So you are trying for a baby? You are planning the name, interior of the baby’s room, taking pregnancy test every month … meanwhile the thrilling nights in your bedroom do not bring the result you are dreaming about. You wonder what next. Right! If after one year of unprotected regular sexual intercourse (3-5 times a week) the pregnancy doesn’t appear, you need a medical advice. And many tests to find out what the cause of the problem is. When the specialists have already made the diagnosis, you need to take the decision if and how you want to be treated. You take an attempt at in vitro fertilisation … For every infertile couple coping with the awareness that there is a problem, as well as with the difficult, complex and expensive treatment process is quite a challenge.
The couples starting the IVF program at INVICTA can take advantage of the free of charge psychological consultations. “What is this for, we don’t need it” – you think at first. But all these painstaking tests and subsequent IVF stages can have impact on your relationship, level of stress, fatigue and well-being. A talk to the specialist, who will not assess you but will make you take a different look at the situation, can change a lot. You will together what your attitude to the treatment is at its beginning, what you need from each other, what emotions infertility and IVF arouses in you, what it is that you are willing to accept and you can accept in the course of treatment.
A healthy spirit means a healthy body – it’s no news that the psychical condition of both partners can have impact on the ability to conceive a child. In the case of IVF, sometimes too high level of stress may be the barrier to achieving the long-awaited pregnancy. Our body, exposed to constant stress, activates a number of defence reactions which alter our physiology. And this is as true for women, as for men. In men, stress inhibits the spermatogenesis (that is, creation of healthy sperm cells), and in women it is the cause of ovulation disorders. During the IVF process, the quality of egg cells and semen is very important, so it is worth thinking about taking more care about yourselves when you prepare to IVF procedure. Including that what goes on in your minds…
If you have been trying for a baby for a longer time or you have already experienced a failure with IVF, you can feel anxious, guilty, angry, resigned or sad. All these feelings, although natural, may negatively affect the quality of life and your relationship. So, what can you do about it? As surprising as it may sound, sometimes it is worth taking a break and trying to focus on something other than the IVF program in which you participate. Instead of browsing fora for another portion of information, go together for a walk, spend together an evening, make love not thinking that you must conceive a baby. Talk a lot to each other, and if it is not easy, visit a psychologist. This will not discredit you, but create an occasion for personal development and getting to know each other better. With open attitudes and discussion you can understand each other better and you will go through the treatment easier. Appearances notwithstanding, IVF and the psychologist have much in common.
