Lord, Give me Strength...

To keep my cool when another period starts.

To keep my chin up when a co-worker announces her pregnancy.

To have a good relationship with my friend in spite of her ability to conceive easily and not be jealous of her.

To endure my sister-in-law's comments about toilet training.

To keep from crying when I see children begging on the roads.

To forgive my doctor when he keeps me waiting for two hours for a consultation - and then can't remember my name.

To make the right decision about treatment.

To maintain a good relationship with my husband in spite of all this.

It's helpful to remember the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr. " God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can change, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Infertility is...

Watching your husband playing with your friend's baby and wishing you could give him one of his own.

Telling nurses to please take blood from your right arm because the veins in your left arm are all gone because of all the IVs you've had.

Avoiding people you haven't seen for a long time because you don't want to hear the question, "Do you have any kids yet?".

Feeling very left out when your friends start comparing their pregnancy or childbirth experiences.

Feeling like the whole town is pregnant except for you.

Getting tired of people always expecting you to do things because "you don't have any kids to worry about".

Waking up in the middle of the night and wishing you could hear your baby crying.

Wishing you could give your parents grandchildren.

Wanting to fall apart if one other person says, "Why don't you adopt?" Easy, right?
Sometimes avoiding friends who are pregnant or with newborns because you just can't handle the situation at that moment.

Credits: Dr. Aniruddha Malpani, MD and Dr. Anjali Malpani,