April 25 – May 2nd, 2009 is National Infertility Awareness Week. This week is dedicated to raising awareness about the disease of infertility that affects 7.3 million Americans. An organization that spearheads the movement to learn more about infertility and seek out support is RESOLVE. If you have not yet done so I encourage you to visit RESOLVE.org, http://www.fertilitycommunity.com/uni/frame.php?url=http://www.resolve.org/site/PageServer – a community for women and men with infertility that provides information, support and opportunities to take action. By visiting their site you can connect with support groups in your area, access a directory of services, tell your story, and find ways to get involved in efforts to combat infertility.
When my husband and I were in a great debate about moving on to IVF I began to seek out support groups of people who understood what I was going through. We were in disagreement about the timeline for treatment, I was ready to move forward and he wanted to give it more time. In my search for local groups of people also struggling with infertility I stumbled upon RESOLVE. The website has a “quiz” of questions on it that advise that if you answer “yes” to any of them you should find a support group or mental health professional to help you cope. I was surprised to note that I answered “yes” to the majority of the questions and although I felt like I had a good network of friends and family to help me through, it was obvious that I needed a group to talk to in order to feel less alone.
The statements/questions that you were to ask yourself were:
– I can not enjoy the pregnancy news of friends/family
– I have a difficult time being around babies
– I find myself withdrawing from gatherings with family/friends to avoid questions about my “baby plans”
– I feel alone, like there is no one else to talk to
– My partner and I have different ideas on what to do next
– The stress of infertility is affecting my work performance, personal finances, social life – I am having trouble keeping it all together
If you too answer yes to any of these questions I encourage you to find and join a support group. If you can’t find one, try joining an online forum or participating in a message board. Talking to others who know exactly what you are going through is truly a lifesaver.
Related posts:
