Therapy for Reproductive Grief

Reproductive grief is the profound, deep, and often silent sadness experienced by individuals and couples facing reproductive challenges and losses. This unique form of grief can stem from a variety of losses, each carrying its own weight and impact.

Types of Reproductive Losses:

Miscarriage

Stillbirth

Infertility

Failed IVF Treatments

Ectopic Pregnancy

Termination for Medical Reasons (TFMR)

Preterm Birth and Neonatal Loss

Secondary Infertility

Loss of Reproductive Health

These are all types of losses that we can talk and process in therapy. We can talk about the complex feelings that come up, try to make sense of them, and give yourself permission to feel them and grieve.

We can try to analyze grief. We can herd our emotions into clearly labeled stages. We can discuss the science behind the physical pain we’re feeling. But grief is bigger than that, more willful. It follows its own path. Over the years, I’ve learned not to fight my grief but to be mindful of it. To accept it as part of me, just as I accept the creaks and scars, the gray hairs and the lines.
— Clare Mackintosh in I Promise It Won't Always Hurt Like This: 18 Assurances on Grief