Infertility and Infant Loss
The road to growing a family does not always go the way you hoped. Whether you are struggling to conceive or grieving a baby you lost, your pain is real and you do not have to carry it alone.
Infertility
Trying to grow your family when it is not happening the way you hoped can take over your life. Each month can bring a cycle of hope and heartbreak, and fertility treatment can add appointments, procedures, hormones, financial pressure and difficult decisions.
Infertility is often a quiet grief. It can strain your relationship, make pregnancy announcements and baby showers painful and leave you feeling like your body has let you down. This is just as true whether you are trying for your first child or facing secondary infertility.
Together we can work on:
- Coping with the waiting, test results and the ups and downs of treatment
- Grieving each loss along the way, including cycles that did not work
- Making decisions about treatment, donor options, adoption or taking a step back
- Staying connected with your partner when you are both hurting
- Setting boundaries with family and friends, and protecting your self-care
Pregnancy and infant loss
Losing a baby, whether during pregnancy, at birth or in the months after, is a loss unlike any other. You may be grieving not only your baby, but the future you imagined and the parent you were becoming.
I support parents after miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth and the death of an infant. This kind of grief can feel very lonely, especially when others do not know what to say, when the loss happened early or when no one else got to meet your baby. There is no right way to grieve and no timeline you have to follow. Your baby mattered, and so does your grief.
Together we can work on:
- Telling your story at your own pace, without judgment
- Honoring and remembering your baby, including through art therapy (no art skill is needed)
- Coping with guilt, triggers and hard days like due dates and anniversaries
- Making room for how you and your partner each grieve, and talking with older children
- The hope and fear that can come with a pregnancy after loss
As a Maternal Mental Health Provider, I can also help when grief overlaps with postpartum depression or anxiety.
Ready to take the first step?
The fastest way to schedule is to email Wendi@theartofinsightcounseling.com. New clients can also create a profile and see open availability online, or call (614) 482-4800 for a free 15 minute phone consultation.