STEP 5 – Nurture Your Body, Mind and Soul
IVF IS GRUELLING!! It’s tough on you physically, emotionally and mentally. No matter how healthy your body and mind are, fertility treatment will have an impact on you; you just need to know how to deal with it so that the impact is not ‘negative’.
Your busy… You are juggling work, your partner, your friends and family. Your backwards and forwards to your Doctor, the hospital, pathology, the clinic; it just never stops. Then you try to have a life in your ‘spare time’ when you think you may finally have some. And if you do get some free time, do you have the mental or physical energy to put any effort into anything else??
Your treatment can consume you if you let it; so DONT! You need to remember that your treatment does not define you, it isn’t your everything, (although sometimes it seems like there is nothing else), it is merely a part of what makes up you and your life at the moment.
I want you to think about your life BEFORE fertility treatment. Think about your hobbies, interests, sport, all the activities you enjoyed doing. What made you happy,? What made you laugh? What made your relax? What made you feel good? Find your ‘feel good’ again.
For me it was exercise & Natural therapies. I had always been fit and healthy and exercise was part of my life. I loved walking, kickboxing, going to the gym and swimming among other things. I didn’t stop doing any of these activities when I started IVF as they not only took my mind off trying to have a baby, they helped me emotionally and physically deal with my treatment. I used exercise as a form of stress relief and to help maintain my mental health.
About 5 years into my journey, I discovered another form of stress relief…acupuncture. I began seeing a Naturopath after my 13th failed IVF cycle. Until then I’d relied 100% on modern medicine, but I thought it was time to look ‘outside the square’. I began having regular acupuncture and taking herbal and Homeopathic medicine. I knew I still needed IVF, but I wanted to complement it with more traditional and holistic methods. The benefits for me were almost instant. I had more energy, I had ‘clarity’, the foggy bubble that had been around my head was gone. I wasn’t as tired as I had been previously and I actually felt like I had a spring in my step.
Now, I don’t expect you all to run out and join the gym, take up yoga or make an appointment with a Naturopath, but its important you find what makes you feel good. It might be as simple as a walk along the beach, coffee with friends, reading a book; it really doesn’t matter as long as it make you happy and is about YOU and not your treatment.
It is also important to remember that you are creating an environment for a baby to grow and develop. I can’t imagine a better place for an embryo to take form than in a space that is calm, relaxed, happy and positive. What is the alternative? An environment that is anxious, emotional, highly strung, expecting the worst… I know where I would rather be if I was an embryo 
I understand that we are all busy, but I want you to make an effort to go back to doing the things you enjoy. Sit and watch the ocean, look up at the stars, read a book, have coffee with the girls, go see a movie, do a yoga class.
Find time. Make time. You will reap the rewards in one way or another.
This post was written by Jenni Salisbury, author of ‘Little Blessings’ – A story of my battle with infertility and the quest for a family. The book is available for purchase from this site in both paperback and e-Book. Jenni is available for interviews and public speaking engagements on request.
