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Three years ago, when my husband and I decided we wanted to start a family, I turned to a close friend for advice. I was aware that the window for conception in any given month was quite small and didn?t want to waste time leaving things up to chance. I considered my friend an expert. I knew that she got pregnant on her first try with her first child and that her second came equally as easy. She happily gave me her tips on getting the timing right in exchange for the promise that she would be among the first to know if we were successful.
But we weren?t successful. Not the first month. Not the first year. And not the first time we tried a fertility treatment?the day after which, that same friend confided in me that she was pregnant with her third, and this time it was an accident (albeit a welcome one). Infertility is an isolating experience that can be difficult to understand if you haven?t been through it. While most women under age 35 are able to get pregnant without medical assistance within the first year, one in six couples will experience infertility.
If you are among the fertile majority and ankle-deep in the chaos of parenting a young family, maintaining connections with friends who are struggling to conceive?let alone figuring out how to be supportive?can be challenging. From wanting to share your excitement about your baby to needing someone to commiserate with about 3 a.m. feedings, you are understandably becoming more and more immersed in th...