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From Donor Conceived Person to Recipient Parent – Hayley’s Story

My story starts in the early 1980’s. My parents have been married for many years but unable to conceive. After exhausting all avenues my parents finally get pregnant with the help of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and I go down in the history books as one of the first...

Q&A with Martha, an egg donor conceived adult

I'm continuing 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 voices of those conceived through egg donation,...

Q&A with Chloe, an egg donor conceived adult

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...

Allie’s Story: What I wish I’d known about using a known egg donor

What I wish I’d known about using a known egg donor Looking back, the darkest part of our whole infertility ‘journey’* was not when I received my diagnosis of premature ovarian failure. Nor was it when I only grew a single egg during our first IVF cycle, which...

Olivia’s Story – Why I donated my eggs

I am so lucky to be a mum, an egg donor and now an advocate for the most precious gift you can give. So here it is, my story about how I discovered egg donation and the amazing path it set me on. I had just had my first baby boy when a neighbour from down the road had...

Talking to your child about donor conception

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...

Early Menopause and Me…

As it's #WorldMenopauseDay today I thought it would be the perfect time to open up more about my experience as a 34 year-old, infertile, menopausal, mum of three (I know there's so much more to me than that, but this description describes my complex situation well)!...

Discovering Donation – Free Webinar

I'm delighted to announce my third webinar in collaboration with Altrui Egg Donation and Apricity. 'Discovering Donation' is an evolution of our hugely successful webinar back in May, introducing a range of perspectives from the donor conception world to explore both...

To tell or not to tell? The school years begin…

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...

What Comments Might Be Difficult For Your Loved One?

Over recent years there’s been much-needed talk about what not to say to someone facing infertility, but what about donor conception? Inspired by the amazing Alice Rose and her 'Think, What Not to Say" campaign about fertility, I wanted to provide some similar advice...
Likeness to Daddy

Likeness to Daddy

This picture popped up on my memories today from 3 years ago. Mila at almost 6 months old (those chubby cheeks 🥰) and Matt at a similar age. They're the same baby, right?! I still can't believe how...

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The significance of small-talk

The significance of small-talk

As I've been busy planning my DefiningMum event (announcement coming soon!) I've been thinking a lot about the different fears and challenges that we inevitably face as parents who don't share...

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“Just like Mummy”

“Just like Mummy”

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...

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Did she get her curls from the mum?

Did she get her curls from the mum?

“Did she get her curls from the Mum?” Ouch. This is one comment I’ve had in relation to donor conception that really hit a nerve. It’s actually been said twice, once to Matt from someone I’ve never...

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The Uncertainty of Infertility

The Uncertainty of Infertility

I recently saw heard someone say “infertility robs us of the long-term view”. Planning anything during fertility struggles becomes near on impossible - I remember I had so much of my life hung up on...

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Getting pregnant isn’t a skill

Getting pregnant isn’t a skill

Getting pregnant isn’t a skill. It isn’t a talent that some people are better at than others. It’s simply the luck of the draw . YOU are not a failure. It is not your fault. It really is just the...

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Sharon’s Story – Egg Donation

Sharon’s Story – Egg Donation

I’m not sure if I differ from any other donor egg recipient mums. The wrong side of 35 (I put my career first) my husband and I started trying for a baby and assumed we’d get pregnant naturally....

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Guest Blog – IVF@Work

Guest Blog – IVF@Work

The HFEA reports that 1 in 6 couple are affected by fertility issues. This isn’t a negligible figure by any stretch of the imagination. It affects everyone regardless of how much money you have, how...

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Sophie’s Story

Sophie’s Story

As a midwife, I knew that birth and death walked alongside each other. Having seen first hand the babies that entered the world with a silence, still nothing could prepare me to say goodbye to my...

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Ellie’s Story

Ellie’s Story

Our first baby was conceived after we had been trying almost 2 years and I had started clomid. The first cycle didn’t work but on cycle 2 I got a very early positive pregnancy test.  I had...

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Jade & Will’s Story

Jade & Will’s Story

24th March 2018 "The Beast from the East"; the unseasonal spring snow. It fluttered to the pavement in thick flourishes, burying the daffodils and the freshly cut grass. It was almost March, the...

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