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Archive for: www.mind-body-unity.com – Page 3

On Fertile Ground: Healing Infertility – Update

On Fertile Ground: Healing Infertility is being reprinted and may be temporarily unavailable from Amazon.  You can still get it through my publisher, www.createspace.com/3452243 and you can still get the Kindle edition on Amazon.

Reviewers have identified one of the bonuses of this book, namely that people who are not dealing with infertility benefit as well.  Comments like “You don’t have to be infertile to appreciate many of the chapters in this book.” or “On Fertile Ground had something that everyone could relate to” or “You encourage and uplift the reader with real life examples of personal growth …” or “great writing with humor to lighten it up. It also could be read by men just as easily as women.”

That being said, infertility patients might be curious how the vast topic of infertility is handled in this book.  So here it is:

Preface     – You can feel inspired to grow from adversity

Chapter 1 – You can be hopeful

Chapter 2 – You can turn the tables on the way this unwanted change impacts you

Chapter 3 – You can maintain intimacy despite the impact on your relationship

Chapter 4 – You can manage friendships and family and assuage feelings of isolation

Chapter 5 – You can manage depression and anxiety

Chapter 6 – You can learn mind/body coping skills

Chapter 7 – You can experience the power of self-hypnosis

Chapter 8 – You can honor the mystery and invite the miracle

Chapter 9 – You can deepen self-awareness

Chapter10 – You can gain from the pain – believe it or not!

Chapter11 – You can give birth to a new, improved you

Probability of Pregnancy by Age

Women who are hovering around the age of 40 find the statistics that report the diminished chances of pregnancy at that age to be a real sore spot.  Medical specialists feel a certain obligation to put forth the glum statistics and offer the option of donor eggs without considering the readiness of the patient.  This position is not illogical from the medical point of view.  The trouble is, it is unhelpful to women who want to give themselves a chance – not only to achieve a pregnancy, but to do it with their own eggs.  Women resent being told that they’re too old when they feel in the prime of their lives.  And this medical position also raises levels of anxiety and depression which intensifies mind/body tension which can work at cross-purposes when you want to maintain physical and emotional receptivity to a pregnancy.

In my many decades of supporting couples in the infertility challenge, I am inclined to support the hope of those who have lowered ovarian reserve.  After all, if you do conceive, then your chances were not the grim 2% or 10% or whatever, but 100%!

Furthermore, accepting an unwanted reality after doing everything in your power to achieve a conception either naturally or with IVF, allows the flow of an evolutionary process.  Evolution is the key word.  While the intentions of medical specialists are likely good, it is a mistake to push patients into these choices before they achieve readiness.  Ovum donation needs to be embraced – not seen as a consolation prize.  The same can be said for adoption or the choice to live child-free.

For a recent article on this subject, click here.

Recommended Article: But What About The Men?

Infertility has a way of challenging relationships.  Ladies might enjoy reading this article and encouraging their partners to look at it, too.  Especially if you’re at the beginning of your journey, this article written by the husband from the vantage point of having twin boys would at least provide a map that is honest, realistic and hopeful. http://www.independent.ie/health/but-what-about-the-men-2830177.html

Blog Recommendation: Surrogacy 101

I have the pleasure of being a guest blogger today on Surrogacy 101. This meaningful blog has been created by Sharon LaMothe, Co-Founder of Infertility Answers, Inc. Sharon is also the creator of The Third Party blog. Sharon is an Assisted Reproductive Business Consultant, Surrogacy Guide & Third Party Family Building Educator & Advisor and serves as a valuable resource for those who are looking for alternative ways to create their families, whether through gestational surrogacy, traditional surrogacy, using an egg or sperm donor or even embryo donation.

Sharon is also a Co-Founder of Egg Donor & Surrogacy Professional Association and currently holds the Surrogacy Chair. She is also an Advisor of the OBGYN.net Women’s Health Forum and serves on the Parents Via Egg Donation Advisory Board as well as being a member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine and the Mental Health Professional Group.

I invite you to visit Sharon’s website and blogs as you’ll find she shares a wealth of information and resources to assist you in making an informed decision about third party reproduction.

Attitude

Below is an inspirational quote from Charles R. Swindoll.  It is a real challenge to maintain a positive attitude when in an infertility struggle.  You certainly have a right to feel like dog poo, but you have a choice not to.  Mind/Body coping skills are a sure-fire approach to learning how to respond to the stress of infertility rather than be reactive to it.  Opportunities for growth abound, yet it is understandable that you would be in no mood to do anything except bemoan your fate.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you … we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

If you want to read stories about how others who traversed the infertility journey changed their attitude and learned to respond to the stress, get a hold of my book, On Fertile Ground: Healing Infertility.  You will see how mind/body techniques can change everything, leaving you feeling back in control of your life.

Don’t Worry, Stress Is Not The Problem

Studies say stress is a symptom, not the cause of infertility. I was interviewed for yesterday’s article in the Healthy Manhattan Section of The New York Press and invite you to read it here: Don’t Worry, Stress Is Not The Problem.

Be sure to share The Baby Manifest-OTM Blog with family and friends who would benefit from infertility and mind/body support. I can be reached directly at 212-758-0125 or through the contact page on my website at www.mind-body-unity.com.