IVF Babble

Look who’s in Grazia this week! Us!!

When we launched IVFbabble just over a year ago, we dreamt about having a feature in Grazia Magazine to highlight our online magazine …. who would have thought our dreams would have transpired so quickly …

It feels quite surreal, leafing through a magazine that we read weekly and seeing ourselves. But, it happened!! Last week, we were invited by Emily Phillips, the features editor of Grazia and author of ‘TRYING’,  to a studio in Hackney, to do a photo shoot for an article she was writing about her “IVF Warriors”, aka, strangers she met on the internet who have helped her on her own fertility journey.

On my way to the shoot, I stood on the packed train, in a trance (as I usually do in the mornings until I have had a cup of coffee). Then, a beautiful stranger said to me “You must be Sara”. It was Emily, who had spotted my pineapple pin!!! Yay!!!…the power of the pin!! I loved her immediately!! As we walked to the studio, it felt as though we had known each other for ages.

As we got to the studio, I was introduced to three brilliant women who Emily says have been instrumental to her sanity during her IVF journey.

Hannah Jones (@hvaughnjones), a CNN international news anchor who documented her seventh round of IVF in a video diary.

Emma Cannon (@emmalcannon),  a fertility specialist and author of many books, including her most recent, Fertile.

Amber Woodward (@thepreggerskitchen), a wonderful woman who has been trying to get pregnant for three years and has blogged about her journey and experiences on thepreggerskitchen.com

We will be publishing interviews with these awesome women in the coming weeks on the website.

We had the best day….

We had our make-up done, chose clothes off the rail, drank coffee, chatted and had our pictures taken!! A proper girlie day. All that was missing was the pedicure! We talked about our own fertility journeys and discussed the way that Instagram has become such a powerful coping technique for men and women trying to conceive.

To read about the way Emily Phillips, found us so helpful on her fertility journey is simply wonderful.

Emily writes that one afternoon, a notification popped up on her phone to say follow @ivfbabble on Instagram.

We joined instagram in July last year, as a way to keep in touch with the incredible men and women on their fertility journeys. We wanted a way to have immediate communication with the people we are trying to help with the information we provide on our website.

Six months on, we are hooked. The TTC Instagram community is incredible.

It offers an immense amount of support and comfort. I just wish I had had this support network when I was going through my treatment. There are thousands and thousands of men and women within the community. As you scroll through the profiles, you are comforted by the realisation that you are not alone.

Emily says in the article published yesterday that we had made an impact on her life. This actually made us cry.

“These women didn’t realise what an impact they were having on my life. When I was feeling hormonal and low, they were there with me. If I didn’t know the answer to a question, they’d post something informative to explain away the doubts.”

Instagram offers immense comfort and we are so glad that we have been able to join forces with our followers on their journeys. It’s important to remember though, that even though the advice and support you receive from Instagram is wonderful, always make sure that the decisions you make regarding your fertility treatment are made following medical guidance from an expert.

Thank you again to Grazia for bringing light to our website and helping us break the silence!! xx

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