Feel your feelings.

The hormones are making me, well, hormonal. I'm crampy. My ass hurts. I have a headache that no amount of Tylenol will touch and just generally feel like I have a really bad flu.. am completely beside myself with emotion.... I feel like time is just ticking away here, as I lie on the bathroom floor in a nauseous, weeping heap worrying how the baby I'm not pregnant with is going to affect the writing career I don't have.

Jaime you decided to come forward with your personal experiences and give a voice to all of those who found that trying for a baby didn't go as they planned. You didn't have to share this information, but you did. By doing so, you brought awareness to infertility and hope to women all over the world. You've given a ray of hope to those who needed it amidst the flurry of injectable medications, ultrasounds, and doctor appointments. You've brought encouragement to those who went through the "two week wait" with baited breath only to be heartbroken and disappointed.

Despite the fact that one in six couples in North America has difficulty conceiving, infertility is still something with a lot of stigma attached to it. Few people openly discuss their fertility struggles, and many people experience shame. As an infertility counsellor, I see many women whose identity, body image, and self-esteem erode as they struggle to conceive while, seemingly, everyone else gets pregnant with ease around them.