Mom Shares the 'Joy and Pain' of IVF With One Powerful Photo
After a year and a half and multiple in vetro fertilization (IVF) cycles, one mom made a powerful statement about her journey to motherhood by placing her old syringes in the shape of a heart around her infant daughter.
The Sher Fertility Institute posted the photo on Facebook on Oct. 5 and thanked St. Louis-based specialist, Dr. Molina Dayal, and her patient, Angela, for showing the “true definition of love that went into making this gorgeous new baby girl.”
Dr. Dayal told ABC News the syringes in the photo weren’t even all the supplies the mother used to conceive. Angela, who did not wish to reveal her last name to ABC, added that, “The needles were the easy part. It was the emotional struggle, the ups and downs, that really took a toll.”
Wow, what a photo. Thank you to Sher Fertility St. Louis and Dr. Dayal patient Angela, who shows the true definition of love that went into making this gorgeous new baby girl.
Posted by Sher Institutes on Monday, October 5, 2015
“We felt like it was a provocative, emotional photo that captures the joy and pain of IVF,” Lisa Stark, director of communications for Sher Fertility Institute told USA Today. “We are overwhelmed by the response pouring in from women who can relate to the photo.”
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that in the United States, 12 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 44 have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term. Conditions affecting the ovaries, fallopian tubes and uterus may contribute to female infertility.
After seeing Angela's photo, many women took the opportunity to share their own photos of their children conceived through IVF on Facebook. Stark added that the Institute is trying to “encourage a culture of openness and [elevate] the dialogue around infertility.”