Almost 12 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 44 struggle with infertility, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also notes that 7.3 million women have looked to fertility treatments to get pregnant. Unfortunately, sometimes infertility is so severe that a biological child is physically impossible. Upon hearing the news, you may experience stages of grief similar to the Elisabeth Kubler-Ross model of grief.
Denial
When you first receive the news from your health-care provider that you are infertile and that having a biological child will be difficult or impossible, you may experience denial. You may question your health-care provider's findings or request a second opinion. Denial is your natural instinct to protect yourself from the grief, according to MyParenTime.com. Speaking to others dealing with same problem can help you take a healthier and more realistic approach to your fertility issues.
Anger and Guilt
Anger and guilt follow denial. When you come to terms with your diagnosis, it's easier to place the blame on others to soften the blow. You might feel anger toward your health care provider or your partner. You may also feel inward anger and guilt. You may begin to think of all of the ways you could have possibly prevented a fertility problem. A study performed by Chung Shan Medical University Hospital in Taichung, Taiwan, and published in the Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences found that being confrontational is the most common coping mechanism used by women after failed in vitro fertilization.
Bargaining
Bargaining occurs when you become desperate to change your condition. You may try and bargain with a higher power, promising you'll be a good parent and a better person if you were to get pregnant. You might also try bargaining with your health-care provider and beg for ways out of your infertile condition. Bargaining is an act of desperation to change your status and find an unlikely way out of your infertility problems with ease.
Depression
Sadness sets in when you realize that your diagnosis is correct and bargaining yields no results. If your diagnosis of infertility has followed a pregnancy loss, you could be experiencing postpartum depression. Talking to your doctor about your symptoms may be necessary to treat your depression and to discern whether you're experiencing sadness or a serious medical condition. You may experience regular signs of depression, like fatigue, hopelessness, loss of interest and mood swings, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Acceptance
After you experience depression, you may soon experience acceptance. Through acceptance you may not feel happy or satisfied by your condition, but you've come to accept things as they are and begin looking for ways to remedy the situation. Some women will choose fertility treatments, others will and adopt and others will remain childless. Whatever you choose, acceptance can give you peace through a painful and emotionally draining condition.
