Women Help Make Sister’s Dream of Motherhood Come True: ‘We Have Always Been There for Each Other’

It took three sisters to bring little Emersyn Fieberg into this world last month.

“Do you have a sister or a best friend that you really love? If you saw them fighting, what would you do?” Stephanie Corritori, who was her sister’s surrogate, tells PEOPLE. When it comes to “the people you love,” he says moving on is the only option.

Elementary school teacher Jaclyn Fieberg, 38, of Katonah, New York, went through years of heartbreak and trials to start her family, undergoing seven failed IVF attempts and three miscarriages.

Although the initial genetic testing she and her husband Greg Fieberg, 45, underwent revealed no problems, during their trip she learned she had mosaic Turner syndrome, a chromosomal condition that affected her fertility and ability to carry a child.

The news was devastating. At one point, watching over her physical and mental health, her husband wondered if it wasn’t time to stop their efforts.

“He hated to see me go through this. He is a protector,” says Fieberg. “I got worse every time that didn’t happen.”

Emersyn Fieberg with dad Greg and mom Jaclyn Fieberg.

Courtesy of Jaclyn Fieberg

The newlyweds become parents when the ‘fighting spirit’ baby arrives at 22 weeks, weighing just over 1lb.

But her sisters, who had gone through their own tough times having children, knew there was at least one more path to take before giving up: each other.

Corritori, 40, underwent IVF with her first child, now 6, before having her second child without fertility intervention. And younger sister Meredith McIntyre (34) suffered a miscarriage a few weeks after Feiberg in 2020.

While Feiberg struggled to get pregnant again, McIntyre became pregnant with twins, who were born in July 2021. She says it was the pregnancy journey they were both meant to be on. And she felt it was a particularly cruel turn for her to welcome the twins.

“As painful as it must have been for her, she was always a good, supportive sister, asking me about my pregnancy and doctor visits,” says McIntyre. “I remember a specific moment when I was trying not to cry at our parents’ house while I was feeding one twin and she was feeding the other. I thought it wasn’t fair because we were supposed to do this together.”

Proud grandparents Brian and Barbara Prato with their newest grandchild, Emersyn.

Courtesy of Jaclyn Fieberg

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Togetherness is the hallmark of a family. Parents Brian, 67, and Barbara Prato, 64, live in the same house where the girls grew up. And all four of their daughters live within a few miles of each other. Their youngest daughter Samantha (31), who is single, cheered on her older sisters.

“The girls have always been close, and they were raised that way,” Barbara tells PEOPLE. “And I’m one of four girls and we were all very close — we still are. I tell them: ‘Your sisters are your sisters. They will always be there for you.’ ”

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And when Fieberg made the decision to pursue surrogacy and egg donation, that’s exactly what happened.

Corritori immediately jumped in, telling her sister that she would do whatever it took to have the child she so desperately wanted.

“I would tell her, ‘If I can donate my eggs, I will donate my eggs. If I can carry, I will carry,'” she recalls. – I would do anything.

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Unfortunately, Corritori’s eggs were not viable for transfer. “At this point, I’m wondering how much devastation you can take,” Fieberg says.

Then McIntyre volunteered to be a donor.

To top off the family affair, after the broadcast, the couple found out they were pregnant on a very special date: the sister’s mom’s birthday.

Sisters Stephanie Corritori, Jaclyn Fieberg and Meredith McIntyre.

Courtesy of Jaclyn Fieberg

It was five days before Carritori’s scheduled c-section when Emersyn decided to show up early.

“My water broke while I was volunteering in my daughter’s classroom with a bunch of first graders,” Corritori says. “I ran out of the classroom and Emersyn came in about four or five hours later.”

There was enough time for everyone to gather at the hospital, including dad Greg, a New York Fire Department lieutenant and Air National Guard member, who was away on a military flight exercise.

“He said, ‘I think it’s time to go back,’ and when he landed, he got a text from my sister saying her water just broke,” Fieberg says. “He drove two hours home and met us at the hospital just before Emersyn was born.”

Emersyn Fieberg.

Photo by Lollipop Woods

After so many years of turmoil, McIntyre is thrilled to see how happy her sister is with Emersyn.

“She will definitely always have a special place in my heart, not because she’s my egg, but because I know I had a hand in her arrival,” says McIntyre.

Cortoriri says the sisters have been through a lot together, from Fieberg supporting her during her own IVF pregnancy to all the sisters pitching in to help McIntyre after she gave birth to twins after COVID.

“We were always there for each other,” Corritori says. “We were there for Jaclyn because we needed each other. But we always needed each other.”

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Source: HIS Education