When I was going through fertility procedures, I struggled with hating my body. I already had issues of self-loathing to deal with from things that happened to me in my childhood. The last thing I needed was a "defective" body that was preventing me from being able to share a bond with a child.

It is normal to become angry with your body for failing to work the way it is supposed to. When all of the people around you get pregnant after trying to conceive for only a month or two, it is easy to wonder what is so wrong with your body that it cannot do what most people's bodies seem to do with ease. It can be easy to think very negative… [more]

If you have reached a place where you feel like you are losing your mind with trying to become pregnant, you might want to consider taking a month or two off from trying to conceive. You might find that giving yourself a breather is just what you need to help you have the stamina to continue trying to conceive through various fertility treatments.

I was so goal-oriented when I was trying to conceive a child. All that mattered was that we try and try again until we were successful. I did not want any time off. If anything, I wanted to accelerate my life so I would know immediately if the last try was successful so we could try again. I thought that I could… [more]

If you are looking for information about anything related to infertility, you can likely find what you are looking for at FertilityCommunity.com. Those of you who found this blog through a search engine might not be aware that this blog is only one part of a much bigger site.

At FertilityCommunity.com, you can read about everything from conception basics to treatment options. Those of you who have recently discovered that you are facing fertility challenges might want to start by reading over the Infertility 101 topics as well as the Infertility FAQs.

When I was first facing my infertility, I was not aware of any resources such as FertilityCommunity.com to help me understand what was going on with my body… [more]

I have to get weekly allergy shots to manage my allergies. I am allergic to dust mites and mold. Especially in the wintertime, if I do not get my allergy shots, I feel really lousy. So, I have been taking time out of my life weekly for four years to get allergy shots.

Many people think it sounds awful to get shots on a weekly basis, but it does not bother me. The reason for this is because I am so used to having needles poke and prod me thanks to multiple fertility tests and treatments. I learned early on that I was going to have to adjust to having my blood drawn for a variety of reasons. There was no point in fighting… [more]

I have never been particularly fond of Tom Cruise, although I do like some of his movies. I have always liked Nicole Kidman. So, of course I was on "her side" when they split, but that is neither here nor there.

As many of you likely know, Tom and Nicole adopted a couple of kids together. While I do not believe they ever made a big deal about it publicly, speculation has always been that they were infertile together. However, Tom got Katie Holmes pregnant, and now Nicole is pregnant by her husband, Keith Urban. According to the article in Women's Day, Nicole conceived after months of fertility treatments.

I find it interesting when a couple is unable to conceive a baby together but both… [more]

I am very active in my church. I am a member of both a Sunday School class and a Bible study. Inevitably, these classes get around to the Ten Commandments, and we talk about which commandment is the hardest to obey. Some people struggle with keeping the Sabbath. (I am happy to have an excuse to nap and read on Sundays.) Others struggle with "idols," such as Brad Pitt or an obsession with having more money. Those were not the ones that I chose. When I was facing fertility challenges, my answer was always the same: "Thou shalt not covet."

Most people talk about not coveting another person's spouse or material possessions. That was not the issue for me. Instead, it was coveting their… [more]

In my last couple of posts, Could Your Weight be Contributing to Your Infertility? and Fertility, Obesity, and Eating Disorders, I have been talking about how obesity has been linked to fertility issues. I have also been sharing about my own struggles with the eating disorder of binge and compulsive overeating.

If you have an eating disorder, it has likely become much more intense as you have been facing your infertility challenges. Infertility is very painful, and eating disorders are ways in which we use our bodies to manage our painful emotions. Infertility is the fuel that increasingly flames the fire. You might find that your eating disorder is more out of control than ever.

If you do succeed in becoming pregnant, you… [more]

In my last post, Could Your Weight be Contributing to Your Infertility?, I talked about a new study that links obesity to a decrease in fertility. I also shared that I used to struggle with the eating disorder of binge and compulsive overeating. So, I know how hard of a blow my last post might have been to some of you who struggle with your weight.

Unfortunately, if you have an eating disorder like I did, losing weight is not as simple as going to Weight Watchers. Eating disorders are fueled by emotional pain. For me, each time I binged on food, I was "stuffing down" painful emotions that I was not ready to deal with. When I would diet, I would lose the… [more]

Last month, a respected European reproductive medical journal called Human Reproduction published a study that links a woman's obesity to fertility issues. While other studies have shown a correlation between obesity and fertility issues, this study is the first to link obesity to causing issues with pregnancy when the woman is "subfertile" but ovulating normally.

According to the study, obesity can reduce the odds of conception by 4%, and very obese women were 26 to 43% less likely to conceive than women who were not obese. See Obesity Reduces Chances Of Spontaneous Pregnancy In Women Who Are Subfertile But Ovulating Normally for more on this study.

For those of you who already struggle with your weight, I am sure this comes as a huge… [more]

When I take time to think about the reproductive system, it baffles me that anyone could ever be infertile. Yes, I get it if a man has a zero sperm count or a women has no ovaries, but short of the complete absence of sperm or egg, it perplexes me that conception could not happen. Of course, I am living proof that this does, in fact, happen, but I still do not follow how it does.

Mother Nature seems to go into overkill with conception. A man who has fewer than 10 million sperm is considered to have a low sperm count. Ten million!! Considering you only need one sperm to do the job, how is it possible that nine million sperm cannot manage to… [more]