Children's Books
The Gifted Egg by Mara Kalin, illustrated by Samantha LeDuc
This is my new favorite book, hot of the presses in 2022! It is a beautifully, sometimes funny, story about how Anna and Timber wait and try, wait and try, wait and try to have a baby duckling. One day Duck Lola offers Anna an egg and she goes to nest with it. She makes it warm and safe and they hope it will hatch. Eventually Anna and Timber no longer have to wait, and their wonderful duckling joins their family. This book can work for children conceived via egg donation (known or not known) and adoption (open or closed). Mara Kalin has taken a complex family building story and crafted a simple, easy to tell and share story to the youngest of your family. The artwork is beautifully done in water color and adds perfectly to the feeling this book touches upon.
https://www.amazon.com/Gifted-...
Dora's Eggs by Julie Sykes
This lovely story is actually not a book that specifically was written for fertility/adoption families. However, it works beautifully because Dora's message is that the baby animals she encounters on her farm are much more exciting and fun to be with than her eggs, which are doing nothing. Dora is a farm animal and she is proud of her eggs, but as she visits all the new baby animals on the farm she realizes it is more about the new baby, not the egg she longs for. Eventually she gets to enjoy her new chick and all is well. A sweet, fun story for young children who will have fun with all the animals. Parents can add the details of their family building journey onto this story easily and make it a lovely way to share how wonderful your child is, and waaaay better that an egg!
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/...
https://www.thejourneytoyouchildrensbook.com/
Intended Parent & Parenting Books
Having Your Baby Through Egg Donation by E. S. Glazer and E.W. Sterling
This book has been the main go for people considering donor egg as a family building method since 2005 when the authors were the first to address so many issues in one easy to read place. I have shared with my clients over the years that it is a great book to pick and choose what parts apply to you, no pressure to cover each and every page. The authors are pro-disclosure, which was a bit ahead of their time, and while some of the information may be less relevant, all the topics continue to be on the minds of those considering donor egg. They include: Who Chooses DE, Choosing Your Donor, Lawyers and Mental Health Professionals, Pregnancy and Parenthood, Ethics, Faith and Special Circumstances to name a few.
Support Groups
https://www.meganmaccutcheon.com/mindfulmoms
https://pved.org
https://resolve.org/
Articles
https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cdev.13124
https://www.wearedonorconceive...