If it is your wish is to be a parent, the choices you make today will affect the odds of you actually having a little one in your home one year from now. The concept of our decisions affecting our future is true of anything in life. However, in difficult matters such as infertility, it is very easy to fall into the trap of emotional paralysis when you should really be focusing on correct decision-making. True, the heartbreak of infertility can be overwhelming for many reasons. However, in life, while we can’t always control our feelings, we CAN control our actions, so it becomes of utmost importance for every infertile couple to concentrate on making the right choices, despite the temptation to let emotions rule.
Everybody’s personal case is different, of course, but one universal way of viewing the dilemma of infertility is that of AVOIDING MISTAKES. One mistake to avoid is that of inappropriately pursuing powerful, aggressive medical treatment when it is not necessary. For example, if you are 26 years old, try for three months and then decide to spend $14000 to do IVF, although this will likely result in you getting pregnant instantly, maybe even with twins, you have lost out on the chance to get pregnant naturally and will likely have spent that money unnecessarily. The opposite mistake is to NOT take advantage of available treatment options when they in fact ARE necessary. For example, if you are 35 and have been trying for 10 years and you only get your period twice a year, by allowing your sadness to paralyze you and thereby not seek treatment, you run the danger of passing up your best reproductive years and winding up permanently childless. So how do you determine the right decisions?
You have already successfully taken the first step by allocating some of your precious time today towards visiting this and other sites. There is a great collection of valuable information (and harmful misinformation) out there on the internet. Your task is to diligently evaluate and synthesize what’s out there and make up your own mind.
After gathering information and increasing your knowledge, the next step is to face the fact that you can’t escape having to make choices. Even if you decide in frustration to throw away your thermometer, ovulation kits and charts and just give up, that too is a choice in itself and can have important ramifications.
KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY:
- Now and in the future, remember to keep asking yourself on a regular basis, “What decisions do I need to make today, this week or this year to get what I want?”
- When gathering information, keep an open mind. Don’t rely solely on one source for your information and don’t get too set in your ways. If you find new information that contradicts your old beliefs, weigh the two sides objectively to see if you should change your opinion.
