The Infertility Journey: A Body-Mind Approach

Ever wonder about the expression, “infertility journey?” To my way of thinking, infertility is a journey because in the process, you may find yourself making decisions and having experiences that you never before imagined.

For example, I’ve worked with many clients who find themselves agreeing to undergo IVF treatment, when perhaps just a few months earlier, they would never have imagined that their fertility journey, would have taken them to that place. Where before the prospect of undergoing invasive treatment and taking powerful drugs seemed daunting, now the quest for a child is changing all of that. The undo-able now becomes the “next thing” to be done.

All of this takes a toll on the mind as well as the body. As part of your infertility treatment, it’s important to consider your emotional well-being, and the state of your marriage and relationships.

Don’t let your quest become so single-minded that you become blind to the whole of what you need.

If you find yourself feeling stressed, confused, overwhelmed, sitting down and talking to counselor who specializes in reproductive issues can be of enormous help. You can learn skills and gain insights that can help you to grieve, to make decisions, and ultimately to heal. In this way, no matter what happens, you’ll know that you will come through this stronger and healthier than before.

Marina Lombardo

Marina Lombardo

An Unlikely Path Through Infertility

The journey of infertility is unpredictable. Everyone’s story is different, and no one quite knows how the story will end. The movie, And Then She Found Me , explores one woman’s story, with all it’s unlikely twists and turns.

Helen Hunt plays April, a 39 year old newly married woman who yearns for a child. She herself adopted, she desperately longs for the experience of connection she believes she witnessed between her adoptive mother and her brother, who is biological. All suggestions and admonitions that she “just adopt,” fall on deaf ears. April is determined to birth a child.

The story follows April through her complicated journey. Reunions and separations, gains and losses, doubts and confusion, false starts and stops—April experiences them all. But eventually, it is this very path that leads April to her own answers, and eventually to acceptance and peace. If you ever wonder whether your journey will lead to your own happy ending, this movie is for you.

Marina Lombardo

Fertility Daydreams: Be Careful What You Wish For

One of the things I will sometimes suggest to my clients who are struggling with infertility is to create a vision board. Quite simply, a vision board is a sheet of paper upon which you place images that represent a desired future outcome. This can be as big or as small as you like, and the images can include personal photographs, magazine pictures, even drawings. If you are hoping to conceive or adopt a child, images of children and happy families can be an important step in allowing you to really “see” yourself creating what you want in your life.

One day, one of my clients who had been trying unsuccessfully for many months to conceive, came in shaking her head in amazement. “No wonder there are babies springing up all around me!” She showed me her vision board, and sure enough, she and her husband were in the center, childless, with pictures of babies and families all around them.

What she realized is that it’s important to put a picture of yourself and your spouse/partner on the vision board as well, with the image of your family as you hope to create it. In this way, your dreams can help you envision the family you really want.

Marina Lombardo