Navigating Infertility

If you’re currently considering using an egg donor or you’ve been advised by your doctor you need to use an egg donor, and you’re feeling totally overwhelmed by the prospect, you’re not alone. Turning to egg donation to have a baby involves complex emotional, psychological, and practical considerations. There is the grief around the loss of your DNA, worries about whether you’ll still feel like the REAL mother of your baby, feelings of guilt and shame, concerns about what other people will think, and fears about how your child will feel as they grow up. This is before you even get to the financial, medical, and practical considerations around pursuing egg donation as a path to motherhood. If you feel yourself grappling with all of these factors and more, I understand as this is what I experienced as I walked the path of egg donation. This episode is perfect for you if you: 1.   Find yourself in the process of considering whether to use an egg donor for yourself. 2.   Have just been told by your doctor that this is something that you need to do  3.   Have been struggling with infertility and failed fertility treatments for some time and would like to know a little bit more about egg donation as a “just in case” concept To provide you with all the expert advice you need, I’ve invited special guest expert, Meta Getman. who is a fertility coach who supports women and families who have found themselves in the situation of needing to use donor eggs to have a baby. In this episode, Meta and I discuss: 1.    How to deal with the grief & come to terms with the prospect of using an egg donor 2.    How to open your mind to the possibility of exploring egg donation as an option 3.    The most important things to consider when deciding how to move forward with egg donation 4.    Some pearls of wisdom for deciding how and how to tell people in your life that you’ve used an egg donor (including your children) 5.    A deep dive into what it really feels like to be a mum to an egg-donor-conceived child This is a wonderful, heartfelt, insightful and candid conversation that you won’t want to miss as Meta shares all her expert advice for anyone considering or starting on the egg donation journey. For more insights, inspiration, tips and support: ·  Follow @opentolife_sarahreece ·  Download your FREE BOUNDARY SETTING GUIDE to support you with setting boundaries effectively on your fertility journey. ·  Download INSTANT CALM, my scientifically proven FREE audio practice to reduce stress ·  Learn more about the RECLAIM YOUR LIFE transformational online program

The struggle with New Year when you’re going through infertility can be hard. As everyone around you ushers in The New Year with celebrations and plans for the year ahead, for anyone going through infertility, it’s common for feelings such as uncertainty and frustration to surface, alongside a sense of futility about investing any time in setting goals or making plans for the future. This can be difficult when you’re surrounded by people who are setting career and health goals, planning family holidays or making big plans for the future. For many women who are going through infertility, it can feel easier to just skip New Year altogether. But there is evidence that reveals that there are in fact psychological benefits for acknowledging the sense of renewal that comes with the New Year and that being intentional about the year ahead can bring cultivate clarity, optimism and resilience. In this episode, I discuss: ·Why humans feel drawn to mark the New Year as an important milestone and to set goals and make place (including what the benefits are). ·What exactly is it about New Year that makes it so hard for women going through infertility? ·What are some different ways that you can approach the New Year that will enable you to be conscious and intentional about how you can support yourself and enhance the quality of your life over the coming year. This episode will help you to benefit from the sense of renewal that the New Year offers as well as gain clarity, purpose and intention about the year ahead so you can navigate the year ahead with an enhanced empowerment, resilience and optimism. You may also like: ·Episode 6 – https://www.opentolife.net/podcast/episode/ce5565e0/a-powerful-but-simple-practice-to-transform-your-fertility-journey-from-one-of-grief-and-despair-to-joy-and-ease For more insights, tips and support: ·Follow @opentolife_sarahreece ·Download your FREE BOUNDARY SETTING GUIDE to support you with setting boundaries effectively on your fertility journey. ·Download INSTANT CALM, my scientifically proven FREE audio practice to reduce stress ·Learn more about the RECLAIM YOUR LIFE transformational online program

There are many different situations that call for boundaries to be set on your fertility journey. Whether it’s unsolicited advice, insensitive comments or needing to manage people’s expectations of you around how much you’re able to show up in your life. But it’s a very common tendency to want to avoid having boundary-setting conversations out of fear damaging the relationship and creating additional angst for yourself on top of everything you’re dealing with due to infertility. In episode 10 of the fertility podcast, I take you through a practical and proven communication framework that enables you to set boundaries based on calm, clear and caring communication principles. As someone who has been teaching communication skills to people for almost 25 years, this is a topic that I’m really passionate about because I see the transformation that happens in relationships when authentic conversations take place. In this episode, I discuss: The kinds of situations that call for boundaries to be set during infertility Why we avoid boundary-setting conversations but why they're so important (even though they're uncomfortable) How to decide the right people to have boundary-setting conversations with A simple but powerful communication framework that will help you prepare for and communicate your needs clearly and tactfully Boundaries are not about distancing yourself from other people, but rather about creating a safe space for both parties to navigate the complexities of infertility. They help establish clear expectations and communication patterns, preventing misunderstandings and resentment. If you’re like a lot of other women going through infertility and resort to withdrawal and social isolation out of self-preservation because you feel too uncomfortable to have the difficult conversation around setting a boundary, then this is an episode not to be missed. You may also like: Episode 9 https://www.opentolife.net/podcast/episode/3f2b7e52/how-to-survive-pregnancy-announcements-during-infertility For more insights, tips and support: Follow @opentolife_sarahreece Download INSTANT CALM, my scientifically proven FREE audio practice to reduce stress Learn more about the Reclaim Your Life transformational online program

Pregnancy announcements are one of the things that any woman going through infertility dreads. Not only do they amplify the gulf between other people’s joy and your harsh reality, but there is an expectation that you should feel joyous about the news as well, particularly if it’s a close friend or family member. This sets off a cascade of emotions, such as shame and guilt, that compound feelings of grief and anxiety you may be feeling due to infertility. In this episode, I discuss: The specific dynamics of what makes pregnancy announcements so hard (so you're not left feeling it's because you're a bad person) Strategies you can turn to that will help to ease the pain of pregnancy announcements With a combination of practical tips for how to manage surprise pregnancy announcements along with proactive strategies you can put in place so you can be prepared, this episode can help to take the sting out of pregnancy announcements for you moving forward. You may also like: Episode 8 – What to do when you feel worthless due to infertility Episode 5 – What makes infertility grief so painful & what you can do to find relief For more insights, tips and support: · Follow @opentolife_sarahreece · Download INSTANT CALM, my scientifically proven FREE audio practice to reduce stress · Learn more about the Reclaim Your Life transformational online program

A common theme that I see amongst women going through infertility is how their self-worth is significantly impacted by what they’re going through. There are many aspects of infertility that contribute to low self-worth. There’s the societal messages that cause women to feel less worthy if they are not mothers, the sense of shame and guilt women feel if they can’t provide a child for their partner or a grandchild for their parents, or the sense of failure that’s fuelled by insensitive comments and unsolicited advice from people around them that suggest that what they’re doing is not good enough. Is it any wonder that self-worth takes such a nose-dive in the midst of infertility? The way that low self-worth shows up for women during infertility is by blaming themselves when things go wrong, losing faith in their own bodies and experiencing a growing frustration with themselves around not being able to ‘cope better’ based on comments from those around them. All of this causes them to contract and socially isolate out unworthiness, to the point that it becomes hard to reach out for support at a time when they need it most. If this is you, then I truly empathise as low self-worth was something I struggled with a lot during infertility. Fortunately, I did find a way to create a shift in how I related to myself and have since done a lot of research and practice in this area, and it’s something I really love to share with other women as it’s beautiful to see the transformation occur within women as they shift from low self-worth to self-compassion by finding ways to show up for themselves. To support you with enabling your own transformation from low self-worth to self-compassion on your fertility journey, in this episode, I’m going share with you: • An understanding of what self-worth is and why it takes such a big hit during infertility • An overview of self-compassion • Four simple but proven strategies that can help you to amplify your own self-compassion on your fertility journey. My hope is that if you’re in a bad place right now with your self-worth, this podcast episode can provide some simple, easy-to-apply steps to start creating a shift in how you relate to yourself, which can make all the difference for how you feel about yourself and your life on your fertility journey. • For more insights, tips and support: • Follow @opentolife_sarahreece • Download INSTANT CALM, my scientifically proven FREE audio practice to reduce stress • Learn more about the Reclaim Your Life transformational online program

There is a unique form of heartache associated with a failed fertility cycle. Aside from the significant financial investment, there is a huge amount of mental, physical and emotional investment for each cycle. Add to this the challenge of trying to fit everything that a fertility cycle demands of you on a practical level in amongst showing up as you normally would at work and in your everyday life. Then of course, there is the dream of having your baby slip through your fingers and heart strings.   It's no wonder that it’s so crushing when a cycle doesn’t turn out as you’d hoped. Whether you’re considering starting fertility treatment, you’re preparing for another cycle, or you’re in the awful space right now following a failed cycle, it can be helpful to give some consideration to how you might support yourself so you can deal with the heartache and disappointment of things not turning out the way you had hoped. In episode, I discuss: 1.    Why the intensity of your emotions after a failed cycle is not because you're a failure for not being able to cope better + the real reason it is so hard to cope 2.  Seven simple but powerful and proven strategies you can apply to support yourself at after a failed cycle, so you can process the disappointment and grief mentally, physically and emotionally. Infertility is such a challenging path, and when you invest so much energy in a fertility cycle to try and achieve your dream, the devastation is intensified. By applying even one or two of the strategies I explore in this episode, you’ll start to feel noticeable shifts that will help you, not only recover more quickly, but ensure that you don’t carry the shock and trauma of a failed cycle with you on the next step of your fertility journey. ·         For more insights, tips and support: ·         Follow @opentolife_sarahreece ·         Download INSTANT CALM, my scientifically proven FREE audio practice to reduce stress ·         Learn more about the Reclaim Your Life transformational online program

When you’re going through infertility, it can turn your life upside down on every level. Whether it’s the roller coaster of emotions, the constant stream of thoughts ranging from rumination over what you could have done differently through to fears about how things might pan out. Add to this all of the medical appointments, the health practitioners, the invasive fertility treatments that need to be slotted in amongst work and in everyday life, punctuated by late nights spent Googling the latest information about how to boost your fertility. It's no wonder so many women experiencing infertility reach a breaking point and find themselves facing significant mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. So, this episode, I’m going to discuss: 1.    Why being on the infertility merry-go-round is so hard to contend with and how many women inadvertently keep themselves stuck there 2.    A different way to approach your fertility journey that doesn’t involve adding more to your already full pate 3.   Six practical steps to implement so you can break free of the infertility merry-go-round forever and move forward on your fertility journey feeling peaceful, confident and positive By listening to this episode, you’ll gain practical strategies to bring the joy back into your life as you walk the path towards motherhood, but in a way that doesn’t require you to expect more form yourself which, when you’re going through infertility is super important. For more insights, tips and support: Follow ⁠@opentolife_sarahreece⁠ ⁠Download INSTANT CALM⁠, my scientifically proven FREE audio practice to reduce stress ⁠Learn more about the Reclaim Your Life⁠ transformational online program

The grief of infertility that women go through on their fertility journey is something that’s so hard to contend. It’s intense, it’s overwhelming and it’s all-consuming. But what makes it even harder to deal with is the fact that not only is infertility grief something that most women have never been taught the skills to deal with, but it’s a completely unique form of grief that society doesn’t understand nor recognise appropriately. This creates a very isolating dynamic for women going through infertility, as they fail to receive the kind of support and understanding they need & deserve. The result is that their grief is cast into the shadows where it’s dealt with in isolation, or not at all. In this episode, we’re going to look at: • Why the grief of infertility is so unique and challenging to deal with • A different take on how to view grief that contrasts with what most people are taught about grief in Western society • Five powerful strategies to help you tend to your grief in a constructive way This is such an important episode if you’re looking to: 1. Get a better understanding of why you may be finding grief hard on your fertility (and no, it’s not because you’re a failure) 2. Positively shift the relationship you have with grief to one that is more empowering and liberation 3. Find genuine relief from the grip that grief has over you My hope is that this episode will provide you with some fresh insights that our society has most likely not offered you and that you’ll be able to start walking the path towards transforming the way you relate to grief so you can have your grief working for you during infertility, rather than against you. For more insights, tips and support: Follow @opentolife_sarahreece Download INSTANT CALM, my scientifically proven FREE audio practice to reduce stress Learn more about the Reclaim Your Life transformational online program

If you ask a woman going through infertility to name an emotion that describes how she feels, one of the most common emotions cited is stress. That’s why learning the skills to cope with all of the stress that accompanies a challenging fertility journey is so vital. The problem for most women struggling to have a baby is that they have never been taught the life skills required to deal with the kind of life crisis that infertility is. In this episode, we’re going to look at: - What stress actually is, and why infertility stress in particular is so challenging - Some common strategies that may NOT be working for you when you’re trying to reduce stress - Some tips for what you could be doing instead to get a handle on your stress levels and become more resilient This is such an important episode if you’re looking to: - Get a better understanding of what is underlying infertility stress and burnout - Understand why some of your approaches to dealing with infertility stress may not have been working for you - Get some useful tips and tools to help you get a hold of your stress so you can unhook from the infertility burnout cycle, which will ensure you have the endurance and resilience to go the distance on your fertility journey. For more insights, tips and support: - Follow @opentolife_sarahreece - Download INSTANT CALM, my scientifically proven FREE audio practice to reduce stress - Learn more about the RECLAIM YOUR LIFE transformational online program

Navigating a challenging infertility journey throws most people a curve-ball because it demands the kind of life skills that most women going through infertility have never been taught. This is really challenging because trying to conceive and have a baby already demands so much from women, on top of needing to function in their daily life, so having to then research, learn and adopt skills to stay afloat mentally and emotionally can feel like an impossible task. This is why I love to share with women the number 1 life skill I adopted when I was going through infertility that’s also backed up by a myriad of research. You might have heard about the benefits of mindfulness for infertility. You may have even dabbled with it as a practice to help you deal with the stress of infertility. Irrespective of your level of experience with mindfulness, all the research points to how incredibly beneficial mindfulness is for women going through infertility. In this episode of Navigating Infertility, we’re going to explore: - What mindfulness is - How it benefits women going through infertility - Some simple mindfulness-based practices that you can adopt to support you on your fertility journey This is a really important episode for you if you’re looking to: - Shift out of negative, fear-based thought patterns - Step off the emotional roller-coaster of trying to conceive - Unhook from the chronic stress cycle associated with infertility - Find a way to return home to the refuge that can be found in the centre of your being, where true peace and freedom resides - Transform the quality of your life and get your joy back again, before you have your baby One of the most beautiful things about mindfulness for infertility is that it’s so accessible and easy to build into your everyday life combined with being so incredibly effective (as all the research demonstrates). For more insights, tips and support: - Follow @opentolife_sarahreece- Download INSTANT CALM, my scientifically proven FREE audio practice to reduce stress - Learn more about the RECLAIM YOUR LIFE transformational online program

One of the most common questions I get asked as an infertility coach is “What’s all the fuss about meditation for infertility?” followed closely by “What do I do when I’ve tried meditating but can’t?” Tune into this episode to learn about what both the research AND my first-hand experience with meditation on my fertility journey reveals about the profound benefits of meditation for infertility. I’ll share with you: - How I arrived at the practice of meditation & what my meditation journey was like (including how I used meditation on my fertility journey, and the profound experience that came from this) - The benefits of meditation for infertility, including what you can expect to experience when you meditate - The most common barrier that people face, particularly when they start meditating (which is the main barrier that puts so many people off and that causes them to miss out on all the goodness that can come from a regular meditation practice) I’m so passionate about this topic because if anyone asks me about the number one thing that helped me through my massive journey to motherhood (and it was massive), I tell them that it’s meditation! Whether you’re newer to meditation and are looking to adopt it as a tool to support you through infertility, or whether you’re an experienced meditator on a fertility journey and looking for some inspiration to rekindle your meditation practice, this episode is for you. For more insights, tips and support: - Follow @opentolife_sarahreece - Download INSTANT CALM, my scientifically proven FREE audio practice to reduce stress - Learn more about the RECLAIM YOUR LIFE transformational online program

Welcome to very first episode of the Navigating Infertility podcast! In this episode, I’m going to share with you a little bit about my story and what I went through on my 10-year journey of infertility. I’ll also provide insight around how my fraught quest to become a mother forced me to make changes in myself and my life so I could feel joy and inner peace before I had my babies and what it was that helped me most to turn things around when I hit rock bottom. Listen to this episode if you’re trying to conceive and want to: - Gain powerful insights - Be inspired - Be reminded of the fact that you’re not alone Remember that there is always a light at the end of the dark tunnel on a challenging journey to motherhood. For more insight, tips and support: - Follow @opentolife_sarahreece- Download INSTANT CALM, my scientifically proven FREE audio practice to reduce stress - Learn more about the RECLAIM YOUR LIFE transformational online program https://www.instagram.com/opentolife_sarahreece/ https://instantcalm.opentolife.net/download https://www.opentolife.net/programs