Reproductive psychology and fertility counseling

The English language lacks the words to mourn an absence. For the loss of a parent, grandparent…or friend, we have all manner of words and phrases, some helpful some not. Still we are conditioned to say something, even if it is only "I'm sorry for your loss." But for an absence for someone who was never there at all, we are wordless to capture that particular emptiness. For those who deeply want children and are denied them, those missing babies hover like silent ephemeral shadows over their lives. Who can describe the feel of a tiny hand that is never held? Laura Bush, Spoken from the Heart, 2010. This was not how it was supposed to be. This was not what you dreamed it would be. And you don't know how it will end. It's okay if you don't know how to wrap your mind around your emotions. Be gentle with yourself for not totally having control of how you feel from moment to moment. Steve Wiens, Huffington Post, August 5, 2013. The dream of having a baby is deeply embedded in most cultures, religious traditions and throughout time. As much as Western culture has evolved to include numerous roles for women, having a child continues to be an important life goal for the majority of women of childbearing age. The majority of women and couples who desire to become pregnant will conceive naturally, have a successful pregnancy and experience the transition to parenthood. But for a minority of women, the desire to become pregnant will be met with frustration, failure and unexpected challenges. Additionally, for single women and men, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals, the quest for a family is increasingly available via the reproductive technologies but having a child is a labyrinth of individuals (donors and gestational carriers), medical staff, money and emotions navigated over time.