I struggled to conceive a child. When my doctor announced that had a condition that made it so we wouldn't be able to have children, it was like a switch flipped inside of me -- having a baby became my sole focus in life. After years of doctors' appointments, surgeries, a pregnancy loss, and what seemed like nothing but bad news, my husband and I were able to have a baby (...and then another baby a few years later!). The years of infertility, exploring options and being heartbroken, were  among the most stressful, confusing, and challenging of our lives. Our marriage, relationships with friends and family, and our individual well-being suffered with the stress of painful and intrusive medical procedures, decisions, grief, and all that we encountered on our journey to successful pregnancy.

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Support groups offer people opportunities to share their experience with others who "get it." I lead support groups in fertility support and pregnancy loss because, we as a group, get how challenging, and often devastating, infertility and/or pregnancy loss can be for a couple and for individuals.

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I create a space where everyone feels connected to others going through a similar experience, and where you can process your own journey with deep emotional support.

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An infertility diagnosis can feel overwhelming and devastating. Decision making becomes stressful and can feel all-consuming as individuals and couples move forward with treatment and/or considering other options such as adoption, donor, surrogacy, or choosing to live childless. Feelings of disappointment, depression, grief, isolation, anger, guilt, blame, fear, shame, and anxiety are, unfortunately, common experiences for women and men challenged with infertility. It is not uncommon for both men and women to  experience a sense of loss of identity, feel defective, feel that they are letting their partner down, and/or feel that they are not fulfilling their own life's destiny. 

 

Navigating infertility and going through fertility treatments can be difficult at an individual level and can put a great deal of stress and strain on relationships including the couple's relationship. Intimate moments feel vulnerable, clinical, scheduled, and are full of anxiety and pressure. It is not unusual for couples to become disconnected and feel alone during the journey of fertility treatments and infertility. Coming to terms with infertility, deciding on treatments, and deciding when to go forward in a different direction or stop altogether, can challenge individuals and pull apart even the healthiest couple. Additionally, women who do not have partners, and go through the fertility journey wanting to start a family on their own, can feel isolated and alone.  

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Couple's Support Groups

In our couple's group, we explore the impact that fertility issues and treatments have on each individual and on the couple's relationship. We talk about sex, intimacy and maintaining a loving connection with your partner.  We explore the place of the "child wish" in the couple's lives, explore how fertility issues impact your own self-concept and meaning in your life, process grief, and process the many emotions that come with decision making and treatment.

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Groups are inclusive to same-sex and gender-queer couples.

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Women's Support Groups

Whether you are a single woman or part of a couple, sometimes you need the support of other woman traveling down a similar road that you are traveling on. There are definitely aspects of this journey that only another woman going through infertility can understand. In our women's group, we support each other and help each other journey through the challenges that can sometime accompany the process of starting a family.  

 

 

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Contact me directly to find out additional information about the support groups I run. 

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