Surviving Infertility: Self-care tips for women
Being a woman, you must have dreamt of being a parent, taking care of a baby or raising a child, and giving the child all the comforts of life. But when you go through fertility-related issues, it becomes difficult to handle yourself. You feel lonely and would have anxiety, stress, frustration, and insecurity.
In-vitro fertilization (IVF) is an effective technique for infertile couples to become parents. In this process, the matured eggs are collected from the ovaries and fused with sperm to get fertilized in the lab. After that, the fused egg and sperm are placed in the womb of the woman's body. This process has brought happiness to the lives of many couples through a successful pregnancy.
You may go through difficult complications during IVF treatment that cannot be imagined or expressed. The painful nights, hormonal changes, heavy doses of medications, injections, checkups, tests, and body scans are tiring and sometimes depressive. All you need to focus on is self-care.
Self-care is not just a word. It is the essential thing that fills the life cycle of humans with enthusiasm, happiness, mindfulness, relaxation, and gratitude. This article will share ten self-care tips for infertility to control physical and mental health and enjoy the process with zero stress.
Top 10 Self Care Tips
1. Yoga and Meditation
Your body is a slave of your mind. The activity you do in a day depends on your mind. Yoga and meditation play an important role in soothing and functioning the brain and the body.
Yoga has that power that is beneficial for your overall health. It helps to stimulate the ovaries and uterus, making your groin and hips flexible and pliable. For couples who face difficulty conceiving, meditation can act as a miracle in such a situation. With the help of yoga and meditation, you can get rid of mood swings and hormonal imbalances. Meditation composes and calms your mind and helps you understand the scenario in a better way. Even when you are in your worst situation, meditation will not let you make the wrong decision.
According to research and studies, you can boost your fertility rate if you do 20 minutes of yoga and meditation. Some ordinary yogas that improve fertility and help you conceive naturally are- Corpse pose(Savasana), the Legs up the wall pose (Viparita Karani), Butterfly pose(Baddha Konasana).
Try yoga and meditation and give your life another chance to be happy and composed.
2. Prioritize yourself
Loving and prioritizing yourself is essential for a happy and satisfied life. Body checkups, tests, meditations, and appointments keep you consumed during IVF. Even if you are busy, do not forget to make yourself feel good. So from today, make a routine that you will give an hour to yourself in a day.
You can visit a park, plan a holiday, treat yourself, have a romantic dinner with your partner, body massages, pedicures, manicures, and do everything your heart desires. To make your pregnancy process successful and worthy, try to keep yourself happy.
3. Open up about your feelings and emotions.
Infertility brings stress, strain, fear of rejection, guilt, fear of losing, feeling judged, shame, jealousy, loss of confidence, and many other emotional feelings. You get tangled in the expectations both from inside and outside. The situation of infertility can be challenging to cope with and handle.
To overcome this emotional stress, the first thing you need to do is identify its causes. It is necessary to acknowledge what those feelings are about? From where are they taking the path? And what do those fears and anxieties mean to you?. Interrogating yourself about these feelings will make you understand your thought process and emotions. It will also make it easier for you to share them with someone who can help you genuinely.
You may even disclose your feelings and emotions with your partner and build a strong bond. Don't be afraid of people's judgment. Your happiness depends on your life, so do not feel ashamed of opening up your thoughts and emotions.
4. Give time to your favorites.
IVF is one of the most challenging things that a woman faces. During infertility, make yourself comfortable with these changes. Give time to your favorite things. If you like painting, join a coaching class. Go for a vacation if you need a long break. Try to do all those things that give you happiness within yourself. With this little happiness, you will feel alive and know the importance of yourself.
5. Connect with People
In this world, you are not the only person going through infertility. There are around 7.3 million people in the U.S who are experiencing infertility. Now you can imagine that you are not alone. Several people in the world are in the same pain as you are. Try to connect with them. A large community of people is always there for you to support and help. Don’t hesitate to build connections. Talk to them, join a self-care group and enjoy. Social relationships will help you lower your anxiety, sadness, and depression. Infertility hampers your emotional health a lot. So, Start communication and be happy.
6. Eat on time
Self-care is not only meant for mental health but also physical health. When you face infertility, you go through many challenges and hurdles in life. It is challenging to deal with mentally and emotionally. Your negligent behavior towards food makes you sick, ill, and in a devastating condition. Ensure that you do not skip your breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You need to focus on your diet plan and avoid junk and unhealthy foods that can cause infertility.
7. Read
Start reading books. The stress, difficulties, and disappointments you face as you overcome infertility can be staggering. So keep your brain busy for an hour every day. It can be a great exercise while dealing with emotional and mental health. Reading can be a great workout to improve and boost your memory function. It will help you focus and concentrate on a particular thing. If you do so right before bed, you may feel your mind relaxing and soothing. It also removes anxiety and promotes quality sleep.
Books have the power to transport your thoughts and take you to a new world just in a few minutes. It makes your tiresome, boring, and non-happy life a great one. It can be a great source of motivation that helps you to figure out your issues. A positive reading will boost your mood too. So grab a book now that you procrastinated to read someday.
8. Maintain a Diary or a Journal
Writing about three things every day about the things you are thankful for in life or being a part of it will help you view the positive aspects of your life. You must be handling innumerable problems in life, but when you maintain a journal, you make your life easy. Yes, your note can help you keep your heart and mind focussed on optimism. Start from today and give your heart a reason to feel good.
9. Schedule appointments with an acupuncturist or therapist
Do not forget to schedule your appointments with a therapist. Sometimes the high levels of anxiety and stress disorders can be unbearable to handle. At this point, acupuncture is the best option to improve your emotional regulations, mood swings, and overall feelings of well-being. Acupuncture also helps individuals who may be experiencing treatment-resistant depression. It is the safest therapy to get relief from the symptoms of depression. It stimulates the body areas that are responsible for emotion managing hormones.
10. Take the help of a fertility counselor
Counseling plays an essential role in dealing with infertility. With the help of a fertility counselor, you will be able to explore, understand and resolve issues related to infertility. According to research, women face difficulty in dealing with infertility compared to men. So, a Fertility counselor will help you overcome all the issues related to infertility. They will also help you keep the romance alive between the couples even if ups and downs are going on in the couple’s life.
Conclusion
Self-care is an important activity that helps you maintain and improve your mental, physical and emotional health. It is also known as a universal practice to make yourself feel refreshed and recharged. It helps you to be the best version of yourself.
In case of infertility, to deal with intolerable mental and emotional distress, self-care can be very beneficial for overcoming the problems. Women who go through these painful phases of life find it difficult to manage their personal and professional issues, kindly take care of yourself, do the things that make you laugh and smile. Self-care and self-pampering will help you tackle all life's issues.
Reference
https://www.lancastergeneralhealth.org/health-hub-home/2020/october/coping-with-infertility-selfcare-is-key/
https://ncfmc.com/12-self-care-tips-2019/?cn-reloaded=1
