When to Stop Trying to Conceive
When you first decide you’d like to have a baby, it’s all good times. Getting together with your partner and doing the “baby dance” is fun and exciting, and you’re brimming with anticipation. “Did that do it? Am I pregnant?” you think every morning after. You rush out to the drugstore and buy a dozen different home pregnancy tests. You’ve never been so excited about peeing on a stick in your life.
Fast forward a few months. You’ve been trying to conceive for a while now. Sex has to happen at just the right time – you have an ovulation chart, you’re watching for a spike in Basal Body Temperature, and your partner knows that this is serious business. You go through the motions, soon frustrated that you can’t seem to get a positive reading.
From here, you might get even more serious and more radical about the situation. You’ll get fertility testing, and have your spouse do the same. Your health care provider might prescribe Clomid, which you’ll take for a few months. Still no baby.
By this point, the idea of trying to conceive is completely disassociated from sex. You start talking with your doctor about artificial insemination or even In Vitro Fertilization. You’ve probably been doing the TTC thing for a couple of years or more, now, and you’re starting to believe you won’t ever be able to conceive.
At some point, you need to ask the question: Am I ready to quit?
The answer is different for every woman. Some women are so driven and dedicated to the idea that they’ll do almost anything. Some women have that same drive, but don’t have access to funding for more radical procedures like IVF.
In some cases, the whole TTC mess can create a great deal of stress. You may find that you’re fighting with your partner – that person you wanted to have a child with in the first place. Depression can even set in, putting you in a funk you just can’t seem to shake.
There’s no easy answer. You have to make a judgment call. If your efforts in trying to conceive are having a drastically negative impact on your family life, your other relationships, your financial security or your mood, it may be time to consider exploring other options, such as adoption.
|
|
