If a wish to have children is not fulfilled or only fulfilled very late, the waiting time for the desired child can become a psychological burden .
We’ll tell you the three biggest causes of psychological stress during the fertility period and ways to deal with them more easily.
Pressure of expectations when trying to have children
It’s perfectly normal for pregnancy to take a while to become pregnant. If it takes up to a year, doctors usually don’t see any indication that anything is wrong.
But as the one-year mark approaches, or even passes, the pressure of expectations on couples mounts ever more intensely. Impatience and longing are mixed with worry and self-doubt. Many women and men blame themselves because things just aren’t working out.
This self-imposed pressure leads to a negative spiral of dissatisfaction and can, in the long run, lead to rejection of one’s own body, which simply does not do what it is supposed to.
External pressure of expectations from others
But it’s not just you who puts increasing pressure on yourself; your environment also sometimes contributes to the psychological stress that comes with the waiting period, month after month. Especially when friends and family repeatedly ask about the status of things, whether it’s worked yet, or even offer caring, yet overwhelming, tips on what else you could try.
While these tips are certainly not meant to be malicious, they do increase the pressure immensely. The more tips couples with an unfulfilled desire to conceive have on their to-do list, the more likely they are to blame themselves and become trapped in a spiral of negative emotions.
Physical and psychological stress caused by fertility treatment
If a couple undergoes fertility treatment after a long wait or due to a medical indication, it is naturally extremely stressful, both psychologically and physically. Ongoing hormone treatments, constant monitoring, and financial challenges leave their mark on any couple.
Your tips for those affected?
Have you experienced a phase of unfulfilled desire to have children? What helped you?
Feel free to share it with other couples in the comments.
