FERTILITY/PRENATAL/POSTPARTUM

This is not like what I thought it would be.

This is not what I want it to be.

I feel like a failure.

I wish I didn’t “need” help.

It must mean I’m weak that I’m not handling this well.

No one told me it would be like this.

Are any of these thoughts tumbling around in your head? You’re not alone. After years of working with women and families dealing with the powerful process of expanding one’s family, I can say that the most important piece is knowing this one thing.

You’ve got a partner in the challenge.

We were never meant to do this alone. That’s the essence of work with women and families struggling with fertility, miscarriage, infant loss, prenatal or postpartum challenges.

Resources are the way out of the darkness.

You will have to work to move from this place to where you want to be, but you do not have to go it alone. Whether it’s the struggle to get pregnant, miscarriages along the way, infant loss or termination, you need support and comfort.

Now for you on the other side of the struggle.

The process of becoming a parent is no small task. Birth trauma, breastfeeding challenges, mood issues as a part of the postpartum season are normal – and there’s a reason we’ve heard it takes a village.

How’s this “best moments of your life” thing going?

Cultural messages around what it will feel like to bring home baby have families developing skewed pictures that cause real problems when reality shows up as cracked nipples, spit up on every surface, no sleep for days or weeks on end, and trouble in your relationship due to the stress. I can offer validation for the real world you’re living in and offer the hope.

This does get better.