HOLDING ON TO HOPE 'MOTHER'S DAY CAN BE SO DIFFICULT

Karen Hussey is transforming her pregnancy loss pain into an initiative that will help other women

- Jo Bailey.

M otherhood is often portrayed as a natural and effortless experience, but for many women, the journey to having a child can be fraught with challenges and heartache.

This is certainly true for Auckland mum Karen Hussey, 43, whose heartbreaking quest to expand her family after the birth of her son Reuben four years ago has taken a significant toll on her emotional and physical wellbeing.

Even after seven miscarriages, the devastating loss of a baby at 16 weeks and going through five unsuccessful rounds of IVF, Karen is not ready to give up.

"It hasn't been the journey I hoped for to complete my family, but you have to try to make the best of your experiences. Being an older mum is part of the reason for what's happening and I will eventually come to a point where I either have a second child or be at peace with not having another.

"At the moment, though, I'm still working it out and am lucky to have the mental resilience to carry on." Karen's motherhood journey began later in life as she was focused on building a highflying career throughout her twenties and most of her thirties. After climbing the corporate ladder and working as an HR executive for several large companies, Karen became disillusioned and at the age of 38, she took half a year off to see if she could "fall back in love" with her job.