Hi friends, we’re really glad you’re here 🤍
Have you ever noticed how the decisions (often really high‑stakes ones) seem to stack up the minute you decide to seriously try for a baby? Do we start treatment now or wait? Do we try IUI or go straight to IVF? What if one of us is all‑in on the next step and the other is still trying to catch up?
Today’s edition is about that layer of the journey: making big decisions and staying on the same team when you and your partner cope differently. One new piece takes on unexplained infertility and the IUI‑vs‑IVF question; the other looks at what to do when you’re in the same storm but very much in different boats emotionally.
We’ll also share some ideas for dealing with fertility‑treatment overwhelm, because no one hands you a manual for how to carry all of this at once.
Let’s unpack the conversation together.
In this Issue We'll Cover...
If you’ve ever thought, “We want the same thing, but we are not handling this the same way,” this piece is for you. It unpacks why partners almost never cope with fertility stress in sync, one of you researching every option, the other trying to “stay positive” or keep life feeling normal, and why that doesn’t automatically mean you’re not on the same team.
Drawing on therapists’ insights and Dr. Ali Domar’s work, it offers concrete tools for decoding each other’s coping styles, setting up better “fertility talk” windows, and making treatment decisions together without turning every conversation into a fight.
Fertility, Mental Health, and Your Relationship: A Few Reads Worth Noting
Infertility doesn’t just affect one person’s mental health, it sits in the middle of a relationship, shaping how both partners feel, cope, and connect. These recent pieces look at anxiety, depression, stigma, and burnout through a couple lens:
Dyadic Coping: Why “Facing It Together” Matters
In “Examining the Role of Dyadic Coping on the Marital Adjustment of Couples Undergoing ART”, couples who practiced positive dyadic coping: talking openly, problem‑solving together, and sharing tasks, had better marital adjustment than those who withdrew or blamed each other when treatment got hard.“We’re Both Struggling, But in Different Ways”
A recent qualitative paper, “The IVF Experience as Lived: A Psychosocial Perspective on Emotional Health and Relationship Adjustment in Couples”, captures how partners can feel out of sync—one overwhelmed by procedures, the other by helplessness, and why communication and validation become survival tools, not luxuries.Burnout, Work, and Fertility in High‑Stress Couples
For couples where at least one partner works in a demanding field, “Burnout and Subfertility in Female Physicians” explores the bidirectional relationship between professional burnout, fertility challenges, and relationship strain—underscoring why supporting each other’s mental health at work and at home is part of fertility care, too.
Unexplained Infertility: Should You Try IUI First or Go Straight to IVF?
If you’ve ever stared at your “unexplained infertility” diagnosis and thought, “Do we try IUI first or just skip to IVF?”—this article walks through that exact crossroads. It breaks down what “unexplained” actually means, compares IUI and IVF in plain language (chances, costs, time, and emotional load), and looks at how age, timeline, and real‑life constraints shape the plan. It also offers practical questions to ask your clinic so you and your partner can choose a next step that fits your situation.
If you enjoyed this issue of Path to Parenthood, be sure to share with anyone you know who is currently on a TTC journey ❤
