The Relationships Between Anxiety Depression, Infertility and Miscarriage

Episode 121: So many of my clients say to me “I wish I’d found you sooner”. But that’s not what they mean, they mean they wish they had started practising the mind-body techniques that I share sooner so that they felt the relief earlier on in their fertility journey. Come and join my Thrive classes this week all of the replays are now live with instant access here www.embracefertility.co.uk/thrive

Episode 120: While waiting for your baby, does it feel like you're just spinning your wheels? Sometimes you are so overwhelmed and so scared that you can't even think straight, and so you're trying to make decisions and you're researching. You're on Dr Google, you're on Instagram and everyone's shouting at you and everyone's saying you need to do this to get pregnant, or you need to look at this, or this is the new wonder supplemental. Have you tried this? And you're like oh my word, like there's just so much out there. And then, on top of that, you're trying to stay positive, trying to stay in the vibe and it feels like this is impossible. And so you end up planning out and thinking about not just what you're doing now, this cycle, but what your plan B is. And actually, let's just get real, it's not plan B, is it? By this point, those of you that are listening to the Embrace Fertility podcast it's probably like plan J. Plan J all the other plans, a onwards, have not worked. We're now on plan J and then you're thinking about the plan after that and the plan after that and the plan after that, because that's what we're used to doing. Listen now for more.... Free class I mention here www.embracefertility.co.uk/free-class

Episode 119: “My fertility specialist wants me to do IVF next cycle but I don’t feel ready.” I hear this a lot as a fertility therapist and coach.  We can feel so anxious and overwhelmed when a fertility specialist or even our partner is pushing us to take the next step forward with treatment but we don’t feel ready.   In this episode I share three different mind-body techniques to allow you to make a decision from a place of confidence rather than fear.   I discuss how to decide when you should start or continue fertility treatment.  Resources mentioned:  www.embracefertility.co.uk/free-class www.embracefertility.co.uk/embrace www.embracefertility.co.uk/coaching  EFT Tutorial - www.embracefertility.co.uk/blog/eft-tapping-for-infertility-and-fertility/ The private grief of infertility and pregnancy loss - https://www.embracefertility.co.uk/blog/grief-of-infertility You can watch the YouTube version of this episode here:  https://youtu.be/req14lHnhTc Episode originally shared in 2022.

Episode 118: In this podcast episode I discuss the relationships between anxiety, depression, infertility and miscarriages. The studies, which I have included below, paint a very bleak picture. But there is much you can do to support your mental health and well-being while long-term trying to conceive. Two and a half million cycles of IVF are performed globally each year, yet fewer than a quarter of these are successful. Women undergoing infertility treatment experience the same level of stress, anxiety, and depression as women who have cancer, HIV, or heart disease. Research shows post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop in a third of women after miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy. Anxiety and depression rates are higher in women diagnosed with Endometriosis and PCOS. ​​Women suffering from depression, stress and anxiety are twice as likely to have problems conceiving, and women who have experienced at least one unsuccessful IVF cycle and had depressive symptoms before continuing IVF treatment experienced a lower success rate than women who did not experience depressive symptoms. Couples are more likely to stop trying to conceive, not commence or abandon treatment, due to emotional stress rather than financial constraints or a medical prognosis? Once you know the above it’s impossible to ignore the fact that if you are going through infertility, treatment or pregnancy loss YOU NEED TO PROTECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH There are so many studies showing that alleviating the symptoms of stress and anxiety improves quality of life and makes it easier for women to become pregnant. Join us for a FREE exclusive class next Sunday at 8.30pm GMT that will unveil the secrets to understanding the part your mental health plays in your fertility and maximise your chances of conceiving this year. ⁠ The Science Understand the science behind the mind-body link and how it impacts both your mental and physical health and therefore your fertility. The Studies Utilise the research and studies that show that prioritising your mental health while trying to conceive greatly improves quality of life and can double your chances of success. The Tools I’ll be sharing HOW to start practising techniques from Sunday to support yourself. https://www.embracefertility.co.uk/free-class

Episode 117: Podcast interview with Kevin the founder of The Man Cave a male infertility/mental health advocate. Today we are discussing male infertility and the importance of finding the right coping strategies and support. Kevin set up The Man Cave to share his story, to reach out to other men going through a similar journey and to help raise awareness of male infertility and mental health. In this episode: - Kevin shares his own personal journey of being told he was infertile 10 years ago - Micro-TESE, Sertoli cell-only Syndrome, donor sperm, IVF and ICSI - How Kevin helps men who suffer in silence by spreading awareness. Anxiety and depression "I’ve been angry, upset, lost and hurting for too long: it’s time to stand up and be counted. That’s when I decided to set up a page on Instagram called ‘The Mancave’ @them_ancave I want to help break the stigma around male infertility. Why should we suffer in silence?! I believe anxiety and depression go hand in hand with fertility issues, and I honestly believe men have taken their own lives due to the fact they have had very little or no help or support after being told they are infertile. Because of this, I plan to make a difference and I want you guys to come along on this journey with me. Let’s do this together; for us, for those that have suffered in silence before us and for the men of the future, who hopefully won’t have to suffer alone." Kevin from https://them-ancave.co.uk/about/ Connect with Kevin @them_ancave on instagram and Twitter So on the last Friday of every month @them_ancave on Instagram Kevin will be going live at 6.30 pm for the show ”The Man Chat” with different guest speaker every month! www.them_ancave.co.uk Facebook group- TheManCave support group Welcome  I'm Naomi Woolfson, of Embrace Fertility, a therapist specialising in supporting women emotionally and energetically through trying to conceive, fertility treatments and then pregnancy and birth following infertility. My partner and I went through almost 4 years of infertility, IUI’s, IVF, anxiety, surgery and a miscarriage before we went on to conceive both of our ginger children naturally! Alongside supporting clients globally in one to one therapy and coaching sessions I run a 12 week mind-body programme guiding women through the 5 steps of my unique Embrace Fertility Method; Comfort, Coping, Connection, Clearing and finally Creating. I also offer specialist pregnancy support and run a hypnobirthing course Embrace Bump to Baby. Visit https://embracefertility.co.uk/ for more details on what I do Follow me on Instagram @embracefertility (www.instagram.com/embracefertility) Let’s connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-woolfson Maximise Your Chances of Pregnancy Success in 2024 using the Mind-Body Link

Episode 116: Have a listen and see if this resonates. The reasons in short: 1 - You wouldn’t benefit from being supported by someone as you already feel resilient, in control and have a strong plan in place for supporting both your physical fertility and mental health in 2024. 2. - You could put together your own mind-body fertility course from free content on YouTube. There are so many amazing coaches sharing high-quality information on YouTube today so it would be completely feasible for you to sit down and cherry pick videos that could create an outline. However the content is endless and knowing what to watch when in what order and then having the accountability of actually practising is what makes doing a course so empowering. 3. - You have a strong support network of friends and family who completely understand how you feel and know just what to say to make you feel better. You are lucky enough to have friends who are going through this at the moment you are experiencing very similar struggles to yourself and not only that, they have decided to put their own well-being and mental health at the forefront of their priorities so are tuned in with the mind-body techniques that could help you most at this time.  Listen to episode for more details and sign up to class here: https://www.embracefertility.co.uk/free-class -------------------------- I'm Naomi Woolfson, of Embrace Fertility, a therapist specialising in supporting women emotionally and energetically through trying to conceive, fertility treatments and then pregnancy and birth following infertility. My partner and I went through almost 4 years of infertility, IUI’s, IVF, anxiety, surgery and a miscarriage before we went on to conceive both of our ginger children naturally! Alongside supporting clients globally in one to one therapy and coaching sessions I run a 12 week mind-body programme guiding women through the 5 steps of my unique Embrace Fertility Method; Comfort, Coping, Connection, Clearing and finally Creating. I also offer specialist pregnancy support and run a hypnobirthing course Embrace Bump to Baby. Visit ⁠www.embracefertility.co.uk⁠ for more details on what I do and follow me on Instagram ⁠@embracefertility⁠

Episode 115: This week's episode is an expert interview with with Sabrina Fletcher, The TFMR (Termination for medical reasons) Doula. The heartbreak of losing a wanted baby Sabrina companions bereaved parents through the unique heartbreak of losing a wanted baby to TFMR pregnancy loss. Through support groups and holistic healing she walks alongside as her community members learn to live again from the deep deep love they have for their babies and themselves.   We discuss three ways to live from the love you have for your baby and get through your underworld journey of such an intimate death and grief. Connect with Sabrina Helping bereaved parents in the aftermath of a poor prenatal/maternal/perinatal diagnosis and the heartbreaking decision to terminate a wanted pregnancy (TFMR).   As your bereavement doula, I support you as you navigate grief after baby loss. So you can learn to honor your baby and your grief and move in the world from the love you have for your child.   Website: https://www.thetfmrdoula.com   Apply to join Facebook Group: Thetfmrdoula.com/facebookgroup  Instagram: Instagram.com/thetfmrdoula   TFMR grief circles www.thetfmrdoula.com/ascend-apply   Connect with Naomi I'm Naomi Woolfson, of Embrace Fertility, a therapist specialising in supporting women emotionally and energetically through trying to conceive, fertility treatments and then pregnancy and birth following infertility. My partner and I went through almost 4 years of infertility, IUI’s, IVF, anxiety, surgery and a miscarriage before we went on to conceive both of our ginger children naturally! Alongside supporting clients globally in one to one therapy and coaching sessions I run a 12 week mind-body programme guiding women through the 5 steps of my unique Embrace Fertility Method; Comfort, Coping, Connection, Clearing and finally Creating. I also offer specialist pregnancy support and run a hypnobirthing course Embrace Bump to Baby. Visit www.embracefertility.co.uk for more details on what I do and follow me on Instagram @embracefertility

Episode 114: Walking and talking about the power of working with a therapist during this time in your life and the things you should expect from the person supporting you. I then describe AMDR the trauma release technique I use. Here is some feedback that inspired this episode: "The AMDR sessions just keep blowing my mind every time I experience one. I have tried lots of different mind shift techniques before like Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) which is powerful but AMDR is like Superman defeating Lex Luthor in one go!!! I can not express enough how powerful this technique is. Every time I have something that pops up which takes me back to a past experience/memory and I'm overly emotional about it or have experienced an emotional situation in the present where I wouldn't normally be, I reach out to the amazing Naomi for an AMDR session so I can move through it quicker than I would normally using EFT. If anybody is on the fence about an AMDR just give it a go, you have nothing to loose and you definitely will not regret it!"- Crystal Sign up for my latest free class replay here: www.embracefertility.co.uk/free-class _______________________________________ I'm Naomi Woolfson, of Embrace Fertility, a therapist specialising in supporting women through trying to conceive, fertility treatments and then pregnancy and birth following infertility. My partner and I went through almost 4 years of infertility, IUI’s, IVF, anxiety, surgery and a miscarriage before we went on to conceive both of our ginger children naturally! Alongside supporting clients globally in one to one therapy and coaching sessions I run a 12 week mind-body programme guiding women through the 5 steps of my unique Embrace Fertility Method; Comfort, Coping, Connection, Clearing and finally Creating. I also offer specialist pregnancy support and run a hypnobirthing course Embrace Bump to Baby. Visit https://embracefertility.co.uk for details on what I do.Follow me on Instagram @embracefertility (www.instagram.com/embracefertility) Let’s connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-woolfson

Episode 113: Are you dreading the weeks ahead? Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year. You can't quite believe another ENTIRE year has gone by and you still don't have your baby. You're putting so much pressure on yourself to be pregnant by the end of 2023 you might actually implode.  And you're not sure how you are going to get through the celebrations, the social gathers and the never ending cheer.  I've got you.  In this episode I talk about the four options you have for how you go into the holiday season.  Also talk about the free class that I ran last year "Holiday Survival Guide for those trying to conceive"  This years class will run on Sunday 19th November at 8pm GMT sign up here: www.embracefertility.co.uk/free-class Come and say hi @embracefertility on Instagram.

Episode 112: The final installation of my three part series on how to emotionally and energetically prepare for IVF. As I’ve said in previous episodes this is also suitable for anyone who is trying to get pregnant without the help of fertility treatment. Today I’m talking about how to align with pregnancy and parenthood and share the scientifically proven mind-body techniques to help you to do that. I also share a fertility visualisation to guide you to imagine stepping into your future when you have your child. Please only listen to this part of the podcast when it is safe to do so. By listening you agreed to take full responsibility for your own well-being. Do you let me know how it feels to visualise in this way. If you’d like to make fertility visualisation an ongoing part of your conception plan check out: Visualisations and hypnosis for fertility and IVF Deeply Relax and Visualise. These MP3s have been written and recorded to allow you to experience deep relaxation, enhance your fertility and guide you to connect deeply with your body, your future child and your inner strength.Hypnosis and visualisations can enhance fertility and support success by:🌟 Guiding the body into a state of deep relaxation🌟 Releasing fears and negative beliefs🌟 Giving the unconscious mind a clear goal to work towards All my top MP3s in one powerful bundle I've grouped all my top tracks so this digital bundle includes:🍍Natural Cycle Hypnosis Package 🍍Assisted Cycle Hypnosis Package (IVF/IUI/ICSI)🍍Visualisations and Affirmations for Pregnancy🍍Hypnosis for Pain Management 🍍The self soothers guidance video.Worth £100 invest in yourself and your happiness for just £55. https://www.embracefertility.co.uk/IVF If you’d like to step into a community of women who are consciously choosing to use the mind-body link to support their fertility journey come and join The Embrace Fertility Method which includes Embrace Circle membership. The Embrace Fertility Method https://www.embracefertility.co.uk/embrace For unique personal support I have space to take on just two more one-to-one clients this side of Christmas with the shift package. Contact me here to apply for a free clarity call to discuss if I am the best therapist for you. The Shift Package 1-1 coaching https://www.embracefertility.co.uk/coaching Resources mentioned in episode: Part one of series: https://www.embracefertility.co.uk/blog/ivfprep Part two of series: How to decide when to start or continue fertility treatment https://www.embracefertility.co.uk/blog/How-to-decide-when-to-start-fertility-treatment You do not need to be perfect in order to get pregnant https://www.embracefertility.co.uk/blog/perfection Other useful blogs: Laparoscopy Preparation and Packing List https://www.embracefertility.co.uk/blog/laparoscopy-preparation-and-packing-list