Founder of Paths to Parenthub
I recently created a resource to support those using a donor to conceive in talking to family and friends, with advice for loved ones on what it means and how they can best offer emotional support. One the the topics covered was 'why is there a need to talk to the...
Today I'm starting to share experiences from those who are donor conceived themselves, a vital perspective for us to understand and learn from as parents through donor conception. I've found it much more difficult to find the voices of those conceived through egg...
Talking to your child about donor conception can feel both daunting and emotional. Over the past 18 months through my DefiningMum Instagram platform I’ve shared a number of moments from our own parenting-after-donor-conception journey; some planned and some...
It feels like we're approaching a significant change in childhood stages as Mila starts school in just a few weeks time. As I'm sure most parents are, I'm particularly apprehensive and emotional about it all, although I'm trying to hide my emotions as best I can so...
Mila and I finally had the opportunity to read our new book Happy Together Childrens Book - a story about egg donation, kindly gifted to my girls. I actually started talking to her occasionally as a baby, holding her in my arms in the middle of the night. For me this...
As you know, we'll always be open with the girls about their conception - they'll never know any different. It's only now that Mila is three and a complete chatterbox, that we can actually talk about it in a two-way conversation. One of my favourite things to do is to...
Jana Rupnow has, yet again, sparked realisation in me! This relates to Jana’s post on ‘Conception Gratitude’. It’s something I want to share and bring to life from the viewpoint of the parent. Jana explains that this is: "1. Forced feelings on a child for a choice...
I've been meaning to write about this for a while now, especially since Jana Rupnow and I talked about it in a recent episode of Three Makes Baby podcast - click here to listen. It was another 'lightbulb moment' for me and a concept that really lessened some of the...
I plan to be very open with Mila, Eska and Lena about how they were conceived using an egg donor. We don't share genetics but despite this, we are still very similar in so many ways - all because of epigenetics, nurture over nature and simply through sharing nearly...
I am honoured to be sharing a guest blog post, written for @DefiningMum by the amazing @JanaRupnowLPC, a licensed professional counsellor specialising in fertility and family building. In the timely theme of “back-to-school”, Jana provides some advice for supporting...
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I’m Becky, a grateful mum to three daughters, a fertility patient advocate, writer, speaker, podcaster, and creator of fertility support specifically for donor conception and the workplace.
I’m looking for personal reflections around donor conception from the perspectives of recipient parents, parents-to-be, donor conceived people, or donors – all with the aim of providing insights into your perspective, validating experiences, and creating those safe spaces where shame dies and connection begins.
