Fertility and assisted reproduction in cinema

Getting pregnant is not always easy, nor is it the same for all couples or single women who want to be mothers. 

The positive can come surprisingly quickly, but… it is not usual. 

When pregnancy does not arrive within a period of 12 months, it is usually recommended to start to look for help and advice from fertility specialists. In fact, even if there are no problems conceiving, it does not hurt to consult with professionals in the field of reproduction at the beginning of this search. 

A couple of reviews, discussing intentions with specialists and receiving advice from fertility experts can always pave the way to the positive. 

But returning to the cases in which this positive result does not arrive within 12 months, once the visits to the experts begin, in many cases, the path of assisted reproduction begins. 

A path that is still very taboo today, but, luckily, the cinema has been playing in some films about fertility and assisted reproduction that we want to review. 

What are the basic approaches of the films that have dealt with the subject? 

Are they realistic? Do you help couples who find themselves at this point? 

Are they sweetened movies with a happy ending? 

Do they focus on all the moments and feelings that a heterosexual couple, a homosexual couple, or a single woman who wants to be a mother will go through? 

Stay, make popcorn, and let's start reviewing Assisted reproduction in cinema. 

How does cinema approach assisted reproduction? 

Most of the films that we will analyze in this post raise assisted reproduction and the entire fertility process in comedy key. It is true that there are some more bittersweet moments, but in general, these topics are touched on in a humorous format. 

It is very likely that this way of approaching the subject comes from the taboo that still exists in our society related to infertility. 

Precisely because of this taboo, touching on topics of infertility and assisted reproduction processes as a dramatic film makes it more complicated and delicate to address. Despite this, there is some dramatic approach, which we will analyze. 

Movies about infertility and assisted reproduction

Maybe baby

TECHNICAL SHEET Maybe Baby

Year: 2001. 

Director: Ben Elton. 

Distribution: Hugh Laurie, Joely Richardson, Rowan Atkinson, Emma Thompson, Adrian Lester, James Purefoy, Tom Hollander, Joanna Lumley, Matthew Macfadyen.

Gender: comedy.

Duration: 104 minutes.

How to treat fertility Maybe Baby?

In this case it is a comedy in which a couple tries to have a child, and in addition to having a strange doctor (has Rowan Atkinson ever played a character that wasn't strange?), the husband will write a script about his own assisted reproduction process. It is a comedy with a frenetic pace and histrionic characters, ideal for taking the edge off the assisted reproduction process. 

LINK TO SEE MAYBE BABY ON AMAZON

Plan B

Technical sheet of Plan B

Year: 2010.

Director: Alan Poul.

Distribution: Jennifer Lopez, Alex O'Loughlin, Michaela Watkins, Eric Christian Olsen, Anthony Anderson, Noureen Dewulf, Melissa Mccarthy.

Gender: comedy.

Duration: 106 minutes. 

How does the film deal with fertility? Plan B?

Comedy in which a single woman wants to be a mother and begins the process, but just then she meets the person who will be her partner. In a comedic tone, it tells not only the process of assisted reproduction, but also what a couple goes through when only one of them was looking for pregnancy.

SEE PLAN B ON AMAZON

pregnant

Pregnant technical sheet

Year: 2016.

Director: Juana Macías.

Distribution: Paco León, Alexandra Jiménez, Karra Elejalde, Ernesto Sevilla, ALberto Amarilla.

Gender: comedy.

Duration: 100 minutes.

How does the film Pregnant deal with fertility?

A couple decides to try to get pregnant, but age does not help, they are almost 40. They begin to visit assisted reproduction clinics, and the film tells of all the situations that a couple at this point must go through: the comments, discomfort, fears... It deals with the topic from a very comical perspective.

A small change

TECHNICAL FITXA:

Year: 2010.

Director: Josh Gordon, Will Speck. 

Distribution: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Thomas Robinson, Juliette Lewis, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, Scott Elrod, Caroline Dhavernas, Todd Louiso, Edward James Hyland, Kelli Barrett, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Victor Pagan.

Gender: comedy.

Duration: 101 minutes.

AS IS A SMALL CHANGE FERTILITY? 

A young woman, tired of not finding the "ideal" partner, decides to become a single mother through artificial insemination. But the story, also focused on humor, becomes complicated when he realizes that his son looks very similar to his great friend Wally.

SEE A SMALL CHANGE ON AMAZON

Private Life

DATA SHEET: 

Year: 2018.

Director: Tamara Jenkins. 

Distribution: Paul Giamatti, Kathryn Hahn, Kayli Carter, Molly Shannon, Siobhan Fallon, Emily Robinson, Desmin Borges, Tracee Chimo, Amy Russ, Jessica Van Oss, Marmee Regine Cosico, Samantha Buck, Alyssa Cheatham. 

Gender: comedy.

Duration: 101 minutes.

HOW DOES FERTILITY TREAT? 

In this case, the film is a drama about the situation of a couple who want to be parents, and struggle with infertility. The film shows the difficulties they face as a couple, and the way in which they try to save the relationship from all the ups and downs that an assisted reproduction process can mean for a couple.

It is one of the most realistic approaches that can be found on the subject.

If you are looking for pregnancy, and in the assisted reproduction procedure, these movies can help you laugh a little and see things in a lighter way, since most have a very notable comedic tone. 

And if you have already achieved pregnancy naturally, or have not yet considered starting fertility visits and treatments, these stories will bring you closer to the reality of the process and how some couples who have to go through it experience it.

 I also recommend this post about the best books to learn about fertility and the search for pregnancy:

📚The best books to learn about fertility and pregnancy

And I also recommend this post about whether home male fertility tests are really effective.

Home male fertility tests, are they reliable?