If you’re struggling to conceive, the Mosie story probably sounds familiar. It began with a frustrated couple who just wanted to start a family… After two and a half years of trying, Maureen and Marc Brown came away with the idea that there should be an option for home insemination when timed intercourse isn't living up to the hype or isn't an option — a easy, comfortable and accessible alternative to try at-home.
Like many couples, our plan was to get married and enjoy life for a year or two, then start a family. After a couple of years, we stopped birth control and began formally trying to have a baby, which we figured might take a few months.
After six months with no luck, we began charting ovulation and timing intercourse to ensure we were maximizing every opportunity. Often certain we’d timed it correctly, we’d become more hopeful each month — only to be disappointed two weeks later. As the months passed, pressure mounted.
Our inability to conceive affected every facet of our lives. It inevitably came up during holidays, happy hours and family gatherings. While exciting to talk about at first, after several months it became awkward and stressful. At the same time, we were hyper-aware of the growing list of friends who were announcing pregnancies and new arrivals on social media. It seemed like everyone was getting pregnant — except us!
After a year of disappointment piled upon disappointment, it was time to get serious. Unfortunately, in the fertility world, that usually means spending money. We started small: Marc took an over-the-counter fertility test (nailed it), and started taking pills that claimed to boost male fertility.
For Maureen, taking the next step was much more intrusive, exhausting and emotional. She was subjected to blood tests, thyroid tests, physical exams, pelvic exams, ultrasounds and fertility drugs. Not to mention trying acupuncture, detoxing, basal body temperature charting and daily monitoring of her cervix.
Finally, after two and a half years of trying, we decided to visit a fertility doctor. The process involved repeating many of the tests we’d already taken, plus new blood-work. The doctor could find nothing wrong with us. Based on the results, our doctor thought we’d be good candidates for intrauterine insemination (IUI), which places sperm directly into the uterus. That’s the first time we considered that our problem could be as simple as sperm not making it to the uterus.
We mentioned this to a friend, who said she knew several people that had used a common syringe (also known as the “turkey baster method”) to become pregnant. And although we did go through with IUI and concieved our first little one, it sparked an interest in home insemination that we wanted to explore for our second.
And so we delved into the exciting world of syringes. We ordered a series of them from Amazon. The first was way too big in diameter. The second was too short. The third seemed an okay middle ground, but was still larger than Maureen was comfortable with. And even worse, there were abrasive edges that were going to have to be handled very delicately. Plus, none of the syringes were good at dealing with small quantities of liquid, so the precious cargo was easily lost in transit. It was obvious that traditional syringes weren’t made for for the vagina.
It dawned on us that there must be special syringes made specifically for home insemination: something about the same size as a tampon, with a comfortable diameter and no harsh edges. We were shocked to find out nothing like that existed. Maureen sketched a quick design for a syringe on a notepad, adding the measurements she knew would make it comfortable. We thought we might be onto something, and some research into the home fertility market confirmed it.
After many rounds of revisions, tests, consultations with fertility experts and prototypes, we’re proud to make the patented Mosie syringe available to you. It’s the first over the counter FDA Cleared syringe on the market designed specifically as an alternative to intercourse — designed to be comfortable, approachable and accessible for home insemination with a unique slit opening.
And yes, Mosie works! After two and a half years of trying and doing IUI to conceive our first child, we became pregnant with our second child after a single cycle with Mosie! The first "Mosie Baby" is a healthy baby boy born in August of 2016.
Fast forward a few years and we're happy to report that we're not alone! In fact, Mosie has helped over 100,000 families inseminate from the comfort of their own homes. And you can read many success stories of real Mosie families here!
2023 Cup-date!
Our commitment to elevating at-home insemination continues to this day as we’re thrilled to introduce the updated Mosie cup. A dedicated semen collection cup designed by Marc with help from our med-device engineer Andrew, this cup's sole purpose is semen collection specifically for at-home insemination. This has been a passion project for Marc since Mosie Baby began in 2015, and we hope it inspires confidence your experience with Mosie. Learn more about the updated Mosie cup and what makes it special here.
