A popular Irish parenting magazine is being praised for its coverage of a young family.

Mums & Tots magazine features the story of Ranae and Audrey with their beautiful daughter Ava who was conceived by Reciprocal IVF. The article, written by Ranae details how the couple married and travelled to a clinic in Barcelona to conceive Ava. The progressive IVF process allows lesbian couples to conceive by taking an egg from one mother and implanting it in the other. Ranae writes: “Audrey and I always knew we wanted kids. We both come from big families and it was something which we were
both very clear on from the start of our relationship.” In Ireland, there is no specific legislation for reciprocal IVF so the couple decided to travel to Spain. “I had heard that Spain has become one of the most popular destinations for couples seeking IVF. I did my research and came up with a number of clinics in Barcelona. I trawled chat rooms and IVF support pages, looking for advice. I was blown away by the sheer number of people travelling abroad, for many different reasons,” says Ranae. “We ended up choosing The Cefer Institute just outside of the city of Barcelona. They were the first fertility clinic in Spain to offer reciprocal IVF.” The process included both parents. “Our baby would be a part of both of us,” writes Ranae. “Her flesh and my blood.” “The process was the exact same as a traditional IVF cycle except that the treatment was shared between the two of us. Audrey began her treatment
first, as egg collection is a slightly more complicated process and takes more time. This involved daily injections and a couple of trips back to the clinic for blood work and scans to monitor her eggs as they developed. Audrey turned out to be a perfect patient and they were thrilled with the amount of eggs she ended up producing.” Ranae ends the piece by powerfully reminding readers that families come in all shapes and sizes. “There are many ways of making a family. There isn’t a right or wrong way. Find 
the one that works for you. We may
 not have been able to have a baby the conventional way, but through this life changing experience we have a deeper love for one another. Even when it seemed that it might not happen, or that the financial burden was too much, we knew that this was what we wanted. On August 3rd 2016, our gorgeous girl Ava Rylee von Meding was born and our lives as parents began.” Read the full story in this issue of Mum & Tots.