Why You Should Go Through Infertility Counseling

Infertility affects a lot of people, and more often than not, it takes a toll on people emotionally. Between the inability to conceive and the slim in vitro fertilization success rate, it can get quite stressful especially for couples looking to start or expand their growing family.

The diagnosis of infertility can even interfere with a person’s work, interpersonal relationships, or their own self-worth. When this happens, you may be recommended to visit an infertility counselor.

What is infertility counseling?

photo credit: letu.edu

Many people may find it difficult to cope with infertility, which is why they turn to infertility counseling. Infertility counseling is a form of therapy undergone by people to help them work through anxiety, grief, feelings of worthlessness, among other emotional issues.

Beyond emotional trauma, infertility counseling can also serve as a prerequisite for major fertility procedures like IVF or a guide for couples who may not know what options are available for them.

When should we visit an infertility counselor?

You can always visit an infertility counselor if you’re unsure about your next steps. An infertility counselor can advise you on what steps you and your partner can take, or what options may be best for you. This can help partners find common ground or a second opinion from a licensed professional.

For instance, endocrinologists and fertility specialists strongly recommend that couples undergo infertility counseling before or during the IVF procedure.

Similarly, when infertility puts a strain on your mental health, work, and interpersonal relationships, it can also convey that it’s time to seek help.

These symptoms may include feelings of guilt or worthlessness, persistent sadness, depression, anxiety, mood swings, agitation, loss of interest in usual activities, suicidal thoughts, difficulty concentrating or making decisions, and or loss of or excess sleep.

If thoughts of infertility consistently pervade your thoughts, it may also be time to seek professional help.

An infertility counselor may be able to help you with many concerns including coping with infertility, dealing with the IVF cost, or seeking more options fit for you and your partner. Just remember that both infertility is nothing to be ashamed of and that getting help is a wise decision.

Supporting Men Struggling With Infertility

Father’s day is approaching, and with that, it’s a good time to talk about male factor infertility. For the longest time, infertility was seen as a woman’s issue, and treatments aiding the problem and support aids were mostly targeted towards women.

It is, however, high time that people understand that it is a man’s issue, too, and as IVF in Davao continues to become a more popular option among couples, we want to shed light on the man’s experience, too.

Male factor infertility is typically left unacknowledged

As soon as a couple may mention that they’re undergoing fertility treatment, the most common response would be to sympathize with the woman. While it is true that a bulk of the treatment itself is done on the woman, it should be taken into consideration that what if it were the man behind the couple’s inability to have children.

Men do not have the same amount of avenues to channel their feelings

Looking at various support groups, whether online or in real life, IVF and fertility discussions are mostly in aid of the woman’s experience. This leaves men to think that they may not be worthy or suffering enough to join in on the conversation.

Such lack of expression may lead men to suppress their concerns, worries, and personal struggles, and that’s just a recipe for outbursts or burying their heads in the sand later on - something that could take a major toll on the couple later on.

What you can do 

Just because this is the experience for many, that doesn’t mean it has to be yours. The best first step to take is to look for the right fertility clinic to make sure that both of you as partners are sufficiently evaluated to check for all possible roots of infertility.

Moreover, it is also important that your fertility treatment clinic provides equal opportunities for male-focused treatments if it does turn out that your case involves male factor infertility. We, the most trusted IVF clinic in Davao, provide services such as testicular sperm extraction in the event that the man cannot provide a sample himself as well as have experienced urologists as part of our specialist team.

Whether man or woman, fertility definitely requires a lot of patience and support, for both sides. Before anything else, consult with your specialist and have you and your partner evaluated and start your journey from there.