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From helpless to helpful
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Wherever you are on your journey - your pain is real, your trauma is real, your needs are real
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Parenting
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IVF ❁ Breastfeeding ❁ Birth Trauma ❁ Pregnancy ❁ Parenting ❁ Surrogacy ❁
When the Journey Ends Without a Baby: Finding Peace After IVF and Infertility
The decision to stop fertility treatments is never easy. It’s often accompanied by a mixture of sadness, grief, and fear—fear of regret, fear of what comes next, and fear of loss. The road to this point is filled with hope, disappointment, perseverance, and sometimes a sense of being lost.
Understanding Blighted Ovum: What It Is and How It Affects Your Fertility Journey
Pregnancy loss is a deeply personal experience, and when the loss involves a condition like a blighted ovum, it can be particularly disorienting. Many women are unfamiliar with the term, and it can be confusing to understand what happened, especially when the pregnancy seemed to be progressing normally. In this post, we’ll explain what a blighted ovum is, how it may impact your fertility journey, and how to process the emotional fallout of such a loss.
Best IVF Clinics in Rhode Island: Your Guide to Fertility Treatment Options
Rhode Island has several top IVF clinics offering advanced fertility treatments, including IVF, egg freezing, and genetic testing. Learn about the best fertility centers in the state and find the right clinic for your IVF journey, with expert support from a licensed infertility therapist
How to Handle Unsolicited Family Questions About Family Planning
The decision to start a family is personal, and if you're experiencing infertility, it’s often accompanied by the pressure of unsolicited questions from well-meaning—but sometimes intrusive—family members. If you’ve heard, “When are we going to get grandchildren?” or “Why haven’t you started a family yet?” you know just how triggering these comments can be.
Preparing for Your First Ultrasound After a Positive Pregnancy Test: Is This Real?
Many feel like they can’t truly allow themselves to feel happiness until they’ve had that first ultrasound, as if that moment will define everything to come. The pressure of this one appointment can feel overwhelming. Some even fear that something will go wrong, wondering if they will experience the same heartbreaks others have shared about their journeys.
Learning to Take Up Space: Reclaiming Your Voice in Relationships
Many women experiencing infertility carry a deep-seated belief that their struggles are "too much" for others to handle. This belief often comes from a long-standing pattern of not wanting to burden others…
Stop Being Afraid of Oversharing About Your Fertility Journey
It's normal to feel disconnected from your friends and loved ones, and sometimes that distance can make you feel like you're walking a tightrope between sharing your emotional struggles and worrying about overburdening others.
Understanding Missed Miscarriage: What It Is and the Emotional Impact
Experiencing a miscarriage is one of the most heartbreaking and emotionally challenging experiences a person can go through. When it comes to a missed miscarriage, the experience can be even more complex due to its unique nature.
Letting Go of Self-Blame: Understanding the Impact of Past Behaviors on Fertility Struggles
It's common for women struggling with infertility to experience a deep sense of self-blame. You might find yourself questioning if something you did—or didn’t do—contributed to your current fertility challenges. Did the choices you made in your past, whether in terms of lifestyle, diet, or even emotional stress, somehow affect your ability to conceive? Or, on the other hand, are you grappling with guilt over what might feel like "missed opportunities" for care in the past?
How to stay sane when your most called contacts are your Infertility Clinic, Pharmacy, and Insurance
For many women struggling with infertility, the journey to becoming a mother can feel like an emotional rollercoaster, and unfortunately, delays and waiting are often part of the ride. If you're trying to move forward with an IVF cycle but are caught in the frustrating loop of needing insurance approvals—whether for a retrieval or transfer cycle—you are not alone. It’s completely natural to feel a sense of anger, loss of control, or even helplessness as you wait for the green light from insurance companies and clinics.
Jealous of Your Sibling’s Pregnancy? You’re Not Alone
Infertility is a deeply personal journey, one that can feel isolating and filled with uncertainty. But what happens when your path to parenthood intersects with the journey of a sibling who is experiencing pregnancy or planning for their own family? How do you navigate the complicated emotions of wanting to celebrate your sibling’s joy while grappling with your own grief, envy, and feelings of inadequacy?
When to Stop IUI and Move to IVF
If you’ve been struggling with infertility, you might be asking yourself: When is it time to stop trying IUI (Intrauterine Insemination) and move on to IVF (In Vitro Fertilization)? It’s a question that comes with so much weight—emotional, financial, and physical. And it’s perfectly normal to feel confused, frustrated, or even defeated by this decision.
Beginner's Guide to IVF: Navigating Your Journey with Mental Health Support
This guide aims to provide you with essential information about IVF and highlight the importance of mental health support throughout your journey.
Understanding Endometriosis: A Guide for Women Navigating IVF
Are you navigating the challenges of IVF and wondering if endometriosis could be affecting your journey? Many women experience silent endometriosis—where symptoms may be mild or absent—yet it can significantly impact fertility.
How to Know When It’s Time to Switch IVF Clinics
Choosing the right IVF clinic is a pivotal decision in your fertility journey. It can make all the difference in how you feel supported, informed, and empowered. If you're questioning your current clinic, here are some signs that it might be time to consider making a change.
Patience During Infertility Treatment: Finding Calm Through Nature’s Timeless Wonders
Infertility treatment can often feel like an endless series of waiting periods—each step, from IUI to IVF, comes with its own set of waiting times and uncertainties. It’s completely natural to feel overwhelmed or impatient as you navigate this challenging journey. One mindfulness technique that can be particularly soothing...
Understanding Baby Kicks: When to Expect Movement and How to Manage Anxiety
Imagine the thrill of feeling your baby’s first flutters and kicks—it's a milestone many expectant parents eagerly anticipate. Yet, this excitement can sometimes be overshadowed by anxiety, especially if you’re worried about whether your baby is moving enough or on schedule.
Is PGT-A Testing Worth the Cost?
Starting or growing a family can be a journey filled with hope, excitement, and often, tough decisions. One of these decisions involves Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy (PGT-A). If you're considering this option, you might be weighing its potential benefits against the financial investment and the ethical questions it raises. Let’s break down what PGT-A is, its potential advantages, and how to balance these with the cost and ethical considerations.
I Have Zero Regrets about PGT-A Testing Our Embryos
Navigating the path to parenthood through IVF is a deeply personal journey, filled with hopes, challenges, and tough decisions. For me, one of those significant decisions was whether to invest in Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy (PGT-A). Reflecting on my experience, I want to share why this choice, despite its cost, proved to be right for me.
Facing the Challenge of a Second Egg Retrieval
Imagine this: You’ve just completed your first IVF cycle. After a successful egg retrieval, you feel a mix of hope and anticipation as you learn that 13 eggs were retrieved. Then you learn 11 were mature and 6 were successfully fertilized. You wait as those 6 embryos develop, only to learn...