“I wrote a children-friendly book about IVF for my children to know that it took a miracle for them to be here.”

Having children was not on our minds in the first three years of marriage, we were building our careers, travelling, and hanging out with friends. But when we witnessed more friends having children, the fear of missing the parenthood journey kicked in.

We tried conceiving naturally for about six months to no avail, I was afraid to go for surgery for my severe endometriosis, but after going through a failed IUI cycle, I decided to go ahead with the surgery. We had a few more cycles of failed IUIs, I was already in my 30s. The journey was tough and emotional, I felt so lonely as everyone around me seemed to conceive naturally and easily. I thought, no one understood what I was going through. Little did I know, there were other couples going through the same process and we were not alone.

Infertility is getting common as more people are getting married later in life, yet conversations about infertility is scarce in our society, this reason is why couples who have difficulty conceiving, feel isolated. But couples should not feel discouraged, or ashamed to seek fertility treatments.

I conceived my three young kids via IVF, I am excited to share their origins with them, so I wrote a child-friendly storybook to show them that the IVF journey is truly a story of love, patience, and endurance. I want my kids to know that it took a miracle for them to be here and how much everybody wanted them even before seeing them so that they will always treasure their lives.

I hope by telling my family’s story, it inspires more to talk about their experiences so they can help other couples who are going through the same journey.