Why You Should Consider Joining a Fertility Support Group This Year
Many intended parents start their fertility journey with a few logical steps in the direction of education and awareness:
- Consulting with a qualified fertility specialist
- Checking out local and online patient resources
- Talking with family and friends about their excitement and concerns {if comfortable}
There’s another option for intended parents who are just starting out – or indeed well along – on the road to building a family through assisted reproduction: joining a fertility support group.
Make a connection
Joining a support group can be especially helpful if you’re experiencing infertility without a partner, or if you feel your friends and family members just don’t understand what you’re going through. Infertility and assisted reproduction support groups can help you find other people with the same reproduction hurdles. If you’re LGBTQ or single, for example, a support group can help empower you to forge a path that you haven’t necessarily witnessed others doing up close. If you’ve been diagnosed with physical infertility, a support group might connect you with people who can commiserate and truly understand your position.
Find hope
Whether you’re at the beginning or in the middle of fertility treatment, you can always benefit from an extra ounce of hope. It’s true that a support group setting might expose you to other intended parents’ heartaches, but it will also expose you to their joys. Plus, the more people you meet who end up successfully building their families through assisted reproduction, the more inspiration you’ll take with you throughout your fertility treatment.
Consider joining a fertility support group this year, especially if you’ve been feeling isolated in your purpose. There’s only so much wisdom a book about infertility can impart; witnessing the human experience will complement knowledge with comfort. RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association, runs a free nationwide support group finder. Find a support group near you today. You might be surprised how much it can help.