Surviving Baby Loss While Battling Infertility

Introduction

One of the most common misconceptions of having a family is the belief that we will be able to have children once we are ready to do so. This assumption is not challenged until a couple encounters difficulties in the process of trying to conceive. The path to parenthood is less than straightforward for some women, including myself and many others. Although our journeys with fertility struggles are not identical, most of our experiences are connected.

It is emotionally, physically, and financially exhausting. It completely consumes your body and your life like a raging, odious monster, and it makes you forget who you are. You literally begin living your life one month at a time, hoping for a positive pregnancy test every single cycle as you navigate a very tight schedule of appointments, tests, and treatments. While going through this, you also have to watch your family members, friends, and even coworkers become mothers, sometimes more than once, and you have to be happy for them and sad for yourself at the same time. That’s what I call a sophisticated endurance test—look happy when you feel hollow and sad.

Unfortunately, the conversation about fertility struggles still carries a stigma. The lack of empathy towards individuals struggling with their fertility results in many people keeping a stiff upper lip about these grueling scuffles, creating a misunderstanding about what it’s truly like when embroiled in it.