When You're Not Expecting

It is natural to remember absent loved ones at holiday time. But it is also emotionally challenging to make sense of sad emotions when others around you are celebrating the holidays. Soothing yourself and making sense of poignant memories are a focus of this blog. Read More

Are you frustrated when your partner cannot comfort you? Is he unable to sense your pain? To empathize with your misery? Or is he mostly afraid of your tears? In today's blog, I'll offer suggestions for how to connect with your partner around certain issues that may may be especially difficult to discuss. Read More

Why is it that some women wait until they are 40 to begin trying to conceive? Is it finally that their lives have settled down enough to contemplate children as the next step? Or, as a recent NYTimes article posed, do women who physically look much younger than their age actually believe their 40-year-old eggs are up to the challenge of conceiving a healthy baby? Read More

In today's blog, I'll offer my thoughts on why a vacation from infertility can be such an important and challenging issue to consider. Read More

It happens. The early joy of a much-wanted pregnancy is suddenly shattered by something unexpected: Your partner's betrayal, a troubling prenatal diagnosis or a family catastrophe. When this happens, you feel as if you are in the midst of an emotional balancing act with no acrobatic training. Read More

As coverage of tornadoes has proliferated, I find myself speculating about the larger lessons that may lie beneath the shattered landscape: coping with loss, recovering from devastation and seeking support are universal in many tragedies we face over the course of our lives. Read More

Am I a Mothers' Day Grinch? Not exactly, but today I'd like to present a perspective that is different from the one depicted on Hallmark cards: the perspective of families who need some extra compassion on this holiday. Read More

We all feel overwhelmed sometimes. For some of us it's occasional, for others it seems like a way of life. What should we do when life is filled with just too much pressure? Read More

For those of us with infertility, the letter "I" can be a prominent symbol in our lives: sometimes public -- sometimes not. And we have many choices about how to "wear" that symbol in our relationships. Read More

In-laws can be in something of a precarious relationship with the couple who is trying to get pregnant. There will be issues involving boundaries, privacy and life transitions. What sensitivities will help in-laws from both generations to be more supportive of each other as a pregnancy is being anticipated? Read More

Even though a couple may share the infertility experience, it will have different meanings for each.  And this is significant, since the infertility journey requires communication, support, decision-making and financial planning, all of which will go more smoothly if each partner can appreciate the other's perspective.  Read More

Yoga is enjoying a broader audience as "yoga for fertility" classes are appearing in some metropolitan areas.  These classes draw together women who hope to learn skills that will take their minds off the tension of infertility and reduce their anxiety. But does yoga increase pregnancy rates in infertile women?  Read More

From the moment you suspect the word infertility could apply to you, there is an emotional pause as you struggle with how open you will be with your apprehensions. As months pass, as diagnostic tests or pregnancy losses increase your anxiety, the questions still loom: whether or how to take others into your confidence on this very personal matter  Read More

December holidays are busy for almost everyone, and those of us who grapple with infertility feel especially challenged at this time of the year.  Those challenges are both practical and psychological.  So let's see what we can do so as not to become overwhelmed by the "double dose of hectic!"  Read More