Handling the holidays when you’re facing infertility

I remember how the holidays were particularly hard when having a baby was both the only thing I wanted and the only thing I couldn’t have. Everyone around me was celebrating pregnancies or planning gifts for their kids. And I was planning next steps and specialist appointments and how to manage disappointment. If you’re there this year, handling the holidays when you’re facing infertility, please know you’re not alone.

You’re not alone

There are other women out there dodging questions from nosy relatives and trying to avoid having to attend yet another party with all the tiniest guests dressed to the nines with bow ties or frilly dresses. In fact, 1 in 6 Canadian couples faces infertility. That means there’s probably someone at every party you’re attending trying to exit gracefully, who feels just like you do.

Facing infertility takes extraordinary energy

My husband and I tried to have kids for a few years before finally moving to in vitro fertilization (IVF). That’s longer than some, at not nearly as long as others. In the end, we were one of the lucky couples who found success. But it was a long and gruelling process. Facing the challenges of infertility required extraordinary energy – both physically and mentally. I want you to know, I get where you’re at, and here are a few things that made the holidays a little easier for me.

5 Tips for Handling the Holidays When You’re Facing Infertility

You Have The Right

Remember all the things that have to go right for a baby to happen. It’s kind of amazing any of us came to be. If you’re having trouble conceiving, don’t blame yourself.

Find a Specialist

If you haven’t yet, go see a fertility specialist. Suffering in silence never helped anyone. Ask for a referral to someone who can work with you to exploring your overall health and fertility, as well as your egg health and why that matters on your infertility journey. It’s a lot easier to get through all those special days when you know you’re taking steps to move forward.

Take Back Some Control

Infertility can make you feel very helpless. I found I was able to reclaim my power through the infertility process by doing a lot of research, really understanding what was happening to my body, and asking lots of questions. I felt I was able to make decisions about how and when to proceed to the next level and that made me feel like it wasn’t just happening to me. You might find other ways to feel like an active participant in reaching your goals.

Seek Out Support

Whether it’s friends or neighbours who’ve been in your shoes, or an online forum, find people who are in the thick of it with you. They’ll understand what you’re going through. Not only will they get why your mother is making you crazy asking when there will be grand kids, they may have tried different therapies and treatments that you haven’t considered.

Be Informed

Be informed so you can explore all your options. When we were about to undergo our fourth (and second successful) IVF, I felt I wanted to know everything we could do to increase our odds. Some of the options were outside of our comfort zone. One experimental addition suited us just fine. We also tried things like alternative medicine, therapies, and holistic supplements in addition to this added drug therapy. Things have changed since we did that cycle 4 years ago and now there are other new options to try. If you are having difficulty getting pregnant, there is a new fertility treatment that is designed to help boost your eggs’ energy levels by tapping into the inner power of your own egg precursor (EggPC®) cells.

There is no question that infertility is one of the hardest struggles I’ve lived through, and countless women I know feel the same. If you’re on this journey now, don’t forget that you have tremendous inner power – more than enough to get you through this dark time on your path to pregnancy.

This post is part of the #MyInnerPower sponsored program with YummyMummyClub.ca and OvaScience. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. This post reflects my personal opinion about the information provided by the sponsors.

OvaScience is partnering with Fertility Matters Canada, Yummy Mummy Club, and the female community to shine a light on infertility and support the 1 in 6 Canadian couples who are facing challenges building their families. OvaScience will make a donation to Fertility Matters Canada for the first 500 people who submit their #MyInnerPower story, video, photo, or artwork representing their infertility journey at www.egghealth.com/myinnerpower.

I did a lot of reading about egg health prior to writing this post and the views and options expressed in this post are all my own. To find a fertility clinic that specializes in breakthrough EggPC treatments, visit http://egghealth.com/find-a-fertility-clinic/.