Yesterday began National Infertility Awareness Week - something that affects one in eight couples, but not always who you think.
It includes those with a specific medical diagnosis and those who are labeled "unexplained".
It includes those who are trying every medical intervention possible and those who aren't.
It includes those who have one or more biological children and those who have none.
It includes those who have become parents through adoption or other means, and those who have not.
It includes those who are still trying to conceive and those who have stopped.
It includes those who have experienced loss in pregnancy and those who have never been pregnant.
It includes those who have been trying for a year and those who have been trying twenty years.
It includes those in their twenties and those in their forties...and those in their sixties and eighties.
It includes me.
We have two children in our home now, but our journey has included three years of unexplained infertility before conceiving our daughter, and three years of both pregnancy loss (three babies in Heaven) and secondary infertility before our son was conceived. It is a painful, lonesome, faith-testing road, but along the way, I have met some of the strongest women I have ever known and have grown in my understanding of what it means to trust God.
If you are also on this journey, I want you to hear this: you are not alone! I did not know that in our first three years of our journey, and it made me feel isolated and so misunderstood. Finding others who had been through the same experiences did me a world of good. It showed me that I was normal, and it helped me see how to walk this road as a woman of faith, how to still focus on building up my marriage, and how to pray for myself and others.
Below are some websites I have found to be helpful. I hope they are an encouragement to you, too.
Resolve (www.resolve.org) - national organization for infertility
Hannah's Prayer (www.hannah.org) - international forums for Christian women dealing with fertility issues
Life as Two (lifeastwo.blogspot.ca) - an excellent blog by a Christian woman who gets the journey of infertility and expresses it well to others.
Mommies with Hope (Waiting with Hope blog) - a new ongoing set of articles specifically about infertility
You also might find some encouragement in an article I wrote here:
http://citymomsblog.com/columbiasc/navigating-the-journey-of-infertility/
What other resources have you found to be helpful for the journey of infertility?
It includes those with a specific medical diagnosis and those who are labeled "unexplained".
It includes those who are trying every medical intervention possible and those who aren't.
It includes those who have one or more biological children and those who have none.
It includes those who have become parents through adoption or other means, and those who have not.
It includes those who are still trying to conceive and those who have stopped.
It includes those who have experienced loss in pregnancy and those who have never been pregnant.
It includes those who have been trying for a year and those who have been trying twenty years.
It includes those in their twenties and those in their forties...and those in their sixties and eighties.
It includes me.
We have two children in our home now, but our journey has included three years of unexplained infertility before conceiving our daughter, and three years of both pregnancy loss (three babies in Heaven) and secondary infertility before our son was conceived. It is a painful, lonesome, faith-testing road, but along the way, I have met some of the strongest women I have ever known and have grown in my understanding of what it means to trust God.
If you are also on this journey, I want you to hear this: you are not alone! I did not know that in our first three years of our journey, and it made me feel isolated and so misunderstood. Finding others who had been through the same experiences did me a world of good. It showed me that I was normal, and it helped me see how to walk this road as a woman of faith, how to still focus on building up my marriage, and how to pray for myself and others.
Below are some websites I have found to be helpful. I hope they are an encouragement to you, too.
Resolve (www.resolve.org) - national organization for infertility
Hannah's Prayer (www.hannah.org) - international forums for Christian women dealing with fertility issues
Life as Two (lifeastwo.blogspot.ca) - an excellent blog by a Christian woman who gets the journey of infertility and expresses it well to others.
Mommies with Hope (Waiting with Hope blog) - a new ongoing set of articles specifically about infertility
You also might find some encouragement in an article I wrote here:
http://citymomsblog.com/columbiasc/navigating-the-journey-of-infertility/
What other resources have you found to be helpful for the journey of infertility?
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