At COPE, we’re here for you from the very beginning. Access trusted guidance, expert information, and compassionate support as you navigate the journey of trying to conceive.
Coping with loss is deeply personal and painful — COPE offers gentle support, guidance, and understanding to help you navigate this difficult time.
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Whether you're a partner, friend, or family member, COPE provides guidance and support to help you care for your loved one and yourself through every stage of parenthood.
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At COPE, we believe every parent deserves access to compassionate support and reliable information. Our mission is to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and empower families facing perinatal mental health challenges.
Your support can make a lasting impact. By donating to COPE, you help to provide vital support, resources, and research for families facing perinatal mental health challenges. Together, we can make sure no parent is alone.
Understand when to seek help, how to take the first step of talking to someone, types of support available, plus how to find specialised perinatal mental health support near you.
Coping with IVF can be difficult. It can impact emotional and mental health, and increase rates of depression, anxiety and stress.
Discovering and coming to terms with being unable to naturally conceive can be stressful. It can leave you feeling angry, depressed and anxious. It can also put additional stress on relationships, intimacy and your connection with others.
Over time, this can take its toll and become overwhelming. For example, women carefully monitor and plan around every cycle. With each unsuccessful cycle, they are left feeling distressed and disappointed.
It is so frustrating – you feel like your life is on hold. Every cycle waiting for the window of opportunity to come, revolving your life plans around trying to conceive and then waiting in hope that you have fallen pregnant. Then, with each failed attempt, you have to muster up the hope and optimism that you will be successful next time. It is exhausting – physically, mentally, emotionally and on your relationship.
Similarly, it can affect men in instances where the fertility issues rests with them – which occurs in up to forty percent of cases.
I felt devastated. I felt ashamed and like I had failed. I always considered it my role as a man and as a husband to be a father. But I had to look at it like any other physical condition and get the help we needed.
This is often compounded by feelings of pressure from family, friends and others. Many people describe experiencing stigma at being unable to conceive. This stigma further adds to feelings of disappointment and grief that you may experience at this time.
Understandably, you may find it difficult to talk about what you are going through with others. Even being around others who have recently become pregnant or had a baby can be very hard. This is completely understandable, so try not to be too hard on yourself.
The IVF journey can continue for months, even years, and can take its toll. You may experience hopes and disappointments while managing the implications on your emotions, your body, your relationship and your finances.
Therefore, it can be useful to consider and continually review how many cycles you are prepared to go through. From a very practical perspective, this includes assessing how much money you can afford to invest.
You pay a fortune and put your life on hold for something that has a very good chance of not working. And yet you do it.
Also, as you try to find a delicate balance of trying to remain positive and hopeful while persevering and coping with IVF, it is important to remain aware of your emotional state along the way.
Many couples hope that IVF will solve their problems with infertility. But for some, IVF marks the beginning of a process of understanding about their specific needs and what is most likely to be effective for them given their individual circumstances.
Emotional responses to infertility are complex. Everyone’s IVF journey is unique, but many experience similar feelings throughout treatment.
While there's no right or wrong way to feel, there are ways to cope.
Learn about the impacts of infertility and IVF on relationships, as couples face disappointment, stress, fears, and financial pressure.
Infertility and IVF can impact friendships and relationships with family, create misunderstandings, and cause isolation.
IVF can take a toll physically and mentally. Understand its impacts, plus tips to take care of yourself.
Relationship and financial stress, social isolation, obsession and self-criticism may be some of the impacts of IVF on mental health.
Common responses people identified when faced with involuntary childlessness include emotional exhaustion, grief and loss, relief, and more.
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