years to get anywhere close to a useful mercenary. Not very efficient...

Engie speech bubble: In short, you'd need to look beyond realistic cloning

and take some sci-fi shortcuts to get already-adult clones as often portrayed in fandom.

REFERENCE URLs

(Removed the hyper links since Tumblr likes to hide posts with hyperlinks)

Image of Dolly is from here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/22/newsid_4245000/4245877.stm

I mainly referenced these while writing (Yes, Wikipedia unreliable, I know, but this slideshow is a for-funsies TF2-themed general explanation and not an academic essay):

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK223960/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_(sheep)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatic_cell_nuclear_transfer

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloning

I also looked at these when trying to determine if the Wikipedia information was reliable:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK223969/

https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/General_Biology_(Boundless)/17%3A_Biotechnology_and_Genomics/17.01%3A_Biotechnology/17.1D%3A_Reproductive_Cloning

https://www.britannica.com/science/cloning/Reproductive-cloning

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3790123/