Dealing with Infertility’s Disappointment During the Holidays
When ‘All You Want for Christmas’ is a BFP (big fat positive), another failed cycle can leave a lump (of coal) in your throat. Dealing with infertility takes super-human strength, patience and resolve, especially in a month centered on children and miracles.
The staff at Innovative Fertility Center knows the gift at the top of your wish list is a positive pregnancy test. Statistically, you are on the right path. Approximately 80% of people that partner with a fertility specialist like Dr. Mark Rispler will go on to get pregnant.
Waiting to Get Pregnant: A Hope Deferred
Learning you are pregnant over the holidays or before the New Year would be ideal, of course. Just in case, Innovative Fertility Center offers a few suggestions to help you manage expectations and cope with disappointment.
• Keep your eyes on the prize. Try to think of the wait to get pregnant as anticipation of good things to come; almost like a child counting down the days until Christmas. You will resolve infertility, whether through simple intervention, advanced reproductive technology, or even adoption or donor services. Every step you take brings you one day closer to bringing home a baby.
• Restrict your RSVPs. Protect yourself by avoiding holiday events that will make you feel sad, judged or uncomfortable. For example, swap out a Santa breakfast for an elegant, adults-only dinner.
• Get proactive about pampering. Plan a spa visit, weekend getaway, dinner with a special friend or shopping trip soon after test results are expected to arrive. Planning special pick-me-ups will give you something to look forward to, and help you deal with potential disappointment.
Infertility can make you feel like Scrooge this holiday season. If your cycle ends in disappointment, we offer Ebenezer’s words of wisdom: “I will start anew, and I will make quite certain that the story ends on a note of hope, and remember when I was able to begin again!”
Contact us at Innovative Fertility Center for renewed hope, and a proactive plan to get pregnant this year.
To learn more about how stress affects infertility visit www.innovativefertility.com