5 Tips if you are Battling Infertility

I am grateful that I was able to get pregnant naturally and within just a few months of trying. If you are battling infertility and managing fertility struggles, here are 5 tips to keep you sane.

1. Find a fertility coach/support. Thankfully people are becoming more open about their fertility struggles and there is a lot more support out there for mamas to be who are struggling. A friend of mine started InCircle Fertility, a two-person coach team to support women through their fertility struggles.  
2. Check your shame. Due to advances in technology, there are myriad ways to become a parent now. Gay couples are going the surrogate route and adoption is still a very real path for many parents. So if science and a bit of modern-day progress have enabled you to have a baby, there is no stigma that needs to be involved!
3. Practice self-care. Pregnancy and having babies will inundate you with anxiety. It’s just the way it is. So make sure you’ve got a self-care routine that will help you during the tough, out of sorts, hormonal times. I did a lot of walking and meditating when pregnant. 
4. Keep your sharing to a minimum. I’m not sure what it is about pregnancy and marriage but these two topics elicit a lot of emotion in people. Sadly, people project their own issues and struggles, and given that the journey into parenthood is rife with worries/anxiety/excitement, you should do yourself a favor and keep your experiences to yourself. Take it from me: you don’t want everyone weighing in on your fertility journey!
5. Know that you’re not alone. Whether you go the fertility-assisted route or go about it naturally, pregnancy and parenthood can feel like a lonely journey. One approach I took when I became a mother, was to speak openly to trusted confidantes (many of them fellow mothers and mothers to be) about the many topics that no one talks about. This includes the many things that come out of your body post-delivery, postpartum depression and anxiety, the power of medication to stave off those anxieties, the loneliness of motherhood, co-parenting with a very involved partner (as opposed to what I grew up with), and more. 

I hope these tips help you as you navigate your parenthood journey!