Fertility Counseling
Is the emotional stress of your fertility journey taking over your life?
Does your hope diminish with each failed cycle?
Are you needing space to grieve the failed attempts, miscarriages and loss of control you are feeling?
When we are ready to start a family.we never imagine getting pregnant would be so stressful. For many women and couples, infertility is a life crisis. Infertility can be overwhelming, isolating, frustrating and painful. Each passing cycle, a flood of emotions ending in grief. Depression, anxiety, anger, confusion, and shame are some of many feelings you may have if you have been unable to conceive or sustain a pregnancy. Research has shown women going through infertility have the same amount of stress as women diagnosed with cancer.
Over time, you feel a sense of shame that your body is not cooperating with your longing. Maybe you are wondering, “Did I fail to take care of my body properly?” or “Did I wait too long?” YOU ARE NOT ALONE. One in six people (17.5% of the population) globally struggle with infertility. And despite the fact that infertility affects women and men equally, women take on more of the burden which can lead to increased emotional stress, stigma, guilt and shame.
Infertility is also about loss. You may experience loss over the baby who has not been conceived or born, loss through miscarriage or stillborn, loss of a sense of control and/or loss of hope of fulfilling an important dream. Because there is nothing tangible to represent these losses, the loss can be more difficult to acknowledge and grieve.
In the midst of all of the longing and loss, connecting with someone who understands what you are going through can help you feel supported during this difficult and depleting time. On your own, it’s not easy to rise up, brush yourself off and try again. You have your own reproductive story and I am here to listen. I will offer you emotional support, guidance, and appropriate resources so you feel empowered to make your own decisions on take the next steps on your fertility journey. Whether you are contemplating or going through IVF or Third Party Reproduction, I am here for you. In our time together, my intention is for you to feel seen and less alone.
Infertility is All-consuming and can affect many areas of a woman’s life:
Challenges identity and meaning of life
Self-confidence/self-esteem
Relationships and intimacy
Increases financial burden
Impacts interest and performance at work
Stresses the body (hormonal fluctuations, procedures, and relationship to the body)
How I can help:
Psycho-education about options available
Process feelings about diagnosis and treatment
Emotional support through treatment process
Identify and address limiting beliefs and patterns
Support with grieving the losses
Connect to self-compassion
Explore somatic tools and practices
Discuss Third Party Reproduction options (egg, sperm or embryo donation, gestational carrier/surrogate)
Discuss fertility preservation (oocyte retrieval)
Connection to appropriate resources
Third-Party Family Building
Are you hoping to grow your family through Third party assisted reproduction?
Do you desire to be a single mother by choice?
I offer counseling for women who are considering being a recipient of donor sperm, oocytes (eggs), embryos or choosing to use a gestational carrier/surrogate. In the beginning, I will provide psycho-education about the process and we will talk about your thoughts, feelings, fears, considerations and next steps along the path. Then, I will help you sort out important details as you move forward with committing to a donor and/or gestational carrier. Together, we will discuss potential loss of biological genetics, fears about parent-child bonding and the evolving long-term impacts of everyone involved. If and when appropriate, we can also discuss how you would like to create and share your family story with your child.
Moving forward and accepting a new path can feel like a renewed sense of hope. I will be right by your side.
Love makes a family.
Another important part of my practice involves providing counseling for those who wish to build a family using third-party reproduction.
Ovulatory factors such as premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) or low egg quality
Uterine factors such as fibroids
Tubal factors
Single mother by choice
LGBTQ Family building
Vasectomy or male infertility factors
Male and female infertility factors
Genetic factors
Unexplained infertility
Cancer survivor
Other medical reasons
There are many reasons why a woman or couple may choose Third party Family Building.
Some of them include:
