What to know
- Bird & Be’s ‘Mothers In Waiting’ campaign brings flowers to those experiencing infertility on Mother’s Day.
- The campaign aims to validate emotions and foster community among mothers-in-waiting.
- Nine GTA fertility clinics are participating, offering support and recognition to those on the fertility journey.
Those wishing to be mothers, but dealing with infertility, also deserve to be seen, supported and celebrated. So, Bird&Be is giving mothers-in-waiting their flowers this Mother’s Day.
Seeing friends and family announcing pregnancy while suffering with infertility can feel like quite a challenge. On one hand, jealousy, envy and shame can arise. On the other hand, you just want to feel happy for them.
Mother’s Day brings a heavier toll, seeing mothers being celebrated with their kids, while you can’t have some yourself.
Breanna Hughes, COO at Bird&Be, explained that she co-founded the company because of her own lived experience with infertility.
‘I went through five years of infertility, three rounds of IVF, and I suffered from multiple miscarriages, and I just remember the weight of how Mother’s Day felt,” Hughes told Now Toronto.
After five years of being a mother-in-waiting, she gave birth to her child.
“I am a mom now, and I still feel that lingering feeling that I had, where in your heart, you are a mom,” she explained.
After experiencing firsthand what it’s like to experience infertility while seeing mothers celebrated, Hughes decided to launch the “Mothers In Waiting” campaign to give flowers to moms who are trying to conceive and facing infertility.
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“We really wanted to take the time to make sure that people felt seen and recognized, and also that they’re validated in their feelings, and that they’re not alone in these feelings,” Hughes explained.
The gift of flowers reflects the analogy behind them. Through this gift, she hopes mothers-in-waiting care for themselves as they do for plants. Flowers also symbolize creating a space for a baby to bloom inside them.
Bird & Be will be popping up at nine GTA fertility clinics:
- Pollin
- CReATe North York
- Tripod
- Generation Vaughan
- Generation Newmarket
- Generation Toronto West
- CReATe Bay St
- Conceive Health
- Alive Holistic Health
How to support loved ones experiencing infertility
For the loved ones of mothers-in-waiting, Hughes recommends checking in with them. She recalled a moment where her friend sent her to one of her favourite restaurants for dinner the night that she had an embryo transfer. That meaningful act made her feel more supported.
She reminds mothers-in-waiting that their feelings are valid.
“However you feel is so valid. And there’s somebody else out there that feels the same way, and I want nothing more than to take this pain away from you,” she said.
She recalled her pain even celebrating her own mom because of her difficulties conceiving.
“So part of this journey is protecting yourself so that you can have that resilience to keep going, and so really, just you’re not alone. We see you. We’re here for you and do what feels right by you, and treat yourself and get (if you have a significant other on board,)” Hughes said.
Feeling left out as her friends were moms, Hughes recalled spending Mother’s Day with her partner.
“He ended up getting me flowers for Mother’s Day. He was like, ‘Because I know that in your heart, you’re a mom — and I wanted to recognize that,’” she shared in tears.
“Sorry, I’m tearing up. I have a four-year-old, and it’s still real,” Hughes added.
