Myth
‘Just relax’ cures infertility.
Fact
Support can improve wellbeing. Relaxation alone is not a proven cure for infertility.
Source: ASRMSupport
Counselling & emotional support
Fertility treatment asks a great deal of people, and the hardest part is frequently not the medical one. Support is part of the care, not an add-on.
Why this has its own page
Ask people who have been through fertility treatment what was hardest and most will not name the injections or the procedures. They name the waiting, the uncertainty, the questions from relatives, and the loneliness of a difficulty that is rarely discussed openly.
That part is real, and it is not a weakness. It is also, importantly, something you are entitled to help with.
Under the ART (Regulation) Act, 2021, counselling must be offered to everyone undergoing assisted reproductive treatment in India. It is your right, not a favour — ask for it.
What support covers
The conversations worth having
Understanding what you are agreeing to
Before consent, going through what a treatment actually involves, what it can and cannot achieve, and what happens to eggs, sperm or embryos in storage.
Deciding between options
When there is more than one reasonable path — or when the question is whether to continue at all. There is no correct answer here, only yours.
Coping during treatment
The two-week wait, the daily laboratory updates, the effect of the medicines on mood, and telling or not telling family.
After an unsuccessful cycle
Grief after a failed cycle is real grief, and people around you may not recognise it as such. It deserves space.
Donor treatment and its questions
Where donor eggs or sperm are involved, counselling is particularly important — and is required before proceeding.
As a couple
Partners frequently cope in different ways and at different speeds, which can look like distance. It usually is not.
What helps, practically
- Ask questions until you actually understand. A great deal of distress in fertility treatment comes from not knowing what is happening. Nobody will think less of you for asking the same thing twice.
- Decide who you will tell, deliberately. Telling nobody is isolating; telling everybody means answering questions at every stage. Most people settle on one or two.
- Agree in advance how you will handle test day. Where you will be, who will be there, and what you will do afterwards either way.
- Keep something in your life that is not this. Treatment expands to fill whatever space it is given.
- Say if the medicines are affecting your mood. They can, meaningfully. It is a clinical matter, not just a personal one.
- Do not measure yourself against other people's timelines. Forums are useful for information and corrosive for comparison.
For partners
Where there is a male partner, treatment is usually organised around the woman's body and her appointments, and men often report feeling peripheral — while also feeling they have no standing to say so. Both things can be true.
If there is a male factor, that news lands hard and is frequently delivered with less explanation and less follow-up than the equivalent news given to a woman. Ask for the same level of detail, and ask for support if you want it.
When to seek more help
Feeling low, anxious or tearful during treatment is common. Please tell us — or speak to a doctor or mental health professional — if you are experiencing any of the following:
- Persistent hopelessness, or a sense that nothing will improve
- Being unable to function at work or at home
- Sleep or appetite that has changed markedly and stayed changed
- Withdrawing from people you would normally turn to
- Thoughts of harming yourself
If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, please talk to someone today — a doctor, a mental health professional, or someone close to you. In India, Tele-MANAS offers free mental health support on 14416, around the clock, in multiple languages including Telugu.
How to ask
Mention it at any appointment, call the centre, or say so when you next message us. You do not need a reason and you do not need to justify it.
Please note. Counselling support is part of fertility care and is not a substitute for treatment of a diagnosed mental health condition. Where that is needed we will help you find the right person.
A little clarity
Myth vs Fact
Fertility can come with a lot of advice. Here is what the evidence helps us understand.
Myth
Counselling is only needed when treatment fails.
Fact
Support can help with emotions and decisions throughout fertility care, including choosing between treatment options.
Source: ASRMGeneral information. Your clinician can explain what applies to you.
Ask for support at any point
Before treatment, during it, or after a cycle that did not work.
Get in touch
Begin the conversation
Fertility care is a personal series of decisions. It begins with your history, your questions and the findings that matter to your treatment.
Address
Plot 770, Jayabheri Park,
behind Big Bazaar, Kompally,
Hyderabad, Telangana 500014
Hours
Mon–Sat: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday: 8:00 am – 2:00 pm
Ready to take the first step?
Book a consultation and our team will take the time to understand your situation and explore the options with you.
Book a Consultation Call the Centre