image bio

Get 10% off your first month of all vitamins & supplements when you subscribe with code LUCKY23. Shop Now ➔

Home > Learn > Mental Health > >7 Ways to Cope with Infertility

7 Ways to Cope with Infertility

Jul 08, 21 5 min
Coping with infertility

In this guide, infertility-warrior-turned-fertility-counselor Amira Posner shares seven ways to cope with infertility.

By Amira Posner

Lately, I’ve been noticing a lot of pregnant bellies. I think they  are absolutely beautiful. I didn’t always feel this way. When I was struggling with secondary infertility, the sight of a pregnant belly would make me want to run and hide.  It was a major trigger that elevated my anxiety and reminded  me of my own grief.  

I coined the term “fertility inferiority complex.”  Anytime I heard news of a pregnancy or anything related to pregnant women, it made me question my own capability. It  made me feel less than, and not good enough. It immediately evoked my scarcity mindset.  

Today, on the other side of infertility, a pregnant belly no longer makes me feel inferior. My  perception has shifted. In fact, I am a fertility counselor and now help other women and couples create their beautiful families. Pregnant bellies now showcase some of my success! Imagine that!  

As a fertility counselor, I compiled a list of helpful tips to consider as you move through your fertility journey.  There are various techniques, or ways of thinking to help make infertility feel not so all consuming and a little less devastating.  

1. Acknowledge the difficulty

Acknowledging that this is a difficult experience will provide you with a framework to help you cope. Seems pretty simple. You feel awful; so acknowledge it. It is completely normal to feel a sense of loss, anxiety, sadness, and a general sense of  being overwhelmed. Going through fertility challenges is stressful.  

Acknowledging and accepting that this is how you feel can help you move beyond. Simply saying this is difficult, this is hard, validates your feelings as you move through this fertility journey. There is no need to pretend this experience is easy.  Recognizing the difficulties, even just to yourself, softens  feelings associated with shame and not being good enough.

2. Let go of self-blame

One in eight couples struggle with infertility. It is very common. Although it may be hard to resist the temptation of self-blame, guilt, and negative thinking, staying in this negative place for too long is probably not serving you. Guilt will try to tell you that you shouldn’t have waited this long to start a family. Fear will cause you to look at yourself with questions like, why me?  Will fertility treatment ever work? Doubt will make you question yourself and your own self-worth. I say to you: let go of self-blame. Imagine life without it.  Shifting the negative self-talk from self-blame back to the present moment creates an instant recalibration.

3. Create a dream team

If you are going through fertility treatment with a partner, this could be your partnership. If you are seeking fertility treatment alone, creating a supportive network with close family and friends can be helpful. It’s up to you who gets to be on  your dream team. You should know that men and women will often experience infertility differently. What you want to aim for is to work in alignment, as a team, to uncover practical ways to ride the waves of the journey together.  

4. Make your bigger fertility plan

Some couples make the decision from the start as to how many fertility treatments they are prepared to do. Others will spend many years and a lot of money to get to the end goal of  “baby”. Creating a fertility plan can help in relieving the stress from one treatment to the next. For example, going into an IVF transfer knowing that you will have more attempts, should the first one not be successful, can provide some comfort.  For most, the financial aspect of fertility treatment can be a huge stress. Creating a comprehensive fertility plan takes into account how much you are willing to pay for each treatment and the associated cost. Putting the details on a big chart and adding on what insurance covers versus what you need to pay can help you feel more organized and in control of the process.  

Natalist shop fertility supplements and vitamins banner

5. Seek support

Finding people who are also struggling with infertility is an excellent way to deal with infertility’s isolating impact. Participating in a fertility support group can help lessen feelings of self-blame, negative thinking, and hopelessness.  When you have the support of others who are going through a similar journey, your experience gets validated and you don’t feel quite so alone. Research has demonstrated that women who have participated in a Mind-Body stress reduction group while going through fertility treatment have had more fertility success and felt better all around. 

6. Check in with yourself

Checking in with yourself on an ongoing basis will make you feel like you are supporting yourself in a positive way.  Checking in with yourself means to ask how you are doing  and what you need in the moment. If certain celebrations are  too painful for you, allow yourself to be okay with not  attending. You don’t need to be anyone’s hero now by going  to baby showers, or other family events that trigger your  negative emotions. If you aren’t up for it, don’t go. But, also try  not to feel the secondary emotions of guilt for staying home  and avoiding certain functions. Be loving towards yourself.  

7. Try big picture thinking: 

Instead of being in the depths of despair or incredibly hopeful, put your energies into creating a balanced perspective. Equilibrium. A balanced perspective creates a more equal dynamic so that you don’t feel sad and not too optimistic. You are positive but without attaching to a positive  result. Easier said than done and it may take some practice at  first.  

Assisted reproductive technology leads many couples to keep trying month after month, year after year. A balanced perspective can help create resiliency and perseverance as you work your way through fertility treatment. Mindfulness and relaxation exercises are excellent ways to cultivate a balanced perspective. 

A balanced perspective can help create resiliency and perseverance as you work your way through fertility treatment.

Imagine if we could break down each day into moments? We would see the impermanence of our experience. Nothing lasts forever. Everything has a beginning, a middle and an end. It is  difficult to grasp this concept while we are going through it. It’s hard to imagine not struggling with this problem. We may not remember what life was like before the struggle. If we slow down and remind ourselves that one day down the road, it will be something else, we will come to understand that this  experience is humbling and comforting.  So take some time to come back to yourself and see where  you are so you can see what’s really in front of you.  

Amira Posner is a mother of three miracles and Social Worker in Toronto, Ontario.  She works in private practice with individuals and couples  who are struggling with infertility.  Amira facilitates the Mind-Body Fertility Group.  

Featured Image by Fahad AlAni

Shop Products

sticker new
healthcare provider virtual consult telehealth appointment

Ovulation Support Care Plan

Telehealth appointment with a licensed healthcare provider

$249

Subscribe & Save $3.00 sticker new
Hydration & Energy Electrolyte Drink Mix

Hydration & Energy Electrolyte Drink Mix

10% off your first month when you subscribe with code LUCKY23

$32

Women’s Fertility Test

Women’s Fertility Test

At-home collection test

$149

Subscribe & Save $5.00 sticker bestseller
Prenatal Daily Packets

Prenatal Daily Packets

10% off your first month when you subscribe with code LUCKY23

$55

Subscribe & Save $5.00 sticker bestseller
Prenatal Daily Packets

Prenatal Daily Packets

10% off your first month when you subscribe with code LUCKY23

$55

Subscribe & Save $15.00 sticker favorite
Trimester Pack: Prenatal Daily Packets

Trimester Pack: Prenatal Daily Packets

10% off your first month when you subscribe with code LUCKY23

$180 $150

Subscribe & Save $2.00 sticker bestseller
Prenatal gummy vitamins

Prenatal Gummies

10% off your first month when you subscribe with code LUCKY23

$33

Subscribe & Save $10.00 sticker favorite
Trimester Pack: Prenatal Gummies

Trimester Pack: Prenatal Gummies

10% off your first month when you subscribe with code LUCKY23

$105 $85

sticker bestseller
Pregnancy Tests

Pregnancy Tests

As low as $3.20 per test

$16

sticker favorite
Pregnancy Tests (2-Count)

Pregnancy Tests (2-Count)

Easy to read pregnancy tests

$9

sticker bestseller
Ovulation Tests

Ovulation Tests

As low as $1.67 per test

$30

sticker save
mid stream ovulation and pregnancy test bundle

The Test Pack

Pregnancy & ovulation tests

$46 $40

Reach Out, We're Here

Have questions about your order or products? For the speediest answer, check out our FAQ section. Need something else? Come find us below.

Customer Support
support@natalist.com

Press Inquiries
media@everlyhealth.com

Business & Partnerships
team@natalist.com

Affiliates + Influencers
team@natalist.com

Job Openings
Careers Page