HAVEABABY gives a voice to infertility and unveils the class disparity complicating a topic that is often clouded by judgment and stereotypes. Oscar-nominated director and Harvard alum Amanda Micheli’s provocative and suspenseful documentary follows several aspiring parents who desperately want to have a baby, but are struggling with infertility and the high cost of treatments. They place themselves in the hands of Las Vegas doctor Geoffrey Sher and his annual contest, which offers a prize of a free round of in vitro fertilization (IVF)––with no guarantee of pregnancy. Contestants post video entries online telling their stories, counting on the votes of strangers to make their dreams of becoming parents true. IVF can be cripplingly expensive and is rarely covered by insurance. So, although exposing private pain online to win a contest is a brutal proposition, many infertile couples see it as a gamble worth taking.

Using Sher’s controversial contest as a conduit, Micheli navigates the complexities of America’s burgeoning fertility industry and paints an intimate portrait of the many resilient individuals––from a working-class, biracial couple in Green Bay to a lesbian Lady Gaga impersonator in Manhattan––determined to have a baby against all odds.