Warning: This story references infertility and miscarriage. Please take care. Dominique Francis launched her business Lullabuy in 2022 - an online platform for Kiwi parents to buy and sell pre-loved luxury baby goods.

But behind the scenes, she was experiencing heartbreak after heartbreak trying to conceive a child of her own. Here, she tells the Herald about her gruelling experience with repeated IVF treatments, the new venture that’s given her an outlet, and what’s giving her hope for the future. When Dominique Francis started her first round of IVF shortly after she turned 30, she was “so excited”.

“I just wanted to tell everyone,” she tells the Herald. “My husband was like, ‘You know, darling, just be careful, because it might not work. And I just was like, ‘But it will, and if it doesn’t, we’ll go again’.

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