Laura Winters, LCSW, PMH-C is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who graduated from Fordham with a Master's Degree in Clinical Social Work. She received advanced clinical training in infertility counseling, as well as treating Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders. Learn more
Lauren Gorman, LPC is a Licensed Professional Counselor and graduated from Seton Hall University with a Master’s degree in Professional Counseling. She has advanced clinical training in infertility and prenatal/postpartum counseling. Learn more
Jessica Falzarano, LSW is a Licensed Social Worker and graduated from Rutgers with a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work. She has advanced clinical training in maternal mental health and perinatal loss. Learn more
…if there is one day in particular that is without a doubt incredibly difficult during infertility, it’s Mother’s Day. And the day after. All the social media posts showing the ways your friends and family celebrated and were honored as mothers is simply too much for your heart to bear right now. You have invested so much energy and effort into becoming a mother, with nothing to show for it. Your feelings are 100 percent valid.
Read MoreYou try to calm your anxiety by attempting to stay positive. Yet, you cannot help but think of the potential for a negative result. You monitor your body for the slightest sign of pregnancy. And like thousands of other women who are going through IVF, you’re excited, hopeful, anxious, and downright impatient.
As the one receiving all the medical treatments and monitoring during your fertility journey, it can really start to feel like you are the reason why you don't have a baby yet. Even if the infertility issues are your husband’s, the fact that you are the home to your unborn baby, and the one to carry it to term, makes you feel like you should shoulder all of the responsibility for your failure to conceive.
Read MorePregnancy loss robs the expectant mother and everyone she knows of an imagined and desired future. And it can be especially difficult to know what to do or say when someone you care about goes from anticipating wonderful changes to completely let down in a matter of an instant. When you care about someone, you are invested in their well-being and when something so devastating happens you don’t want to do the wrong thing.
Read MoreMany people who experience pregnancy loss don’t want to talk about it. They may feel uncomfortable with their grief, believing that it’s not valid, because they “didn’t know their baby” in the physical world. Another thing that happens is loved ones become awkward as they aren’t sure whether to ask questions or talk about the baby. When this happens, it can feel more comfortable for everyone if you act as if you are no longer grieving the loss.
Read MoreSome of us are lucky to have partners who are “naturals” when it comes to providing support during infertility treatment. Probably the majority feel that their partner is helpful and caring and wants to be there for them, but sometimes might not know the best way to do so or the right things to say. This of course is complicated by what you need at that very moment, which could constantly be changing.
Read MoreWhen you were in the thick of infertility treatment, if someone told you that one day you might look back and appreciate the process, what would you think? Most likely, you would think they were crazy . . . But someday, when you are off the infertility rollercoaster, you may look back and think, “I would not change a thing.” Here are some reasons why, from women who have been there.
Mother’s Day can be a particularly challenging and heartbreaking day for women who are struggling to conceive. If you are undergoing fertility treatment or trying to conceive without success, you may have already noticed some anxiety building up in the days before Mother’s Day. While there’s no denying that the holiday can be a painful reminder of what you are missing, here are a few tips on how to make the day a little bit easier for you.
Read MoreWhen we think of grief, we often think of losing a loved one. But grief can also be losing the plans you mapped out for your life or losing part of your identity.
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