Looking After Yourself During IVF
Starting your IVF treatment can make other challenges in your life seem easy. Fertility difficulties are among the most stressful that life can throw at you. Prospective mothers are frequently guilty of not putting themselves first during the process. Throwing yourself into the deep end without taking steps to look after your mental health is a big mistake.
Being Kind to yourself
The person who should be the kindest to you, is yourself. If you’re not being kind to yourself, you risk putting additional stress on your mental health throughout the IVF process. Self compassion is incredibly important. Self compassion can help you understand and process your emotions without feeling overwhelmed with negative thoughts. Try to avoid stressing about the stress itself and learn to understand what is causing the stress and what can be done about it.
You should aim to treat yourself as you would a friend. If your friend called you up and talked you through their emotions, you wouldn’t jump to judgement and criticism. Your reaction would probably be to help them through the stressful time and help them understand their emotions. Extend this same level of compassion to yourself. Think about your own emotions and how you would help your friend through them.
Lean on your support
If you’re lucky enough, you’ll have a few close friends and family that you can share your journey with. This tight nit support network can help you get through tricky times. It’s a very intimate time in your life so you don’t have to tell anyone about the journey. However, sharing your emotions can definitely help with self-care. You may also be surprised at just how supportive everyone is regarding fertility treatment.
Your partner is almost definitely feeling the same emotions of uncertainty and stress during the IVF journey. Talk with your partner to fully understand each other's emotions. If there’s anything each of you can be doing to make the other’s life better, let it be heard.
IVF specialists also offer counselling as a standard service within the UK. Take advantage of these services. Their specialists will know what to recommend and will have seen the same emotions across lots of future parents. They are passionate professionals who will want nothing more than to put your mind at ease and really help.
You are not alone
IVF is probably more common than you think. In 2021, 55,000 women in the UK had IVF treatment or DI (Donor Insemination). This means that there are thousands of women out there going through the same process and likely having very similar emotions. Try to connect with other prospective mothers or those that have had their baby. You can learn from their struggles and triumphs.
Below are some popular forums available for people struggling with infertility:
* Reddit's IVF Forum
* Mumsnet's Support Forum
* Netmum's IVF Forum
Practice self care and remember the goal
Self care is by far one of the most important things you can do during the IVF treatment. Treating yourself to things you would normally do before going through IVF can help keep normality in your life and take the focus off of stress. Going to the cinema, grabbing a coffee, taking those long baths are all things you should remember to treat yourself to.
Keeping the end goal in sight can help with short term stress. The less stress you experience the better it is for both your mental and physical health. Remembering why you’re going through the journey can help put stress into perspective.
IVF is a complex and unique journey for women that not a lot of people will experience. Try to look after yourself and remember: self care is not selfish, it’s essential!