Useful Resources

This is a list of apps, websites, podcasts, movies, and book recommendations that I've gathered over the years and that my clients have found useful.

These resources cover a wide range of topics, including infertility, ART, third-party reproduction, miscarriage, loss of a child, pregnancy decision-making and parenting after forty.

I hope you find some of these resources helpful in your own journey.

Woman meditating seated on ground looking towards mountains

HELPFUL APPS

CALM – Mental health app for meditation and sleep.

Headspace - Guided meditation and mindfulness app.

Mindful IVF – Personalised app for all your health and wellbeing needs during your IVF cycle.

PODCASTS

Building your Family - A podcast about donor conception, surrogacy and all the ways the modern family is built.

Fertility Friday - A podcast by Lisa Hendrickson-Jack, a Certified Fertility Awareness Educator, Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner, and author of The Fifth Vital Sign: Master Your Cycles & Optimize Your Fertility.

IVFML: Becoming Family - Huffpost podcast discussing infertility, miscarriage, and IVF.

Matt and Doree’s Eggcellent Adventure - Matt Mira and Doree Shafrir spent two and a half years, a lot of money, and nearly 100 episodes of this podcast trying to get pregnant through IVF.

Modern Babies - A podcast about the struggle to conceive, and how fertility treatment can assist in overcoming the difficulties people have when deciding they wish to have a child.

Pregnantish - Hear from fertility experts and real people on their own non-traditional journey to parenthood.

The Fertility Podcast - A podcast to educate and empower you about your fertility choices.

Waiting for Babies - A podcast featuring interviews with couples and individuals who've struggled with bringing a child into their lives.

CDs

Health Journeys Guided Meditations Help with Fertility by Bellaruth Naparstek

Imagery and Meditations to Support a Medicated Cycle by Jennifer Bloom

Visualizing Pregnancy by Kathy Freston

DOCUMENTARIES & MOVIES

Donor Unknown – Follows the story of JoEllen Marsh, 20, as she goes in search of the sperm donor father she only knows as Donor 150.

Don’t Talk About The Baby – The first documentary to explore the cultural stigmas surrounding pregnancy loss and infertility.

Love Always, Mom - A stage 4 cancer survivor’s journey to start a family.

Father Mother Donor Child – A documentary about third-party reproduction and what it means for these children, donors and parents.

One More Shot – A film that follows a couple on their journey with fertility treatment, exposing the relational impact infertility has on a couple and a family in a raw and honest way.

Private Life – An author (Kathryn Hahn) is undergoing multiple fertility therapies to get pregnant, putting her relationship with her husband (Paul Giamatti) on edge. (available on Netflix)

Useful websites

American Society for Reproductive Medicine - A multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the advancement of the science and practice of reproductive medicine.

Books for Donor Offspring - A list of children’s books to help parents disclose how their offspring were created with the help of assisted reproductive technology. 

Circle + Bloom - Guided meditation programs for fertility, getting pregnant, healing and general health.

Creating a Family - supporting foster, adoptive, and kinship families through expert-based, trauma-informed resources and trainings.

Donor Conception Network - The UK’s first and largest charity dedicated to supporting donor conception families and prospective families.

Ending a Wanted Pregnancy - Resources and abortion grief support after pregnancy termination for medical reasons.

The Donor Sibling Registry - Educating, connecting and supporting donor families.

Fertility Smarts - Helping to demystify the process of trying to get pregnant. We can’t speed the process along any faster for you, but we can be here to help inform, support, and keep you company along the way.

Life as a Dad to Donor Insemination (DI) Kids - Blog and resources for dads creating and raising children that are biologically not their own.

Mensfe - Information and resources for male fertility.

Men’s Fertility Support Group - A Facebook support group for men to talk about their IVF journey, IUI, ICSI, or handling a relationship after miscarriage.

Parents Via Egg Donation - Educating, supporting, and empowering families and individuals who choose to use egg donation to build a family.

RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association - Empowering and supporting people who are challenged in their family building journey.

Smart Fertility Choices (Beat PCOS) - Helping women learn and apply the evidence-based lifestyle interventions that are known to successfully manage the symptoms of PCOS.

The Center for Family Building - Providing specialist guidance, advice and counselling for couples and individuals during their journey to parenthood.

Rescripted - A pioneer in holistic women's health, Rescripted is dedicated to empowering women from first period to last.

We are Donor Conceived - Resource center for donor conceived people around the globe. It’s also a place where donor conceived people can share their stories to inspire greater understanding about the unique challenges donor conceived people experience.

Infertility
and ART

Third Party Reproduction

Pregnancy decision making and multifetal reduction

Miscarriage
and loss of child

Explaining
ART and
Third Party Reproduction
to children

Parenting
after forty

Supporting You

  • Anxiety and worry

    Stress is a part of life and anxiety is a normal response to stress. When symptoms are too much and create intense discomfort and interfere with daily life, therapy can help.

    Some signs of when anxiety is too much are: insomnia, headaches, muscle tension, inability to relax, excessive worry, nervousness, and panic.

    Working together, we can address and learn strategies to manage these difficult emotions.

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  • Struggling with life's transitions

    Are you experiencing a struggle going from one phase of life to another? Or life changes, such as moving to a new area, experiencing relationship transitions, parenting, empty nest, or dealing with career changes? Feeling stuck and having difficulty feeling content and satisfied?

    I’m here to provide the support and counselling needed to live your life of meaning based on your values.

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  • Infertility

    Struggling with building a family is challenging and affects one’s core, impacting identity, self-esteem, and relationships as well as many other areas of one’s life. It’s not unusual to feel helpless and hopeless, sad, and angry, jealous and alone.

    Although daunting, experiencing infertility can also be an opportunity to deepen connections, enhance self-awareness, and develop enduring coping strategies.

    I’m here to hold your hand and help you navigate infertility interventions, and the decision-making process and cope with outcomes that may be difficult.

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  • Loss and grief

    Loss comes in many sizes from something small like not winning to something major like someone you loved and everything in between.

    Struggles with loss can generate unintentional emotional intensity that feels overwhelming and doesn’t seem to have an end in sight.

    The support of counselling can help navigate the pain that comes from loss while processing acceptance and healing.

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  • Pregnancy, perinatal, and postpartum mental health

    I specialize in working with women and families during the trying to conceive and perinatal phase, and the postpartum period.

    By providing counseling and mental health support, I can help you deal with these unexpected emotionally challenging times.

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  • Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder and PCOS

    Do you experience extreme emotional distress or mood shifts related to your menstrual cycle? Perhaps you have been diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)?

    I can help you cope with symptoms such as mood swings, irritability, anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating, and fatigue.

    Let's talk about practical strategies that can help you navigate the impact of this medical condition on your mood, self-esteem, and quality of life.

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