I had the opportunity to attend the American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting that was held in Denver Colorado this year. It was an incredible opportunity to be a part of. I always leave the meeting with my head spinning with all of the information I have learned and all of new projects I want to try to complete.
I attended a roundtable meeting where a small group of professionals from doctors to nurses to counselors get to discuss a specific topic. I attended the session that’s primary focus was on support groups for couples coping with infertility. This is something I am very passionate about. Infertility is so overwhelming and it is easy to assume that you are the only one that it is affecting when in truth your friends could be dealing with similar experiences. It is something that people in general just do not talk about.
It was interesting to see how many different centers are considering starting a support group for patients having fertility issues. Texas Fertility Center was the only office, out of those that were represented, that already had a support group directly through the office. I got to share my experiences with our support group at Texas Fertility Center and how beneficial it has become for patients to realize that they are not alone. Patients are able to connect with others who have similar circumstances and are all hoping to achieve the same goal of having a healthy baby. I also left with many new ideas to try to implement into our support group to help make it more successful than it already is.
It was a unanimous conclusion from the discussion at the meeting that Support Groups are important for helping patients throughout the infertility process and it is my hope that more practices will consider offering a support group directly through their offices. It is instrumental in helping patients develop a network of others that can relate to what they are experiencing emotionally, mentally, and physically.
At our next meeting we will be having a fertility yoga instructor, who has struggled with infertility herself, teach us how to decrease stress using some Yoga techniques for relaxation. With the holidays quickly approaching, we thought this would be the perfect time to have her join us. We will of course have time for reflection and of course discussion with your new friends.
We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting and helping you make friends through the fertility process. Click here for more information about the support group.
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