In one study of reproductive-age women in the U.S., 40% were unfamiliar with the ovulatory cycle. Yes, you read that right: 40%. When I first came across that statistic I thought, “That can’t be right.” But after really contemplating it, I can’t say I’m very surprised.  I was 27 and newly married with a bachelor's degree before I knew I could only get pregnant during my ovulation window. A few months later, I was completely blindsided by an infertility diagnosis — even though, according to the CDC, 1 in 5 women struggles to conceive for...

Trying to conceive has a way of taking over your life, especially once you’ve hit the point of infertility. You go home to find an entire drawer in your bathroom devoted to ovulation kits and pregnancy tests. You look at your calendar and wonder how you’ll fit in all the appointments alongside work and personal commitments. You cringe through conversations about when you’ll “finally” have kids. You reconfigure your social media feeds to block out pregnancy announcements and updates. And you juggle a mental load that’s crushing…and largely underrecognized.   That mental load begins mounting before...

It’s no secret that an infertility diagnosis is deeply distressing for anyone going through it. Immediately afterward, there is often relief that maybe some questions will be answered as to why family-building has been so difficult thus far. There is often grief, too. Depending on what the diagnosis is, an individual or couple may be required to shift the vision and expectations of how they will have a child. Then there is the multitude of decisions to be made, including the direction of treatment and the financial planning to accommodate the high cost of fertility...

In the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, we’re very much living in a state of uncertainty where reproductive health is concerned. Waiting to see how abortion care will look in a post-Roe world can feel wildly disorienting at best, terrifying at worst — and at this point, even experts are left theorizing about what may happen down the line. When news broke that the FDA had decided to allow retail pharmacies to dispense abortion pills, many celebrated this path to access.  “I definitely think it will be extremely helpful, mostly because we’re...

It may not have crossed your mind since college, but did you know that the three most common sexually transmitted infections — chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis — can cause fertility problems if left untreated? Overall, nearly 27 million new STIs are estimated to be transmitted annually If you have been diagnosed with an STI, you are certainly not alone.  While there’s historically been a lot of shame and stigma associated with sexually transmitted infections, the good news is not only are STIs preventable, but they are treatable as well. Still, knowledge is power when it...

As a licensed therapist currently working as a grief counselor for hospice patients, and as someone who believes in and has sought therapy before, it took me longer than you might think to seek help for infertility. For one, I didn’t think I would be going through it for this long. I also failed to realize how time-consuming and exhausting trying to have a baby would become—a full-time job on top of my full-time job. After a long workday and then more hours Googling the difference between HSGs and SHGs, or why DHEA and DHA...