Coping with Infertility: Getting Support

For couples having difficulties getting pregnant, finding out about infertility and trying to overcome problems with fertility can put an emotional strain on individuals and their partners. Many couples living with infertility experience emotions that are often difficult to overcome. While it is important to find support from each other and ensure that a relationship remains healthy during this stressful time, many couples turn to infertility help from outside sources for support. Whether individually or as a couple, there are many infertility resources available to help deal with the emotions of infertility.

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Support from Family and Friends

Staying connected and seeking support from family and friends is one of the most important things you can do when coping with infertility. Creating a support system of family and friends can bring comfort and minimize feelings of isolation when going through fertility testing or infertility treatment.

Remember to keep your life as full as possible when trying to get pregnant, and stay socially connected to the important people in your life. This will not only help keep your mind off fertility issues, but will also help you relax and stay positive which is necessary in order to maintain mental health and reduce stress which may only contribute to infertility.

Fertility Support Groups

Some people prefer to seek infertility help from a support group or a patient group. While an infertility support group may not be right for everyone, it has many benefits for couples trying to conceive. The benefits of an infertility support group include the following:

  • support groups are fairly anonymous making some individuals more comfortable and honest with their emotions
  • support groups allow individuals to meet others who are going through the same troubles getting pregnant
  • sharing similar situations can ease feelings of shame, inadequacy, or isolation
  • couples can find fertility advice from others in a similar situation

Many infertility support groups also offer local or sub-groups that specialize in very focused infertility issues.

Online Communities

For some, online support for infertility offers a preferred option when seeking fertility help. There are many online forums and chatrooms that offer community support while maintaining anonymity. Some of the benefits of using online resources for infertility help include being able to find support at any time from the comfort of your home, as well as providing very quick responses to concerns.

It is important, however, to realize that many of these Internet resources do not provide professional help and cannot substitute medical advice and support from professionals. Indeed, getting advice about infertility in this manner can be misleading, since one individual's causes of infertility may seem similar to yours, but prove to be very different in the end.

Fertility Counseling

There are different types of counseling that individuals trying to conceive may turn to. Types of counseling methods that can help individuals going through infertility include the following:

  • Implications Counseling. This type of counseling is typically offered free of charge by licensed fertility clinics. A counselor will offer support and prepare a couple for some of the emotional effects of undergoing infertility treatments. This type of counseling is particularly used in infertility treatments that involve donations or surrogacy.
  • Support Counseling. A support counselor will usually not be associated with your fertility clinic. This type of counseling allows individuals to talk through their emotions at specific stages of the infertility process.
  • Therapeutic Counseling. This type of counseling may be offered at your fertility clinic, and can help individuals cope with the emotions of infertility.

In addition, some couples find it beneficial to seek professional relationship counseling, couples counseling or family counseling if the emotions of infertility are affecting other areas in their lives. Some also find sex therapy beneficial when dealing with sexual issues related to infertility.