In the final episode of The Redefining Parenthood Podcast's first series, I speak with Jen, one of the very first people I connected with on Instagram as she was in the midst of her own fertility journey.

Over many years Jen and her husband have been on a difficult path to parenthood through IVF and loss. Now, as a mum to 'M' all thanks to known egg donation, Jen shares the journey, emotions and personality traits that led her to find their egg donor through a Facebook group and ultimately becoming friends.

We talk about so much, including conversations with friends and family and the unexpected comments, one of which I delve into more detail about with my resident perinatal psychologist Julianne Boutaleb. Julianne talks about the fears we hold in relation to feeling like the 'real' parent as we explore our parenting identity when using an egg donor.

You can find Jen on instagram @sea_magic_everywhere and Julianne @parenthoodinmind.

If you've enjoyed the series please take a moment to rate and review and share with anyone else you think it might help - maybe a friend, family member or partner as another way to raise awareness of and open up conversations about this topic.

Thank you so much for listening, I hope to be back with another series in 2023!