Infertility can be a lonely, daunting and overwhelming place. It can be incredibly difficult to tell others and hard, for those who have never experienced such pain, to fully understand. Thankfully, there’s now an incredibly strong and scintillating community of women, and men, speaking out. Raising issues, breaking taboos and offering much needed, invaluable, support.
There are a whole range of beautifully honest, open and informative blogs out there covering a whole host of infertility issues and situations which arise. I’ve started, very slowly I’m afraid, to compile an, ever growing, list of resources, which will hopefully be useful and offer varying insights, and encouragement, into the many, differing infertility roads others have taken, and are still travelling along.
I absolutely love Jay Palumbo’s blog The 2 Week Wait which is definitely worth a read whether you’re fighting with infertility or not. I’d also recommend Mish Slade’s The Duff, in which she attempts to make sense of everything IVF related – Not an easy task!
If you’re looking for all things infertility then delve into the world of The Stirrup Queens; Mel’s Blog Roll and Blog Round Up have some of the most in-depth coverage of all aspects of infertility that I’ve come across. For the sciencey side of things look no further than Inside IVF, one of my favourite fertility sites. Run by embryologists, it explores the science behind assisted reproduction providing easy to understand explanations which are incredibly informative and mind-blowing.
It’s definitely worth taking a look at online fertility magazine; IVF Babble, and their Fertility Buddy app. Another on my list is Fertility Smarts – especially their incredibly in-depth dictionary which helps fathom the overwhelming amount of acronyms, medical terms and phrases banded about in the world of infertility.
And if blogs aren’t really your scene then perhaps try a podcast. I’d advise taking a listen to Natalie Silverman’s brilliant The Fertility Podcast. You might also be interested in Babywall, a two-part drama about a couple undergoing fertility treatments. It’s already been a stage production and is now available for you to listen to here.
For a truly breath-taking view of embryos, hatching, thawing and throughout all the different stages, then I’d highly recommend following IVF_Explained on Instagram. This account, set up by an embryology lab director and fertility consultant, completely blew me away, reminding me of the sheer beauty of medical science, whilst also raising and discussing hugely important IVF topics.
I’ll finally point you in the direction of Fertility Network UK, a wonderful charity, which I have the honour of volunteering for, and is there for anyone who has ever experienced fertility problems. And lastly, The Dovecote, an organisation which is run by the truly inspirational Kelly, and offers a wonderful network of support to those who live with involuntary childlessness.
For anyone who has suffered miscarriage and / or ectopic pregnancy, then Tommy’s and The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust offer compassionate support, guidance and advice.
If you write your own infertility blog then please don’t hesitate to contact me and I can add you to my resources list. Alternatively, if you’re a visitor and want to let other readers know about some of the blogs that have helped you, please also get in touch. My aim is to, slowly but surely, build up a space where anyone at any stage of their infertility journey can come and find support, compassion and advocacy.
The Cuckoo Mama 