Lesson 12

Where Do Babies Come From?

A shame-free, inclusive explanation of reproduction. Covers egg, sperm, and uterus, and also explains IVF, surrogacy, and donor conception so all family-building paths are represented. Notes that transgender men and non-binary people can also be pregnant. It will also go over that sometimes people want to prevent pregnancy and sometimes pregnancies end.
Key Ideas
  • To make a baby, a sperm and an egg need to meet and join together.
  • The egg comes from an ovary and the sperm comes from a testicle.
  • When the egg and sperm join, the result is called a zygote, which grows in a uterus.
  • Pregnancy usually takes about nine months.
  • Sometimes a doctor helps sperm and egg meet outside the body in a process called IVF.
  • Sometimes a donor provides sperm or an egg to help a family have a baby.
  • A surrogate is a person who grows a baby in their uterus for someone else.
  • Transgender men and non-binary people with uteruses can become pregnant too.
  • Families are made in many different ways and all of them are real.


Vocabulary
TermDefinition
SpermTiny cells made in the testicles that can join with an egg to make a baby.
Egg (ovum)A cell made in the ovaries that can join with sperm to make a baby.
FertilizationWhen a sperm and an egg join together.
ZygoteThe first group of cells that forms when a sperm and egg join.
PregnancyWhen a fertilized egg grows inside a uterus into a baby.
IVF (in vitro fertilization)When a doctor joins a sperm and egg outside the body, then places them in a uterus.
DonorA person who gives their sperm or egg to help someone else have a baby.
SurrogateA person who carries a pregnancy in their uterus for another person or family.