Self care is an extremely important part of your fertility journey. It is absolutely vital to take the time and make the space to look after yourself.

Fertility investigations and treatment can be gruelling, on top of the pressure and expectation we place on ourselves to achieve our goals and not let people down.

There are a few very simple things you can build into your daily and weekly routine that will help you enormously.

They don’t need to take up time that you already feel you do not have and after you do them regularly, you will notice significant benefits in all areas of your life and they will start to become second nature for you.

Meditation and mindfulness are buzzwords at the moment and increasingly gaining popularity in our fast-paced world. They help you to switch off from the demands of life and work, can be practised anywhere with minimal (no!) equipment and support management of anxiety and stress which can be very damaging to your fertility.

There are some great fertility specific meditation tracks available to buy and download (take a look in resources for some ideas!), which have the added bonus of supporting visualisation as well as creating a sense of calm.

Journaling and colouring are good ways to be creative and manage your stress and anxiety levels. Journaling is a great tool to help you write down your thoughts and feelings, allowing you to clear your mind and express things that you may otherwise keep bottled up.

There are hundreds of colouring books available to buy and this is something which you can easily do whilst sat in front of the TV, along with other creative activities like knitting or crochet. Anything that involves both hands and keeps your brain occupied is a great activity, so why not try and new hobby as part of your new self care routine!

Music can express so many emotions.  I love to listen to music and dance – both when I am happy and when I am sad! Make yourself an uplifting and motivational play list that you can listen to on full volume when you need a boost. It doesn’t matter what you want to put on it (confession: Taylor Swift ‘Shake it Off!’ is my go to feel good, dance around song when I need to pull myself out of a funk!), as this is solely for you and to make you feel like a rock star!

You can also get some fantastic calming music which is a great accompaniment to meditation and relaxation practices. So make a soothing list to compliment your uplifting playlist and utilise both to support you on your journey.

Nature is a great tonic and I would encourage you spend as much time as you can outside. It’s free, it’s great for your health and it’s so uplifting. If you are outside, make sure you take the time to really be. 

Literally ‘smell the roses’. Look around you.  Appreciate your surroundings and how lucky you are. Walk barefoot in the grass and jump in puddles with your inner child. If you work in an office, make this your new lunch time routine – possibly not the puddle jumping! – it will mean you do take a much needed break (great for your mental capacity, so win/win for your productivity), get some air, top up your vitamin and decompress.

Fun is so important when you are struggling with fertility challenges.  It is so easy to become all consumed by your journey and to lose sight of the joy that there is in life.  Make time to have fun. See friends and family, read books and watch films that make you laugh and do things that you love.  It doesn’t need to be complicated or fancy.  Just do whatever makes your heart sing and makes you smile. 

I have provided some resource suggestions for you to use on the site for all of the above self care practices. My programmes also contain hints, tips and further resources to support your journey.