Belated Happy National Infertility Survival Day!

This Sunday, May 13, 2012 is Mother’s Day – a day for mothers. 

Last Sunday, May 6, 2012, a week before Mother’s Day is National Infertility Survival Day?!  A day for those coping with infertility.  Hahaha!  This is the first time I heard about it and it is really indeed a great idea – a holiday we can call our own.

National Infertility Survival Day is a relatively new holiday, founded in 2004 by Beverly Berna, author of Infertility Sucks! Keeping it All Together When Sperm and Egg Stubbornly Remain Apart (Xlibris Corporation, 2002) to celebrate all the hard work and effort that infertile couples put towards trying to have a child.  The day’s main emphasis is on self-care and celebration for what we do have.  It’s also a day for friends and family to help lift the spirits of a loved one coping with infertility.  

Just like Mother’s Day, when all the hard work that goes into motherhood is celebrated, on National Infertility Survival Day, we celebrate and honor couples who are desperately trying to become parents.

Isn’t it nice?!  I love the idea!

“Celebrate who you are and what you do have,” as Barna urges those struggling with infertility.

The holiday is a chance to turn around and bring something positive to what is normally a difficult condition.  Often, we focus our energies and thoughts on what we don’t get, or have not received, despite all our efforts.  On this day, we honor and celebrate all we have done to try to have a child.  Instead of focusing on our losses, we focus on our strengths.

This holiday isn’t only for women and couples coping with infertility now, but also a day for those who have gone forward in their lives.  This day also aims “to encourage those who are not currently dealing with infertility to embrace the knowledge – even wisdom – they gained in that struggle, and to find ways to support those who are still coping with the ordeal on a day-to-day, month-to-month basis, and who don’t know how it will turn out for them.”

Some women may feel silly celebrating when they feel they have nothing to celebrate.  Our society puts so much emphasis on celebrating after we’ve accomplished a goal.  It’s not uncommon for women coping with infertility to feel like failures.  But you are not a failure.

With infertility, your accomplishment is the effort you’ve already put towards becoming a parent. You’re celebrating your strength and your efforts. You may not be able to hold these types of accomplishments in your hand, but they are just as real and deserve to be celebrated.

If you decide to celebrate, you may want to have a romantic dinner for two or take a long, long bubble bath. Or perhaps go for a massage or get together with friends either at home or out of town.  This is a day just for you, and you should celebrate the day however you like it.

Officially, the day is celebrated the weekend before Mother’s Day.  The timing is intentional, so that it can blunt the sadness and frustration that many women feel as Mother's Day approaches.  But feel free to declare your own survival day anytime you need a boost.  Be good to yourself.

Care to share your dream infertility survival day?  Feel free to share your plans in the comment below.

You can view the entire article here.

To get the latest news and views on National Infertility Survival Day and other stuff from the holiday’s founder, Beverly Barna, visit www.infertilitysucks-thebook.com.


Belated Happy National Infertility Survival Day!  (Better late than never... :) )