“Much desired, so you were born”: books to explain conception to children born from assisted fertilization
Verena and Enrico became parents a few years ago thanks to heterologous fertilization. We got to know them closely and let them tell their parenting story, which in the meantime has also become a very popular blog .
Now we have had the pleasure of meeting them for a new project that was born recently and that we really liked: the creation of 4 books on assisted fertilization to explain conception to children.
Verena and Enrico, how did the idea of the books come about?
As you know, after the diagnosis of male infertility (total absence of sperm) and after many reflections we decided to embark on the path of heterologous assisted fertilization from which 2 children aged 3 and 1 were born.
Every evening, before bedtime, we read books to our daughter and tell her stories, including that of her conception. Some time ago she asked us to have a book illustrating how she came into the world .
Hence the idea of designing a book that would tell the story of her conception and birth.
The first weeks were only for brainstorming and reflections on how to structure the book, then we drafted the first texts that had to be understandable for young children, because children as early as 2-3 years old begin to ask how they were born and therefore also the language must be appropriate for their age.
Thus, we recently published an illustrated book for children which aims to help parents explain the origins of children born from assisted fertilization.
It’s actually about 4 books entitled ′′ Much desired, so you were born! ” and each describes a variant of fertilization:
- sperm donation,
- egg donation,
- embryo donation
- homologous assisted fertilization (with the couple’s gametes).
Addressing children aged 2 to 6, “So much desired, so you were born!” it helps parents, through simple texts and illustrations, to explain their conception to children born from medically assisted procreation.
The book contains only real references and easily understandable by the young reader: it is not a fairy tale, but the story of the conception of a child: starting from the love of future parents, passing through the long waits between hopes and disappointments and the help of medicine we arrive at the birth of the much desired child.
Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.
Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.