Sharing infertility stories
One of the hardest aspects of dealing with infertility is the sense that you and your partner are the only ones battling to have children. Sharing your infertility stories might be exactly what you need. It’s not hard to see who isn’t struggling with infertility – from the ‘baby on board’ sticker in the back window to the tricycle left on the lawn – the signs are all there. When a couple doesn’t have children, unless you know them well, you could never know if it’s by choice or not. Prior to the days of the Internet you would have to find a support group to hear other couples’ infertility stories, which might be quite a challenge for couples living far away from a big city. Also, there was quite a lot of shame attached to not being able to get pregnant. Due to the increased accessibility of the World Wide Web you can now experience both a cyber support group and a real life support group, and you’ll be able to appreciate just how widespread infertility is.
Infertility stories of all shapes and sizes are pretty easy to find on the World Wide Web. Every circumstance is covered – multiple miscarriages, IVF and other similar treatments, donated eggs, sperm, or womb (or all three!), multiple births and adoptions are all covered. You’ll surely find some stories quite like to your story! The story that made my eyes all misty was the one concerning a lady who donated an overy to her identical twin sister so she could get pregnant! Same DNA, identical basic building blocks for the eggs, no risk of rejection! I know that it could mean a chance of earlier menopause for the twin who gave her ovary, but if I remember correctly, she had finished having children so she was glad to help! I get all teary just thinking about it.
Then again, I’m not sure if reading or listening to a stack of infertility stories is always helpful. Almost all of them seem to end with the couple getting pregnant though, which might give you hope, but they might also just make you more miserable. I feel it’s best to find a balance between real-life counseling and telling infertility stories on the net. If there aren’t any infertility support groups in your district, why not create one? Other couples in the neighborhood might benefit from having a place to relate their infertility stories. You could already be aware of other couples who are struggling, but maybe you could put up some posters at the local doctor’s rooms. A caring, a ready ear and a hot pot of tea are all you need to start a support group – so why not take that step?
Sharing infertility stories is really important – so try to find a platform where your story can be heard. As I said previously, maybe you could think of creating one yourself. Sharing your infertility stories and knowing that you aren’t alone can go far in helping you cope.
Here is more information on Infertility Stress. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Infertility.