The question of whether to tell a child that he or she has been conceived by IVF also raises many concerns and doubts. Parents-to-be should begin to face and familiarise themselves with this at the stage of deciding on treatment. It is important to prepare properly for the conversation with the child - choose a time and discuss the pros and cons with your partner.

If we choose to tell the child, a good opportunity to initiate such a conversation may be when children start to become interested in where things come from. The vocabulary and manner of explanation should be adapted to the child's age and stage of development. To a toddler, a brief explanation that the parents could not have a child in a simple way because they had health problems is sufficient. For an older one, you can try to explain what IVF is and what it involves, of course still adapting the language and medical terminology to his cognitive abilities. When explaining the method of conception to a child, you have to make sure that they feel and know that they were expected and wanted, that we are happy for them to be with us and love them very much.

A helping hand

If parents do not feel that they can handle the conversation with their child, they can prepare for it together with a psychologist. It is often the case that infertile couples who have received IVF treatment cannot talk about it because they are afraid of being misunderstood and rejected. It is all the more difficult for them to pass this information on to their child. A meeting with a specialist will be a chance to look at the emotions, needs and beliefs of a family that has grown thanks to IVF.