Special books help parents explain their fertility journey
Prospective parents going through the difficulties of fertility treatment now have some handy books to guide them through discussing the process with their families, thanks to funding from Nottingham Hospitals Charity.
Thanks to our donors, we’ve been able to fund a variety of books for couples and individuals going through assisted fertility treatment at NUH Life, including those considering using donor sperm as part of their journey to starting a family.
The social books use simple language and images to suggest ways people can discuss their experiences with their future children, if their fertility treatment is successful. The books are often seen as a child’s favourite story book, which celebrates their family story.
Sharon Campbell, Fertility Counsellor at NUH Life, the fertility clinic at the Queen’s Medical Centre, said: “As part of my role, I support patients on a variety of different fertility journeys, and one of the things I offer is implications counselling. This is for couples, or individuals, who might be considering using donor sperm as part of their treatment.
“Implications counselling is about giving people the space to stop and think what it will mean to them going through this kind of treatment both now and for their future as parents. Part of that is considering what they are going to tell friends and family, and ultimately their child, about using donor sperm in order to conceive and become parents.
“There is evidence to suggest that the earlier a child knows they are donor conceived, and there is an element of openness in conversations, the easier it is for all. A child will always have known from the beginning rather than being told when they are older when it may be more difficult to process, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for parents to talk about.”
Sharon applied to Nottingham Hospitals Charity for funding to provide children’s social books to help with these conversations, which were created by the Donor Conception Network.
She said: “The books explain how donor sperm allowed their parent or parents to have their child. It makes it much easier for parents to share their story. It can also help potential parents to have that visual aid that the pictures in the book provide, to help them envisage how they might have these conversations in the future.
“There are different books for different types of conception, so there’s a book to match whatever each family’s journey is. There’s even a book for teenagers who may be curious about finding out more about their family’s journey.”
The books have been in use at Sharon’s counselling sessions at NUH Life since January 2025, and she says she can already see the positive impact they are having.
Sharon said: “I always use these books during every implications session, so they are used every single week to show people how they can navigate and explain their journey.
“Thank you so much to Nottingham Hospitals Charity and its supporters for making this possible.”