Virginia Woman Creates Unique Greeting Cards for Women Trying to Conceive
— -- Some women this holiday season may give or receive a unique type of greeting card. They're called "TTC Greeting Cards" and they're meant for women who are desperately trying to get pregnant or as the name suggests, trying to conceive.
Kristy Koser, of Harrisonburg, Va., created the one-of-a-kind greeting cards after she and her husband were frustrated in their seven-year journey to expand their family.
"We have been through multiple rounds of in vitro fertilization -- I just finished my ninth round -- and have had several pregnancy losses on the way. I was needing to do something with my grief and my pain," Koser told ABC News. "A lot of the people on the way would say, 'I don't know where I would find you a card ... to say Happy Egg Retrieval Day.' So I just put the two ideas together."
Koser, 30, not only created cards for trying women, but also their partners. Her card that reads, "Making a baby is hard. So glad I've got you," is one of her bestsellers, she said.
"Infertility is just really hard. It doesn't matter what type of marriage you have," Koser, who has been married for 10 years, said. "It's a different type of strain. I wanted to create a line of greeting cards for couples going through infertility to say we're not doing great, but I love you regardless."
Koser also has a card for nurses, doctors and embryologists, the specialists who take watchful care over future parents' embryos. She said, the inspiration came after she realized how close she became with her medical professionals after visiting the clinic for three years.
"They help you make very hard decisions. They cry with you and laugh with you," Koser explained. "They check on your future children every day, making sure they're safe and sound. They're the ultimate babysitter. I wanted to let them know I see you. You matter to me. And for doctors and nurses, thank you for sticking it out and standing by us and making our dreams come true."
Koser, who said she and her husband are now looking for a surrogate to conceive, told ABC News, that since creating her greeting cards, many women have come forward to express appreciation for the cards. Koser has also created other items such as socks and t-shirts due to demand.
"We don't talk about infertility enough. But I realized that I wasn't talking about it a lot and there was a lot of pain I was holding in," Koser explained. "Other women are holding in a lot of pain too and now family and friends have the right words to say. ...the cards remind women they're not alone in this journey."
