Photo of newborn surrounded by 1,616 IVF needles captures couple's fertility struggle

The couple tried to conceive for four years

Photographer captures couple's struggle to conceive (Packer Family Photography)

A picture taken by an Arizona photographer has captured the emotional and physical struggle that many couples go through when they try to conceive.

In the photo, taken by Samantha Packer of Packer Family Photography, two-week-old baby London lies in the middle of two hearts created from the hundreds of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) needles the couple used to conceive their daughter.

Packer, who shared the moving picture on Facebook, captioned it with the couple’s heartbreaking words.

“Four years, seven attempts, three miscarriages, and 1,616 shots,” Patricia and Kimberley O’Neill had told Packer when they asked her to photograph their newborn.

The couple, who married in 2017 and had been trying to conceive for 2014, thought it would be easy to have a baby, according to CNN.

But after seeing a fertility doctor for intrauterine insemination and having two failed attempts, the O’Neills turned to IVF.

After four miscarriages and the diagnosis of Factor V Leiden, a blood-clotting condition, the couple wasn’t sure if they could keep trying - but they did, finally working with a doctor who specialises in Factor V Leiden and welcoming a healthy baby on August 3.

The emotional photograph has since gone viral on Facebook, where it has received more than 61,000 shares and resonated with thousands of people who understand the difficult journey.

“This photo shows so much beauty and strength. Those lovenox injections are no joke. I take eight shots a day and we plan on doing something with all my saved up shots too. Tell the momma congrats because this is such a photo of strength from one mum who has a similar story,” one woman wrote.