Posts in Mental Health
Are you Having a Fertility Freakout?
Are you Having a Fertility Freakout?

With more and more women postponing motherhood by choice, compounded by a society that puts very little value on reproductive health education, I see so many women who find themselves in deep distress and panic about their fertility and/or family planning. It’s super common for issues surrounding fertility to cause anxiety, depression, anger, resentment, relationship issues, panic attacks, even secondary stress and anxiety symptoms, such as hives, insomnia, digestive upset, headaches, or chronic pain.

Especially if you are in your late 30s or early 40s, or if you’ve been diagnosed with some form of infertility, then fertility panic may have set in suddenly. Even for those who previously were convinced they didn’t want kids, a crisis may seemingly come out of no where and can be a confusing and painful experience.

If you are currently feeling yourself in the depths of a freak out, please know this: you are not alone and you are not broken. This is incredibly common, just age or a diagnosis alone does not mean you can't get pregnant, and even if it does, your worthiness is not dependent on your reproductive capability alone. If your panic is centered around the not knowing if you want kids or not, know that with time and introspection - and hopefully some therapy - the answer will come to you. Your path will light up before you in time, you don't have to figure everything out right at this moment.

Having supported several women through such crises, I can tell you there's no magic trick to make it all disappear, and there's no one-size-fits-all answer as to what to do. Every journey to build a family, or the decision not to, is unique to those who experience it. But I can tell you there are several things that may support you during and help you through this difficult time.

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Mental Health, FertilityJacqueline Gabardyfertility, freak out, panic, anxiety, stress
PMS Sucks! How to Treat it Naturally
PMS Sucks! How to Treat it Naturally

While there are phases of the menstrual cycle when our hormones can leave us feel energized, confident, and cheerful, there are also phases of our cycles that may cause us feeling depleted, irritable, and self conscious. The premenstrual phase (the one and a half to two week period prior to bleeding) is most notorious for these feelings, the dreaded PMS.

Premenstrual Syndrome can look very different for different women, but the most common symptoms are emotional changes, mood swings, general irritability, anxiety, or sensitivity, breast tenderness, digestive upset, food cravings, headaches, or acne. While one woman may complain of one or two of these symptoms, some women can attest to nearly every annoying symptom on that list.

But PMS isn't something we're sentenced to as women, in fact there are a number of things you can do to balance your hormones naturally and start feeling better!

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Mental Health, Cycle Health, Hormonal ImbalancesJacqueline GabardyPMS, premenstrual, luteal phase, excess estrogen, hormones, hormonal imbalance
Why we need to talk about Miscarriage & Infant Loss
Why we need to talk about Miscarriage & Infant Loss

I treat women through all phases of their reproductive cycles. While I work with many women who have chosen to not have children, the majority of my patients are actively trying to conceive, are pregnant, or in the postpartum period. I celebrate with my patients when they get a positive pregnancy test or give birth to their child, and I grieve with them when they lose a child to miscarriage, stillbirth, or SIDS.

The process of losing a child during pregnancy or infancy can be incredibly painful, both physically and emotionally. It may involve surgery, weeks of bleeding, medication or even laboring a lost child. This is in addition to the deep grief that comes with losing a son or daughter all too soon.

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Mental Health, PregnancyJacqueline Gabardyfertility, women's health, pregnancy, miscarriage, infant loss