Have the talk about struggling with infertility

Survey research on stressful life events shows that individuals tend to rate infertility as on par with the death of a child or partner. Certainly, it is easy to see why an infertility diagnosis can have such a profound effect on both partners and the relationship. For many couples, it violates their expectation of what their lives would look like together. Partners may have chosen each other in part because they could picture having children together, and now the viability of that future is being called into question. Many feel like they are putting their lives on hold as they navigate various medical interventions and wait to find out if they will ever enter the world of parenting. Their emotions are caught in a confusing in-between where they are having to grieve and hope at the same time. Partners may also struggle with shame or guilt about the diagnosis or any number of painful thoughts and insecurities.