Woman Who Conceived With Late Husband’s Frozen Sperm Reflects on Love and Loss on Father’s Day
Lauren McGregor, whose husband Chris passed away from a brain tumor in 2020, reflects on the overwhelming sense of connection she felt when their son Seb was born. Seb was conceived via IVF using sperm that Chris had frozen before his death at the age of 37.
As soon as Seb was born, Lauren felt an overwhelming sense that Chris had passed him on to her from another place. “When the doctors in the theatre found out my circumstances, they let me put a picture of Chris up, and they allowed me to keep on my wedding ring and a necklace with Chris’s ashes in,” she shared. “One of the first things Seb did was grab hold of the necklace of Chris’s ashes, which was just beautiful.”
Lauren plans to honor her late husband on Father’s Day by reflecting on the good memories they had together. She and Seb, along with Chris’s son from a previous relationship, Wade, 18, plan to start a new tradition of visiting one of Chris’s favorite places each year. “We want to make a list of all of Chris’ favorite places and start a tradition of going to a new one every Father’s Day – just the three of us.”
Lauren and Chris had known each other since childhood and began dating in 2013, just months before Chris fell ill. After a brief recovery, the tumors returned, and he passed away in 2020. The couple had always dreamed of having children, and during his illness, Chris froze his sperm for the possibility of future parenthood.
Seb was born via planned Cesarean section on May 17 at 8lb 11oz. As Seb’s features began to emerge, Lauren could see more of Chris in him. “It’s no surprise he was big, as Chris was tall,” she said. “As his features start to emerge, I can see Chris in him more and more.”
Despite the heartache of losing Chris, Lauren takes comfort in knowing that his legacy lives on through Seb. “Losing Chris was the worst day of my life, but he’s managed to make sure that we can keep our love growing even now he’s not here anymore.”
With four frozen embryos remaining, Lauren is open to the possibility of having more children in the future. “I do think once Seb gets to three or four, that this is something I’d consider again,” she said, although she jokingly added, “I suffered really badly with nausea and sickness with this pregnancy, and I said to a friend to never let me do this again! But once that is past, you get excited for everything to come, like any mum does.”