It’s been a journey of tears, pain and trauma and I expect that to be life long. This is what I have learned and I wanted to share it with you on #timetotalk day.
Read MoreMarried and Childless
I met the married couple who write Married And Childless at Fertility Fest. Both myself and Steph at World Childless Week would have happily dragged Michael to the stage because he spoke so movingly about infertility from the man's point of view. His wife, Vickie is an extraordinarily astute woman who had all the right words in the two days we spent together. They hail from Australia so I think they must be the most well travelled in the audience and I hope that we'll remain friends for a long time. I felt like I had known them for years
Read MoreMental health issues caused by infertility after IVF or ICSI treatment failure
To do this subject justice, I would need to write a book or two as there are so many variations of mental health problems with different causes and whether or not people have them before or after infertility treatment. People may be infertile due to many different factors and may not have found a partner to have children with and so are childless by circumstance. Then there is the treatment itself and the methods, hormones and medications used and their effects on mental health. There are also those people who choose not to have treatment or cannot afford it or cannot access it. With all this, are society’s expectations that we should have children and the stigma associated with this when we find that we cannot.
I am focusing on my mental health problems as a result of having discovered that both my husband and I are infertile. The subsequent treatment we received and the fact that this failed to result in us having a baby.
Read MoreBooted or bare? Mental health and childlessness
I was very moved to receive a post from a mental health practitioner who writes about her experiences of childlessness and how it impacts on our mental wellbeing. It's an inspiring piece that I felt was very powerful in her observation of herself against her demanding work. It also moved me because it gives so much useful advice that we can apply to how we manage too.
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