"February and Valentine's Day often bring lots of pressure to show love in certain ways. Overpriced roses, heart-shaped chocolates lining the grocery store shelves, and endless social media posts of candlelit dinners all set an unspoken expectation of effortless romance. But if you're navigating infertility or IVF, those expectations can feel overwhelming and out of reach. When fertility treatment takes up so much space in your life, love may not disappear, but it can become harder to reach, harder to show, and easier to misunderstand."
"IVF is more than just a medical process. It's a journey filled with ongoing stress that can change how couples talk to each other, connect, and share intimacy. Understanding how stress impacts your relationships and how the ways we give and receive love can shift during this time can help you and your partner stay close, even when life feels anything but romantic."
"When stress sticks around for a long time, it can make it hard to connect with each other like you used to. Partners may react more quickly, pull away, or stick to their own ways of coping. Conversations that once felt natural can become tense. Small misunderstandings might feel much bigger than they really are."
February and Valentine's Day often amplify expectations of effortless romance that can feel impossible during fertility treatment. IVF introduces persistent stress that alters how partners communicate, cope, and share intimacy. Stress increases reactivity, withdrawal, and reliance on individual coping styles, making routine conversations tense and amplifying small misunderstandings. Sexual desire can shift into obligation and a source of grief rather than connection. Connection can be maintained through clear, specific requests, mutual vulnerability, pressure-free touch, small supportive gestures, and honest conversations, which strengthen bonds more than grand romantic expectations during treatment.
Read at Psychology Today
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]