A North Australian mum experiencing infertility, in the end needing IVF to conceive her two boys, has published a book to help explain the process to children.

Darwin’s Tahlia Gardner said her picture book The magnificent story of how YOU were made started as simple thoughts in the notes section of her phone, but soon became a fully fledged book.

“I wanted to create something meaningful for my boys, to explain how they were made so it felt magical, honest, and full of love,” she said.

“I wanted IVF to be a normal topic in our home, not something to whisper about, but something to be proud of because it is amazing and I truly believe that knowledge is power.”

She said the main message she wanted to spread was that IVF wasn’t strange or shameful.

“Even though we heard our fair share of comments suggesting otherwise, I wanted parents to have a way to tell their children the incredible story of how they came to be,” she said.

“These babies are created with so much love (and a little science) in a lab and that story is sweet, innocent, and full of pride.

Tahlia said her journey with IVF started after three years of trying, but with no success.

“We were constantly told we were ‘too young’ for anything to be wrong and faced frustrating hurdles just to get referred for proper testing,” she said.

“Eventually, we found ourselves at an IVF clinic, where we were diagnosed with “unexplained infertility.”

“There was no clear reason, just heartbreak. In some ways, that made it harder — no answers, no fix.

“We then started our first full round of IVF with ICSI which was intense – stims, egg retrieval, the dreaded embryo wait but we ended up with four embryos, transferred one, ate the fries, and prayed with everything we had.

“Two weeks later, we got the call: “Congratulations, you’re pregnant.” After years of hoping and heartbreak, our someday baby was finally on the way.”

She said the uncertainty of IVF could be overwhelming, as there’s no guarantee of a baby.

“You find yourself pouring a huge amount of money, energy, and hope into a dream that might never come true so it takes a massive emotional toll, not just on you, but on your relationships and nearly every part of your life.”

Tahlia’s book can be found through her Instagram page magnificent.beginnings

Sign up to The Top Half for more of this in your inbox.