How To Cope Through Fertility Treatments

Infertility impacts 1 in 8 couples and while causes of infertility vary, women undergoing fertility treatments want valid advice on how to cope through fertility treatments. This articles offers suggestions on how to cope through fertility treatments. These strategies are tools discussed with my clients at Cope Better Therapy.

1. Treat Yourself

A client shared with me that she treats herself every month she does not get pregnant. I really love this idea about how to cope through fertility treatments! Fertility treatments are exhausting for many reasons. Early morning appointments mean shuffling your work schedule, hormonal changes from a cocktail of medications mean reduced capacity to handle everyday stressors and the uncertainty of fertility outcomes means constantly redirecting worrisome thoughts.Treating yourself while undergoing fertility care means making time to acknowledge your efforts this month before starting into a new cycle. If you are undergoing fertility treatment, you know that outcomes are not guaranteed, even if you did everything “right” this cycle so make time to treat yourself and outline what you want or need for how to cope through fertility treatments. What’s one thing you couldn’t did if you got pregnant this month? Make a list of these items and if you don’t get pregnant this month, treat yourself using this one thing from this list.

Some ideas might be:

• book a massage
• schedule a tattoo
• order sushi from your favorite sushi restaurant
• make an elaborate charcuterie board complete with all the unpasteurized cheeses you like
• enjoy your favorite beer, wine or cocktail
• make reservations at a restaurant you have always wanted to try

Get creative with this one because there is no right or wrong way to treat yourself as you learn how to cope through fertility treatments! This strategy is all about you.

2. Buy fun bandaids

This one might seem silly, but multiple lab draws and hormonal injections are a drag. No one enjoys getting multiple needle sticks in a week and I’ve never heard anyone say they enjoy abdominal injections either. While lab draws and injections are unavoidable experiences during fertility treatments, fun and colorful bandaids add some joy to this process, which is why buying fun bandaids is another strategy for how to cope through fertility treatments. Shop online or drop by Target to find styles and prints that speak to you. Why not add a pop of bright color to your body to remind yourself of your inner strength. Buy fun bandaids and discover how to cope through fertility treatments using vibrant color and cheeky designs.

3. Take it easy and simplify

Balancing adult responsibilities and scheduling fertility appointments into your schedule means long days with early mornings. To balance things out, find time to take it easy when you are looking for ways on how to cope through fertility treatments. What helps you re-energize or unwind? Make a list of 5 things that help you feel balanced.

Look at your to-do list. Do you really have to do all of that today? If not, simplify that list and prioritize things differently. Finding ways to take it easy is important for all of us, but it is especially important if you are trying to conceive. Your body is going through a lot right now and finding how to cope through fertility treatments means making time to take it easy and simplify.

4. Keep a fertility journal

Keeping a fertility journal will help you in countless ways. I recommend buying a basic spiral bound notebook and make it your exclusive place for tracking fertility appointments, cycle changes, labs, medications and results of each cycle. If you are in treatment for more than a few months, this notebook will become your greatest asset for remembering what happened on what day and in what cycle because eventually all the details start to bleed together. Having the details of monthly treatments recorded in a notebook streamlines your personal documentation and is another way for how to cope through fertility treatments. If someone on the treatment team asks a question about a particular cycle, you’ll have the answers at your fingertips.

Keeping a fertility journal can be fun too. Pick a notebook that brings you joy (check out Target or a speciality paper shop) and create a routine around tracking your progress and observations about your body. You deserve a few minutes of self care and if you keep a fertility journal you will discover how to cope through fertility treatments in a way that is meaningful to you.

5. Check in with your partner

Fertility treatments add stress to an already stressful situation and couples undergoing fertility treatment report decreased intimacy and increased feelings of isolation and loneliness. Make time to check in with each other while undergoing fertility care.

• Ask your partner how they are doing.
• Remind your partner you are available to talk with them.
• Listen with open ears and an open heart when your partner chooses to share what is on their mind.
• Remember you do not have to “fix” the problem.

These four bullet points help to decrease feelings of isolation felt by many couples going through fertility treatment and increase emotional intimacy between you and your significant other. Implementing these strategies are a few suggestions about how to cope through fertility treatments.

How to cope through fertility treatments is about self-care and self-prioritization. Self-care looks different for everyone and that is okay. Find what works for you and make time for it. If you have other ideas about how to cope through fertility treatments, share those ideas here in the comments section below.