Psychology
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This webcast was originally recorded on May 16th, 2010 as part of the fourth annual Canadian Infertility Awareness Week. McGill's Dr. Janet Takefman, and IAAC's director Beverly Hanck outline important strategies and available resources that will help you when facing infertility's emotional roller-coaster.
Child free by chance: Moving On - Winter 2008
"How many kids do you have?" I'm sure many of you who are about to read this article cringe when I pose this common question we are all faced with in just about every social situation. I used to rehearse so that my emotions would stay in check while answering. I came up with some beauties such as "Well, I have two cats that keep me busy," or "We haven't found the instruction book yet!"...
Coping with the Holiday Season
Coping with the Holiday Season
Donor Insemination: The needs of the Children - Spring 2007
One of the issues that has been debated for many years is the question whether children conceived by DI (or any other type of gamete donation) have the need to know about their conception and their biological origins. In the last years, this question has been debated from psychological, social, medical and legal viewpoints and an increasing number of professionals nowadays support information sharing. I will not go into these debates, but describe why, from a child’s perspective, I also support information sharing and why I consider it important that this need of children is fulfilled.
Donor Insemination: The Needs of the Couple - Winter 2010
As a social worker and family therapist, I have been working with couples using donor insemination (DI) to build their families for over 15 years. I have counselled couples before, during and after treatment, and together with Ken Daniels from New Zealand, conducted educational seminars. Though I live and work in Germany, where both the culture and legislation regarding DI is different from Canada, many of the issues I explore and raise with couples and families are likely to be very similar. This first of two articles will focus on the needs of couples. It will be followed by an article on the needs of children in the next edition of this magazine.
Erectile Dysfunction and Infertility - Fall 2005
Erectile Dysfunction and Infertility
Omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs) are an important dietary supplement. A healthy balance of omega-3 EFAs in your diet can provide many health benefits, improve your mood and may even boost your fertility.
Everything you need to know about stress and fertility - Summer 2006
Most people think stress interferes with fertility, and there is good cause to have this belief. First, the mind and reproductive organs inhabit the same body, and that body houses a multitude of complex interconnections including those linking the hormonal systems responsible for stress and the reproductive response
What's in a word?
Helping Your Friends and Family to Help You
When you are experiencing infertility, your loved ones can be an invaluable source of support and comfort. However, not everyone knows how to respond to your experience, and it’s a rare infertility patient who has not been hurt by someone’s comment or action.
Infertility Treatment for Non-Traditional Families - Spring 2007
During this festive season, many thoughts turn to recognized cultural and religious traditions which dominate the written and broadcast media at this time of year. These traditions are also often associated with family – which traditionally consists of a man, married to a woman, and their children. The father is the provider and the mother stays at home to raise their normally conceived biological children.
Intimate Partner Violence and Infertility - Spring 2008
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as the abuse of power within relationships of family that endangers the survival, security or well-being of another person. IPV includes behaviours such as physical abuse, psychological abuse, harassment, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, and spiritual abuse (Government of Alberta, 2007). While we largely refer to women in this article, the incidence of IPV for men is nearly as high as with women.
Journey of Desire: Sexuality and the infertile woman - Summer 2007
Throughout history, female sexuality has either been celebrated or suppressed. Celebration of female sexuality was evident with the fertility goddesses of ancient civilizations, the Kama Sutra, and for those of us who remember, the glorious sexual revolution of the nineteen sixties! In turn, suppression has occurred by forced modesty and chastity.
A Report from the European Society for Reproductive Health and Embryology (ESHRE)
Mind Matters: Same Sex Couples - Winter 2006
Mind Matters: Same Sex Couples
MInd Matters: When is enough, enough? - Spring 2007
For the most part I agreed with this opinion until he added that for some couples they needed to do 10-20 IVF cycles before they could accept that treatment would not work. That’s when I interrupted and suggested that in such cases his clinic was in fact impeding the grieving process by colluding with the couple that they still had a chance with repeated attempts. The question of: “When is enough enough?” or when to stop treatment for one’s genetic child is a question that every fertility clinic and patient is confronted with.
Mind Matters: Depression and Fertility - Summer 2006
When I think of the mind-body interaction, I immediately think of the impact depression has on fertility and pregnancy as a classic example of this duality. We all know depression is a common outcome of infertility.
Mind Matters: Does the doctor know best? - Spring 2006
I know for sure that the longer I work on the psychological aspects of infertility, the more I realize how much we don’t know. For example, does stress really lower one’s chances of conceiving? This past year, two studies came out of Europe with seemingly opposite conclusions.In
Mind Matters: Emotional Trauma and Phobias in Infertility Patients - Summer 2008
People experiencing infertility encounter many painful emotions. Most of these feelings make sense in the context of the uncertainty and sadness of waiting for a baby and bitter disappointment when treatments are not successful. Some people, however, experience very strong emotions that seem extreme or out of context. These feelings of extreme fear or distress may be associated with emotional trauma.
Mind Matters: If Men want to be Supportive, Why do they feel so helpless? - Winter 2008
When a couple experiences infertility, the man is often at least as upset about her upset as he is about the infertility itself. Seeing his partner so unhappy profoundly affects him and can make him feel very helpless. He wants to help and comfort her, but often doesn’t know how.
Mind Matters: Infertility as a loss of control - Winter 2007
The losses associated with infertility are numerous and complex. Those having difficulty conceiving may experience loss of privacy, the potential loss of a genetic tie to one’s child, loss of self-confidence, status in the family or community, loss of “membership in the club” with friends who are having babies, and loss of spontaneity in their sex lives. The loss felt most keenly, though, by many infertility patients is loss of control.
Mind Matters: Infertility Patients Want Twins and Triplets - Fall 2007
Patients undergoing fertility treatments often express a desire for twins so they can “get it over with” and create their family all at once without having to access fertility treatments and draw out the emotional ordeal. Older women especially may hope to complete their families in one go, before their reproductive capacity wanes. Couples with financial struggles often wish to have twins; they may want more than one child but cannot afford more than one IVF cycle.
Mind Matters: Is it Depression or Grief? - Winter 2010
We tend to use the word “depression” to describe feelings of sadness. However, not all sadness is necessarily “depression.” One author says the word “depression” has come to have two meanings in our everyday language. One is the clinical meaning, the description of a psychological condition. The other is a non-clinical meaning, where the word “depression” is commonly used to describe an emotional state of feeling sad or low. Since the symptoms of depression and grief are much the same, it can be very difficult to differentiate.
Mind Matters: Is Optimism Necessary for Successful Fertility Treatment Outcomes? - Spring 2008
If you are experiencing infertility, you have likely often been advised to “Think positive!” and “Be optimistic!” If you don’t (or can’t) muster up optimism or positive feelings, if you have an emotionally dark day, you may worry that you may be sabotaging your treatment.
The forgotten constituents
Patient's Perspective - Winter 2006
For my husband and I, Christmas Eve is the anniversary when we discovered another failed IVF cycle.
Psychological Issues in Male Factor Infertility - Fall 2008
Infertility is a major life crisis for any couple or individual. As most mental health professionals in this field know, infertility and its treatment are extremely stressful, causing such serious psychological reactions as anxiety, depression, social isolation, sexual problems, marital discord and feelings of unworthiness. In turn, these reactions will negatively influence an individual’s personal, interpersonal, social and occupational functioning.
Psychosocial aspects Multi-fetal Pregnancy Reduction - Fall 2006
Psychosocial Aspects of Multi-fetal Pregnancy Reduction
Putting Out the Welcome Mat - (Spring 2010)
by Theresa Barry Longley, RN, MSN
It’s a popular stereotype that men hate going to the doctor. Social scientists like Don Sabo and Will Courtenay have found in their research that men are less willing to seek help during illnesses, never mind when they’re well. But research has also shown that men die sooner than women regardless of the age, have a higher risk of infectious diseases, heart disease, cancers, more severe chronic illnesses, and more serious psychiatric illnesses...
Regulating the Transfer of Multiple Embryos
Regulating the Transfer of Multiple Embryos
Surviving Infertility - Fall 2005
...When I was a child, I was told that I would get married, become a mother and have a husband to take care of me. I did marry and I have a husband, (we take care of each other), but I didn’t become a mother. I became aware of my infertility problem at the age of 28, after two years of marriage. I was referred for a second opinion and began the usual workup...
Teens in the Dark about their Reproductive Health - Fall 2009
Do young people already know enough from sex education classes, the Internet, and all the other resources available to today’s generation? According to a recent Canadian study, the answer is a resounding “No!”
The Emotional Impact of Miscarriage - Summer 2008
Miscarriage is a cruel twist of fate. The reality of death before birth is an affront to our beliefs and expectations regarding the cycle of life. For those who have not had the personal experience of miscarriage it is all too often misunderstood by family, friends and society in general. People tend to minimize its personal significance and emotional relevance to the woman or couple going through this experience.
The Gift of Mindfulness through Fertility Challenges - Winter 2010
You may be hearing the word mindfulness more and more these days. Many people ask me, "What exactly is mindfulness?" By the time you finish reading this article, you will have had a firsthand experience of mindfulness and you’ll better understand how you can use it to ease anxiety or other negative emotions throughout your fertility journey. Before we begin I would like you to ask yourself, within your mind and body, "What's happening now?"
The Impact of Depression on Fertility and Pregnancy - (Spring 2010)
by Janet Takefman, PhD
When I think of the mind-body interaction, I immediately think of the impact depression has on fertility and pregnancy as a classic example of this duality. We all know depression is a common outcome of infertility. The crisis of infertility is characterized by four factors that make it a prime circumstance for the development of depression: it is unpredictable and unexpected, it is beyond one’s ability to reverse once it has occurred, it is chronic and unremitting, and it has life-altering ramifications...
The Male Patient's Perspective
Infertility and IVF - The Male Patient's Perspective
The Naturopathic View Coping with winter blues: Improving your mood the natural way - Winter 2006
Coping With Winter Blues
The Stress and Distress of Infertility: Does religion help women cope? - Winter 2006
Patients with strong religious faith, studies show, sustain medical crises with better outcomes than those who do not hold strong spiritual beliefs or maintain religious practices.
The Stress/Infertility Connection - Fall 2009
If I had a dollar for every patient who came to me in tears because her mother-in-law (or colleague, or aunt, or well-meaning friend) told her to “just relax” and she would get pregnant, I would be able to be cheerful in these challenging economic times. The fact is that there is a widely held belief that tension causes infertility and that relaxation cures it.
The Worst Thing about Infertility
A U.K. survey of over a thousand workers sought to determine which life events were hardest to deal with. The top four most difficult life events were, in this order, miscarriage, death of a loved one, serious illness, and infertility.
For Children of Donor-Assisted Parents, Learning the “Facts of Life” Can Make All the Difference
What have you got to be positive about?
It will come as no surprise to you that research shows it is upsetting and stressful to have difficulty conceiving, and that fertility treatment and the outcomes of treatment can be demanding too. In one study, 42% of infertile men and women were as anxious as people with an anxiety disorder, and 12% were as depressed as people with clinical depression.
What's It Like to be Multiples? - Insight from dizygotic twins
Individuality has been one aspect of human life that is taught from the earliest stages of comprehension: you are unique, you are special, and there is no one else like you. But, as all multiples and parents of multiples know - it’s a little different when you have twins!...
What's Love Got to do With It? - Winter 2008
Ever since Tara was a girl, she dreamt of getting married and having a family. When she married her husband, Trevor, they had discussed children and both agreed that they wanted two, maybe even three, if they could afford it. Tara and Trevor waited about two years before starting their family, to give themselves enough “couple time” before the disruption and sacrifice of having kids. After several months of trying, they wondered whether something might be wrong.
When It's His Infertility - Winter 2005
Shock, denial, anger, grief – infertility’s emotional impact involves the “whole man”
Why Do So Few Couples Seek Infertility Treatment? - Fall 2007
We know that parenthood is one of the most desired goals in adulthood, and that most people have life plans that include children. However, since surprisingly few seek medical advice for fertility problems, one of our research goals was to understand this inconsistency.