Considering in vitro fertilization (IVF) but don’t know exactly how it works? Want to explain it to your kids? Here’s a great video from TED-Ed that will help.
“How in vitro fertilization (IVF) works,” by Nassim Assefi and Brian A. Levine, uses soothing and simple animations to show us the cycles of producing egg and sperm, how fertilization through intercourse occurs (all with images of internal organs and cells), and how IVF mimics this process.
Right at the beginning, it tells us that “heterosexual” and “homosexual” couples as well as single parents may use IVF. I normally cringe at the use of “homosexual,” since it sounds too clinical, but I’ll forgive it here since it’s used in parallel with “heterosexual” and the video is covering a clinical topic.
This isn’t a video for young children, as the terminology and descriptions of bodily processes are likely too complex for understanding. (For young children wanting the basics of how people come to be, I recommend the wonderfully gender-inclusive What Makes a Baby?
Parents should know that it refers to “sexual intercourse” and “masturbation” (to produce sperm samples) without explaining them. If your kids aren’t familiar with these concepts, you might want to discuss them first.
My one quibble is that it uses the terms “the natural process of babymaking” and “artificial babymaking,” which almost make it seem like those of us using IVF (myself and my spouse included) are cranking out robot offspring. Face is, our kids are as organic as any. I prefer “assisted reproduction.” Still, the video is clearly on the side of IVF as a reproductive option for couples of all types as well as single parents, so I won’t complain too much.
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