Infertility, Loss and Survivors Guilt—012
June 5th, 2017 · 1 hr 5 mins
About this Episode
Rebekah knew early on that her inability to get pregnant wasn't just a fluke that would easily pass. And as time went on and testing didn't reveal anything clear, they were left without a lot of hope or clarity as they began to explore options.
She went through a long season where coping with the continual disappointment and pain was incredibly hard to deal with. This was time was also hard on her relationship with her husband. Facing this was so raw and she had a hard time reaching out to friends and family, leading to finding amazing support through online communities for infertility.
1 round of Clomid and 4 rounds of IUI later, they weren't any closer to their hoped for child. At the point that they were considering IVF, after almost 5 years of trying to get pregnant, Rebekah randomly decided to take a pregnancy test and found out she was pregnant. Completely shocked by this outcome, Rebekah then entered the overwhelming and unfamiliar territory of navigating pregnancy and dealing with survivors guilt among the infertility support groups she had been a big part of over the years.
Rebekah ultimately had a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby - but you won't want to miss the story of her long, challenging and unmedicated labor!
In This Episode:- Why Infertility is like being at the craps table with a 20 sided die
- It doesn't help to tell someone "just relax and it'll happen"
- How hard it is on a relationship to be constantly in this cycle of hope and disappointment
- You never know who's going to show up for you
- Dealing with "Survivors Guilt" when you do finally get pregnant
- How hearing "If you two really want to be parents you can be parents" was at first frustrating but later comforting
- Why she wanted to have an unmedicated birth after years of infertility
- How having a baby made her feel really dependent and vulnerable, which she was not used to