When Couples Need To Consider Infertility Counseling

By Edward Mitchell


For every couple that decides to have a family and turns up pregnant two months later, there is another pair that struggles with fertility issues. As women age, the possibility of getting pregnant and carrying a child to term becomes increasingly difficult and dangerous. Sometimes this issue takes over people's lives, and they need help handling the effects. When this happens, it's time consider infertility counseling.

Every time they get the news they still aren't pregnant, new panic can set in. It's common for one partner to react more obsessively than the other. This is something that can take over people's lives and affect every decision they make. Discussing the situation with a counselor is one way to try and put things in perspective. This professional can suggest strategies and coping mechanisms to help couples have a full life away from their fertility issues.

Women are more inclined to be the ones who want to talk and talk about why this is happening. Men tend to be fixers instead of talkers. They just want to figure out they can do to make things better. At some point many partners get frustrated and stop communicating. Counseling sometimes opens communication lines again.

There comes a time, when a couple still has not gotten pregnant, that they will have to decide how to proceed. IVF is an option, but it is also a big decision. Continuing after initial failure is a bigger one. The treatments are expensive, but that is not always the major consideration. A woman's body also pays a price, and a counselor is sometimes needed in order for couples to look at their situation realistically.

There are a number of options beyond IVF and natural pregnancy. Most couples have discussed them at one time, but many don't really pursue these avenues. Talking to a counselor can help open a real discussion about the possibilities of adoption and surrogacy. If a couple wants to actively pursue one of these options, the agency involved may require that they have a certain amount of counseling before proceeding.

It can be extremely difficult for a couple, who want children badly, to resign themselves to the fact that it might never happen. Accepting a life of childlessness can be very hard. After so much time planning for children, they have usually developed a certain mindset that now has to change. It may take a professional to show them how to make the adjustment.

There are times when couples in this situation just need the friendly ear of an outsider to listen. Close friends and family members can find it difficult to be impartial and unbiased. They may give their opinions too freely. A counselor will give no personal opinion. Couples are free to discuss the intimate details of their lives without fear. Confidentiality is guaranteed in a counseling session.

Children are a blessing and not all people get to have them. Infertility can be heartbreaking, but there are ways to make differences in kids' lives all the same. It might take a professional to point out those possibilities and opportunities.




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