Whether you are looking for inspiration from other peoples’ stories of donor egg IVF, ideas on how to approach the subject with your donor conceived children, or just need some light-hearted relief with an IVF based comedy, here at OvobankID we have put together some ideas of films and books that you may find interesting and educational.
PICTURE STORY BOOKS FOR READING TOGETHER WITH CHILDREN
The general consensus of professionals and the donor conceived community is that donor conceived children should be told about their origins at an early age, ideally before 5 years old. The idea is that your child grows up never not knowing, always accepting it as being a part of their life. With this in mind, many authors, who have used gamete donation themselves, have written books for parents to read with their children. These books can be used to introduce the terminology and ideas of egg donation and sperm donation, and start the discussion in an age appropriate way.
We have more information about approaching this topic with your children in this article: Talking to Your Children About Their Donor Conception Origins, and some books designed to read together with younger children include:
Happy Together: an egg donation story, by Julie Marie.
Happy Together is a collection of 8 books, which also include “a two-dad egg donation and surrogacy story” and “a two-mom sperm donation story”, among others. In the egg donation book the story is told in simple rhyme, cheerful illustrations and clear language, about how Mommy and Daddy bear wished for a child and their wish came true with help from a doctor, an egg from a special lady called a donor and Daddy´s seed.
The Pea That Was Me: an egg donation story, by Kimberly Kluger-Bell.
A popular book amongst the donor conception community, written by a well-known psychotherapist, using age-appropriate and simple language, introducing the “very kind egg donor” and the ideas of sperm, eggs and a tummy to grown in.
A tiny itsy bitsy Gift of Life: an egg donor story, by Carmen Martínez Jover
With beautiful illustrations to capture a child’s attention, this story follows a happy couple of rabbits who want a baby bunny but the mother has no eggs. When a good lady rabbit brings her a tiny itsy bitsy gift of life, their dreams start to come true.
I Dreamed of You: the story of an egg donor baby, by Lori Metz
This book tells the love story of how the parent and the child came to be together, and all the love, caring nurturing and desire that are felt along the way. A story to help families, accept, understand and celebrate their special journey.
DONOR CONCEPTION AND REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES
For intended parents looking to read about other people’s stories, donor conceived families and their experiences, there are some interesting reads available:
Why I´m glad my eggs didn´t work: a de IVF mother’s story, by Victoria Nino.
This ebook, available to download from the writer´s blog www.expectinganything.com is a personal story about rising above your broken eggs and finding purpose and joy, a book that goes beyond clinical trials, data and research and aims to offer hope and comfort to those faced with the idea of conceiving via donor eggs.
Finding Our Families: A First-of-Its-Kind Book for Donor-Conceived People and Their Families, by Wendy Kramer and Naomi Cahn.
Written by the founder and director of the Donor Sibling Registry, and a family and reproductive law professor, this book acts as a guide for the growing community of families with donor-conceived children. With advice on how to foster healthy relationships within immediate families and their larger donor family networks based on openness and acceptance.
Let’s Talk About Egg Donation: Real Stories from Real People by Marna Gatlin and Carole Lieber Wilkins
Telling the true stories of real families who are parenting via egg donation (and embryo donation), this book is written by authors who built their families using donor conception. The authors also offer you age-appropriate scripts to aid with talking to your kids about the special way in which they were conceived.
IVF AND DONOR CONCEPTION BASED FILMS
If you are in the mood for a film with an IVF plot line, then here are some titles that you can find on most of the major streaming platforms:
Private Life (2018, USA)
A drama about a couple in the 40s who are struggling to conceive and almost out of options. As they try to keep their marriage afloat they navigate the worlds of assisted reproduction, third-party reproduction and domestic adoption.
Maybe Baby (2000, UK)
A British comedy about a married couple who have tried all they can think of to conceive. Finding inspiration in his partner’s private diary, the intended father decides to write a comedy film about a couple trying for a baby, testing their love for each other and their marriage.
One More Shot (2018, USA)
A documentary about hope, loss, and humor that come from trying to start a family when you can’t do it the old fashioned way. Shot in the first person and told by the participants themselves.
Good Egg (2022, USA)
In this comedy drama, a high school teacher, after many failed IVF attempts, is forced to consider an unconventional egg donor scenario that plunges her into a dangerous and exhilarating adventure with her husband.
Good Newwz (2019, India)
A Hindi-language romcom about an IVF mix up with two couples with the same surname who have turned to IVF to start their families. One of the highest grossing Bollywood films of 2019.
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