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Dancing Into The New Year
by VBI couldn’t let 2018 get away without writing one final blog post. This past year has been, without a doubt, one of the most transformational years for me. Since our infertility journey began nine years ago, it’s impacted every area of my life. Involuntary childlessness affects relationships with friends, family, and most of all, your emotional and physical well-being. 2018 was the year I...
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Will You Accept My Invite?
by VBIn the United States, over 15% of women will not give birth by the end of their childbearing years. Many of these women are involuntarily childless. There are many reasons for involuntary childlessness. Some are due to infertility or other health reasons but the majority are childless by circumstance. Some of these reasons may include not having a partner during childbearing years, divorce or...
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What You Don’t Know About My Miscarriage
by VBEven after three years I can still feel the deafening silence in the room after those awful words were spoken into the universe. It was almost as if I was present but detached from my body. The doctor was speaking, I nodded, but I couldn’t understand. What you don’t know is after hearing those tragic words, we were led out of the back door....
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When IVF Doesn’t Work
by VB40 years ago today, Louise Brown, made medical history as the world’s first “test tube baby.” Since then, over 7 million people conceived via IVF have been born. While I am truly grateful for reproductive technology (and went to great lengths to have the IVF procedure), often forgotten among the “miracle baby” stories are the millions more failed cycles. Today, as we celebrate the...
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Choosing Courage Over Comfort
by VBSometimes I wonder if this wholehearted living thing is really making a difference in the world. It’s not easy and some days it’s really hard. Then, when I least expect it, something happens to remind me that yes, yes it does make a difference! I recently attended a workshop on leadership through resilience at work. After seven months of studying shame resilience and practicing...
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Let’s Talk About Grief
by VBI remember the day I heard about the sudden death of Robin Williams, one of the best actors and comedians of our time. Even more shocking was learning that he had apparently taken his own life. Since then, several beloved musicians and celebrities including Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington, Avicii, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain have also chosen to take their own lives. For each...
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The Next Chapter
by VBFirst of all, thank you so much for being here! If you’re new to the site, you may have wondered what “The Gut Link” has to do with an infertility blog. Well, I suppose I should start at the beginning. In 2015, I began writing a blog to share my infertility journey. As we were pursuing IVF, I consulted with a functional medicine doctor...
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Let’s Get Curious
by VBEmotions; we all have them. They are part of what makes us human and able to connect with one another. Love, is one of, if not the most powerful of all human emotions. Grief can be equally powerful. Like most of us, you’ve probably experienced a time when your emotions took over, causing you to think or act irrationally. On the contrary, maybe you’ve...
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Life After Infertility
by VBYesterday was the three-year anniversary of our first IVF transfer. At the time, we had no idea this would also be the beginning of a new chapter in our infertility journey — one of loss and grieving. Grief can be a lonely journey. Even the best of friends and family are often at a loss for what to do or say to help their...
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Poetry Therapy?
by VBI’ve never really been able to get into journaling. I read over and over about how great it is to put your thoughts on paper, especially at the end of the day. With a busy home and work schedule, the thought of writing every day is stressful to me. So, I write when I feel the desire and the rest of the time I just...