Eloise Edington is a donor sperm IVF mama
She’s been married to her husband Jack for 12 years, and they currently live in Berkshire with their five children and two Spaniels.
From a male infertility diagnosis to multiple rounds of fertility treatment and two twin pregnancies – here’s her story.
The diagnosis
Long before becoming an IVF warrior, I was a chronic worrier. Somewhere in the back of my mind I always had the unhelpful concern that having children might be a challenge for me.
Unfortunately, those negative thoughts became a reality when my husband and I were confronted with male infertility; he has a genetic condition, affecting 1 in 600 men.
We worked through the painful uncertainty of the infertility rollercoaster together, but it was tough.
Hitting emotional rock-bottom
There was a lot of crying, balanced with laughter. We selected a sperm donor. We came through the process stronger – and more resilient.
Random internet surfing was our greatest weakness and worst enemy. We self-diagnosed everything, and it left us feeling confused, overwhelmed, and lonely.
On the really bad days, these feelings grew to an unbearable size. We experienced a failed micro-tese surgery, an unsuccessful IVF cycle, and a chemical pregnancy.
Eventually, after three egg retrievals, and one fresh and two frozen embryo transfers, we were gifted with success, welcoming our daughter in 2017. Next came our first set of twins in 2018. We completed our family in 2024, after welcoming our second set of twins.
Creating community
After our daughter was born, friends started coming to us for advice and help, which we found incredibly humbling.
A fertility struggle can leave scars beneath the surface, which don’t just go away. Talking to others about our journey, sharing our experiences, and the advice we picked up along the way – it all made us feel like we could do more.
If it was helping our friends, and it was helping us, maybe it would help others, too.
Opening up The Ribbon Box
We founded The Ribbon Box (formerly known as Fertility Help Hub) back in 2019, to help support others and create the community that we wished we had along the way.
Today, we want The Ribbon Box to be the place you come for fertility, pregnancy, parenting and wellbeing information and reassurance that’s free, reliable, and always inclusive.
We’re here to empower the journey you’re on – whoever you are, and wherever you’re at.
