If you celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas with a roast turkey dinner, you may be familiar with the baster – a supersize kitchen utensil used to moisten meat while it’s cooking. But the baster has long had another association: as a tool for self-insemination. Where did the idea come from and have babies ever actually been conceived this way? Christine Ro digs into how the turkey-baster insemination myth took hold, and whether it has any grounding in reality.
It was during the first phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. I was restless. And through a series of rabbit-hole discoveries, I became slightly obsessed with turkey basters: kitchen utensils that resemble oversized syringes but are specifically for keeping meat moist during roasting.
It started with a stranger reaching out via Facebook, to tell me that he thought we might have the same father. This discovery of a half-brother made me reflect on my general apathy about genetic origins. As the daughter of a Korean, the stepdaughter of a Native American, the stepsister of a Filipina, and the adoptive aunt of a Mexican, I’ve never put too much stock into connections based on heredity.
But for my half-brother, as for so many people around the world, this chromosomal link meant something. I wanted to better understand what I was missing, and this curiosity took me in some unexpected directions.
One of the webinars I attended during that early, shut-in, Zoom-heavy portion of the pandemic was called ‘Curious connections: the social life of egg and sperm donation’. It was part of a sociology research project at the University of Manchester.
As part of this session, Kathryn Almack, a sociologist at the University of Hertfordshire, wondered about the origins of the “turkey-baster myth”. According to this social lore, turkey basters aren’t just useful for cooking, but also for transferring sperm from a man into a woman, without any sexual contact being necessary.
“I wonder where that turkey-baster myth originates; from my research, more commonly, women using known donor sperm use a small syringe,” Almack mused. The couples she interviewed in her research “said they used syringes and laughed at the idea of turkey basters, given the small amount of sperm per donation!”
And with that, I set out to find out more about the turkey-baster myth. It’s been a nicely low-stakes, idle-curiosity background project for the last couple of years: visiting archives, reading publications by pioneers of self-insemination, and learning more about women’s experiences of managing their own fertility.
“The couples interviewed ‘said they used syringes and laughed at the idea of turkey basters, given the small amount of sperm per donation!’”
It’s become clear that a major reason the myth persists is that the “turkey-baster insemination plot” is a pop-culture trope, sometimes comic but other times violent and disturbing. In the soap ‘Jane the Virgin’ the baster is big and silly; in the horror film ‘Don’t Breathe’ it’s terrifying. In both cases the baster has a dramatic visual presence.
At the same time, one specific type of visual culture – pornography – has led to some widespread misconceptions of just how much semen is produced per ejaculation. Let’s just say that an eye dropper or teaspoon is generally big enough.
Women have often had to be resourceful and innovative when it comes to getting pregnant. And, though their use has been exaggerated, women have certainly tried using turkey basters as vehicles for sperm. “I do believe at-home inseminations happened using turkey basters or the like,” explains Lisa Jean Moore, a medical sociologist at the State University of New York. “People also have been known to put semen on diaphragms and then insert them.”
Moore herself has personal experience of self-insemination, using a syringe. “I think that, depending on where a person lives and their healthcare access, syringes for medical use can be hard to come by and people make do with at-hand technologies.”
While artificial insemination goes back centuries, the “turkey-baster era” of self-insemination dates to around the 1970s. There was plenty of personal experimentation involved, for instance within the Feminist Self-Insemination Group in London.
Feminist and lesbian groups were especially influential in spreading the message that conception didn’t have to be overly medicalised, costly or inaccessible. This was important to groups of women, including single and queer women, who were judged especially harshly by a moralistic medical establishment.
“A symbol of domesticity became a tool for taking control of one’s own reproduction, a welcome contrast to the stories of doctors inseminating women without their knowledge.”
Some editions of ‘Our Bodies, Ourselves’, a seminal book on women’s sexual health that started publication in the 1970s, helped to spread the idea that turkey basters could be a tool for reproductive agency. A symbol of domesticity became a tool for taking control of one’s own reproduction, a welcome contrast to the stories of doctors inseminating women without their knowledge or equating artificial insemination to adultery or worse. Using ordinary household implements also allowed self-inseminators to evade the scrutiny of would-be meddlers.
As one woman marvelled in the 1979 book ‘Up Against the Clock: Career Women Speak on the Choice to Have Children’: “I heard about a group of lesbian women on the West Coast who were inseminating themselves using a turkey baster. That’s right, the kind you keep in your kitchen. I know it sounds a little strange, but I thought it was a wonderful idea… So I used a turkey baster and there was nothing to it…”
At-home insemination has become much more normalised and precise since then, with a dizzying array of products and resources available for the self-inseminator. Turkey basters, meanwhile, have generally returned to their single purpose in the kitchen.
Yet “turkey baster” remains a kind of shorthand. It’s sometimes used to describe all forms of self-insemination, even hundreds of years before the turkey baster was even invented, and including the use of a syringe or cervical cap rather than a baster.
Regardless of how common it ever was, the turkey-baster myth remains a useful reference point. It’s also a reminder that family units come in all sorts of configurations. That’s helpful for people like me, who have unresolved feelings about the genetic bonds we share with people we didn’t grow up with.
Despite there being no direct connection, my research into turkey basters has strangely become a way to channel some of my questions about family. My half-brother and I now exchange halting messages a few times a year in an effort to keep some sort of tenuous connection flickering. It’s not much, but it’s a start.
Steven is a photographer at Wellcome. His photography takes inspiration from the museum’s rich and varied collections. He enjoys collaborating on creative projects and taking them to imaginative places.
The idea of using a turkey baster to get pregnant has become something of an urban legend but is there any truth to it? Can it really work or is it just an old wive’s tale? Let’s take a closer look at the facts behind the turkey baster baby myth.
A Brief History of Turkey Baster Babies
Using kitchen tools for do-it-yourself artificial insemination dates back to the 1970s and 1980s when turkey basters were actually employed by those wanting to conceive outside of heterosexual intercourse. Low-cost and readily available, a turkey baster allowed for at-home insemination without complex medical procedures.
The method was particularly popular among single women and lesbian couples wishing to conceive before sperm banks and fertility treatments were widely accessible Journalist Christine Ro has reported on the underground movement, noting that “turkey basting” gave many women a sense of control and independence over their fertility
Of course, kitchen gadgets are less than ideal for medical purposes. So as assisted reproductive technologies advanced, the turkey baster method became more of an urban legend than a recommended practice. Yet the myth continued, perhaps because of the household item’s whimsical name.
Evaluating the Turkey Baster Method
Can using a turkey baster really result in pregnancy? In theory, it could work. The basic idea is to insert sperm as close to the cervix as possible during a woman’s fertile window. Doing so enhances the chance that sperm will reach an egg for fertilization.
However, there are significant drawbacks to DIY insemination with a turkey baster:
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Turkey basters are often too short to reach the cervix. The sperm may be deposited too far down in the vaginal canal.
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Basters have bulbed ends that limit how close you can get to the cervix. They also retain sperm, resulting in loss of the sample.
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Turkey basters can introduce bacteria and are difficult to properly sterilize. Infection is a risk.
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Proper timing of ovulation is difficult without medical monitoring. Mistimed attempts will fail.
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Success rates are extremely low compared to intrauterine insemination (IUI) done in a clinic.
While turkey basting led to some early pregnancies, modern medical literature does not endorse this as an effective method. If you have access to donor sperm and fertility care, there are much better options available today.
Medical Alternatives to the Turkey Baster
For those considering artificial insemination, working with a reproductive endocrinologist provides safe, effective treatment options. Two possibilities are:
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
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Washed, concentrated sperm are injected directly into the uterus via a thin catheter.
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Timing is pinpointed through ultrasound monitoring and ovulation predictor kits.
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Clinical pregnancy rates per cycle are typically 8-20% under age 35.
Intracervical Insemination (ICI)
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Washed sperm is injected into the vaginal canal right at the cervix opening.
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Can be done at home with a proper conception device and accurate ovulation timing.
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Requires normal fallopian tubes.
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Lower success rate than IUI but higher than intercourse.
While not as high-tech as in vitro fertilization (IVF), IUI and ICI offer major advantages over attempting conception with a turkey baster. Working with a fertility clinic gives you access to fertile sperm as well as medical expertise – a winning combination!
Alternatives to Traditional Conception
For heterosexual couples, IUI and ICI provide alternatives if difficulty conceiving is tied to male factor infertility. But what about single women and lesbian couples looking to conceive outside of sexual intercourse? Thankfully, social attitudes and medical technologies have evolved.
If you’re looking to become pregnant independent of a male sexual partner, here are two options to consider:
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Work with a sperm bank or donation program for access to donor sperm. Reputable banks screen donors and collect high quality specimens.
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Explore reciprocal IVF, where one woman provides eggs to be fertilized and carried by her female partner. This allows both women to participate in the conception journey.
While turkey basting historically allowed women to take conception into their own hands, current technologies offer better solutions without relying on kitchen gadgets.
The Reality of Turkey Baster Babies
Can you get pregnant with a turkey baster? In theory it’s possible, but not highly probable. Less than ideal tools combined with improper technique make success unlikely.
However, the turkey baster myth endures because it represents an ingenious, low-tech solution that gave women reproductive freedom in the days before sperm banks and fertility clinics. So while actual turkey basters are no longer recommended, we have pioneers with kitchen appliances to thank for advancing the march towards reproductive justice we continue today.
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Find Out If the Turkey Baster Method Is Real
FAQ
What is the turkey baster method of fertility?
What is the success rate of the turkey baster method?
Can you get pregnant injecting sperm syringe?
What is the best syringe for home insemination?
Can you get pregnant with a turkey baster?
The Turkey Baster Method is the most common way of artificial insemination to get pregnant via artificial insemination at home. More often than not you do NOT actually use a turkey baster but instead, a disposable syringe. Obie is your reproductive health coach, helping you reach your goal with expert personalized guidance. Not an iOS user?
How do you do turkey baster insemination at home?
Here’s what you need for turkey baster insemination at home: It takes just three quick steps to complete the process: Draw the semen from the cup into the syringe. Then, insert the syringe into your vagina. Lastly, press the plunger to release the semen inside your body.
How to inseminate yourself with a Turkish Baster baby?
It takes just three quick steps to complete the process: Draw the semen from the cup into the syringe. Then, insert the syringe into your vagina. Lastly, press the plunger to release the semen inside your body. As you can see, the “Turkey Baster Baby” method is a quick and simple way to inseminate yourself.
What is turkey baster baby?
If neither of you feel like performing procreative sex during your fertile period, the “Turkey Baster Baby” method is a simple and convenient artificial insemination technique. All you need are a sanitized needleless syringe and a cup. That said, for maximum comfort and hygiene, you may want to consider the twoplus Applicator Extra instead.