Fertility & Perinatal Counselling

We might have grown up with the illusion that as soon as you are ready to become a parent, it will happen according to plan. In the beginning of one’s journey to parenthood/caregiving, there may have been so much joy and excitement for the anticipation of pregnancy. As months or years go by, these feelings may have transitioned to hopelessness, despair, anxiety, and frustration.

The emotions that surround fertility decisions are real and can feel overwhelming at times. Perhaps your journey requires invasive fertility treatments such as IVF or miscarriage supports. Perhaps you’re pregnant and feeling anxious all the time about the well-being of your little one. Perhaps you experienced birth trauma and now your birthing journey looks different than what you expected. Whether you are struggling with infertility, pregnancy loss, birth trauma or postpartum depression or anxiety, we are here to support you.

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Common Experiences of Infertility and Pregnancy Loss

  • Feeling alone or isolated in your experience

  • Feeling overwhelmed by fertility treatments and decisions

  • Feelings of grief, overwhelming sadness or emptiness

  • Feelings of depression, including feeling physically weak, numb, unmotivated or thoughts of self-blame

  • Feelings of anxiety such as restlessness, muscle tension, racing thoughts or sleep disturbance

  • Feeling of anger at yourself, others, or the medical system

  • Difficulty relating to your partner, friends or family

Common Experiences of Postpartum Depression and Anxiety

  • Unwanted or scary thoughts

  • Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or hopelessness

  • Outbursts of crying or strong feelings of sadness, anger, or resentment

  • Excessive worry or fear (often related to the baby’s health)

  • Sleep deprivation and difficulty sleeping (beyond the normal disruptions that come with being a new parent/caregiver)

  • Withdrawing from family and friends or the inability to connect with your partner

  • Thoughts of death or suicide

  • Difficulty integrating a traumatic birth experience: flashback memories, nightmares, numbness, feeling like you are detached from your body, or an avoidance of any trigger that may remind you of the scary experience

How We Can Help

The journey to parenthood/caregiving is a transformational experience which affects our physical, emotional, social and spiritual selves. The experience can be empowering, exciting, scary or even traumatic. Here is how we can help and what counselling might involve:

  • Identify and work through fears and triggers (such as medical examinations, family expectations or experiencing pain)

  • Develop tools to help you feel grounded, safe and calm during the fertility treatment/birth process

  • Explore feelings of sadness, anger, isolation, hopelessness, shame or guilt to help minimize symptoms of anxiety and depression

  • Develop a healthy relationship with your body

  • Process traumatic or disappointing fertility/birth experiences

  • Support you through processing loss (such as loss of imagined pregnancy, loss of relationships altered by infertility, loss of one’s ability to conceive, pregnancy loss, and stillbirth)

Resources