This Mom Posed for An Emotional Maternity Photo Shoot With Her Egg Donor
Maternity photos are always lovely, though it can sometimes feel like if you've seen one, you've seen them all. But I can just about guarantee that this new mom's maternity shoot is unlike any other you've seen - because the photos feature her husband and her egg donor.
In an essay for Glamour, Dr. Shannon M. Clark (founder of BabiesAfter35.com, a supportive community for older mothers attempting to conceive) opened up about her emotionally taxing journey trying to have her first child over the age of 40. After miscarrying a first pregnancy, multiple cycles of IVF failed for Clark, who works as a maternal-fetal medicine specialist specializing in caring for women with high-risk pregnancies. Eventually, the doctor and her husband, René Harris, decided to move forward with using a donor egg, fertilized by Harris and carried by Clark.
While Clark initially struggled with accepting that she would not be the biological mother of her child, the couple decided on a donor, a woman named Tara. Prior to starting the process, Clark strongly felt that she wanted to meet her donor - an unorthodox choice. Tara agreed, and their meeting quelled many of Clark's doubts about the egg donation.
In a heartbreaking turn of events for Clark and her husband, the first embryo transfer didn't take. But the second resulted in a twin pregnancy. Though the pregnancy and delivery were complicated and risky (and Clark afterwards suffered from postpartum depression), she successfully gave birth to twins Remy Vaughn and Sydney Renee last year.
Now on the other side of her tumultuous (but ultimately successful) path to motherhood, Clark decided to share with the world the images from her emotional maternity photo shoot, captured by Cheryl Whitney-Huebner of Image Studios Group.
Of the decision to include Tara in the photos, Clark wrote: "I had a strong desire to acknowledge the woman who made my pregnancy possible. I wanted to show how grateful we were to Tara for her selfless act and the beauty of what we had all created together. I reached out to her about doing photos with me, and she agreed."
The shoot took place when Clark was 20 weeks pregnant, during what was her husband's first time meeting their donor.
In some of the photos, Tara and Harris each hand the expecting mom a small gift box - a literal depiction of the metaphorical "gift" of motherhood Tara gave Clark.
"I may not have been able to experience all of the typical things that a pregnant woman experiences, but what I do have are beautiful photos of my barely-there belly bump with my husband and the woman who made my dream of becoming a mother a reality," Clark said of the heartwarming photos. "I also have two beautiful babies who make every tear I ever cried worth it. For that, I will forever be thankful."
(h/t Glamour)
Follow Redbook on Facebook.
You Might Also Like
