Though the statistic of couples struggling to get or stay pregnant is a staggering 1 in 8, infertility is still accompanied by acute isolation and a deep sense of loneliness.

The infertile voice longs to be heard, but is often silenced by embarrassment, shame, or fear.

The infertile experience is bursting with uncomfortable emotions that have no easy solution: longing, sadness, anger, bitterness, grief.

The infertile journey can be long and uncertain, requiring prolonged patience and enduring empathy.

For these reasons and more, isolation is a common part of the infertile story. As is true for all kinds of suffering, community is integral for surviving infertility. With it comes empathy, insight, understanding, perspective. Yet, many people are unable or unwilling to reach out from within and without the infertile experience to make that healing connection.

Communication can be a hindrance to this connection, and isolation can cut both ways.

There are many realities in infertility that are difficult to express—it involves very personal, physical aspects, as well as heightened emotions that make the typical blundering of human relationships difficult to manage. It is an ever-present grief, its pain easily triggered by a endless number of things.

On the other hand, it can be frustrating and futile to walk alongside a person going through infertility. They need truth and encouragement; challenge and sympathy; closeness and distance; words and silence–it is a constant challenge to know when to employ which aspect of friendship.

The goal of this month’s focus is to offer narratives from both sides of the spectrum in order to foster understanding and connection between those experiencing infertility and those trying to walk alongside them. Wherever you’re coming from, we hope that these personal stories offer insight that leads to a strengthening of the community in your own life.