If you're reading this, you don't need us to tell you how the struggle to conceive can seem to permeate every aspect of one's daily life. Yet few opportunities exist for one to pick apart the reality of what this experience is like.
Consider our Support Groups
First of all, consider meeting some local folks who are also struggling in similar ways in our Infertility & Loss Support Group. Going to a support group can feel intimidating, but we assure you that we have thought long and hard about creating a comfortable, safe space where you are most welcome to just sit and listen or pour out your entire story.
Consider talking to a good therapist
Wanting to become pregnant can and does take over a great deal of our time. While our support groups offer the invaluable tool of peer support, we also always recommend a good personal therapist. We maintain ties with a number of trusted Valley Practitioners, whose contact information and brief bios can be found on our Trusted Therapists page. Please note that while these practitioners are quoted on our website speaking about their interest in the loss population, most are family therapists who have a focus on the childbearing years-- which of course include those of us who are struggling to conceive or maintain a pregnancy.
Visit a new kind of practitioner
No, we're not like your mother or neighbor who is going to tell you to relax, so you can get pregnant. Or that maybe if you try something new, you'll magically become pregnant. Quite the contrary, and we certainly don't mean to imply that if you try one of these practitioners, your situation will change. However, we do know that in this time where we can feel so futile in our bodies, that can seem to be failing us, working with alternative medical providers can help us to feel like we're doing something to take care of our bodies. So here are a few we trust:
The Wellness House in Northampton houses two trusted practitioners- Amy Mager, who offers acupuncture and traditional Chinese herbal medicine, and Lisa Gallauresi, who offers massage therapy. We also highly recommend Kate Cadwgan of Radiant Point Acupuncture. Offering both acupuncture and massage, Kate, like Amy Mager, is skilled and experienced in helping women who are struggling with fertility and conception.
Online Resources
In lieu of real humans, the internet offers an enormous variety of resources that may reassure you that you are not alone in your quest to become pregnant. Listed below are just a smattering of resources to get you started, knowing that each one could lead you down a rabbit-hole of online reading.
The National Infertility and Adoption Education Nonprofit has an extensive website here. It offers a lot of factual information that might be more helpful if you are earlier in your journey and wanting to understand a few more of the nuts and bolts of what this road might look like.
If what you're hoping for is personal stories from others like you, there are many options. Mel, from Stirrup Queen, has been blogging about her journey for over 10 years, and while her page is a bit all over the place now (speckled with posts about a new guinea pig, for example) she is an age-old expert on the subject and her sidebars are full of good things. She also posts regular recommendations for other infertility blogs, which are good. From Mel I found a link to this blog, which is personal and has a sidebar FULL of other personal blogs. Lastly I like this blog, entitled "From IF to When..." which then links to the author's most current blog. It truly focuses on her long road of infertility. I certainly can't predict which, if any, of these personal blogs would appeal to you, but browse away.