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A survival guide for surviving the two week wait

The “two week wait” can often be a very stressful time for women who are trying to conceive. The two week wait is the time between ovulation and when the next period should occur.  This is the time when women are waiting to find out if they are pregnant.

For many women the two week wait can be stressful and worrisome. Throughout the treatment cycle you are kept busy with appointments, blood draws, sonograms, and other distractions that that help to keep your mind busy. During the two week wait, many women have more time to think about what the cycle outcome may be.  Many women’s minds are circling with the questions, “What if I am not pregnant?”  “What will my doctor recommend next?”, “Can I afford it – emotionally and financially?”…

There are many strategies that can help you to make the two week wait a little less stressful and easier to get through.

Keeping busy is an important way to help lower your anxiety during the two week wait.  Time always seems to go by a little bit slower when we are anxious or excited about something.  Keeping busy will help pass the time because it keeps your mind focused on something else.  Some ideas to help pass the time would be to:  plan a fun date or outing with your spouse or partner, plan a trip to the movie theater or rent movies, read a book, take a day trip, go for a leisurely walk, or plan a night out with your girlfriends

Another important thing to help make the two week wait less stressful is to try not to consume your day with thoughts about which pregnancy symptoms you are or are not having.  It is important to know that you are very early in pregnancy when you draw your pregnancy test and it is not uncommon to not have any pregnancy symptoms at all.  Many of the symptoms that you may feel such as tender breasts, tiredness, etc. may be caused by the hormones that you are taking or hormones that are naturally found around the time that you would start a menstrual cycle.  It is well known that the graphs of hormone levels found near the end of a menstrual cycle in women who are pregnant and those who are not are virtually identical.

It is important to find support during the two week wait from others who understand what you are going through.  Infertility is a stressful and emotional process and it is important to find someone who can relate to your feelings.  You can find support through local support groups or online support groups, and you can also talk to a counselor who specializes in infertility. These entities can all help you develop ways to cope with the emotions and stress of the infertility process as a whole.

Finally, it is important to do things that help you relax during a period of time where you may have a lot of nervous energy and worry. Going for light walks is an excellent way to reduce stress and also get a little bit of exercise too.  You can do acupuncture and many women do deep breathing techniques and meditation to help during this time and any other stressful time in their lives. Reading a book can also help you to relax and take you mind off of things.

The two week wait can be a time that can be worrisome and stressful for many women attempting pregnancy.  The stress is increased for many when infertility is involved.  There are many things that you can do to help survive the two week wait and make this time period more productive and less stressful.

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