This story gives an insight into one woman’s feelings as she prepares for her last visit to the mikvah (ritual bath), a necessity in orthodox communities before husband and wife reunite.

Here is a woman’s story of a surgery to remove a tumor that ended in hysterectomy and her feelings about no longer being able to have her own children afterwards.

“After denying that anything was wrong and then realizing that so much was wrong, I spent the next few months going to doctors and and getting tests.”

Parents who are choosing to use a donor for their child are thinking exactly the same way. They want to be parents more than they want to share their DNA.

These are some of the things that parents think about when considering using a donor (and things that other people think when you share you are going the donor route)

"We failed 11 IVF's at 4 different prominent fertility clinics with my own eggs, before we even considered donor eggs- what a difference it is going for a transfer being pretty confident that I'll end up pregnant!"

A heartbreaking anonymous story gives an insight into one woman’s feelings as she prepares for her visit to the mikvah (ritual bath), a necessity in orthodox communities before husband and wife reunite. This immersion happens after a woman finishes menstruating, and it renders her ritually clean to have sex again.
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This process is deeply painful for those who are not able to get pregnant or for those who have lost a pregnancy, as it is a monthly reminder that their bodies are not carrying a child. (When someone is pregnant, she usually does not menstruate, therefore she does not have to go to the mikvah).

This writer shares all of her emotions, as she dips in the water.

PSA: This next story about Halachic infertility is hard to read.

For those of you who spend every waking moment steeped in Jewish law, following its every edit with all of its nuances, it’s difficult to contemplate someone who doesn’t take it as seriously as you.

And we know that it’s probably going to be even more difficult hearing from some one who chose to turn away from Halacha (jewish law). This someone tried every possible way to stay within the confines of what the law was saying, but instead felt isolated, angered, depressed and shut down. She chose to do what she needed to do for her mental health.

And why are we sharing her story? Because IWSTHAB’s mission is to hold space, comfort and validate anyone who is struggling to have a child. And in this case, the anger and disillusionment are the emotions that need to be supported.

Also, we want to remind all of you that when you ask “How many children do you have?” you really have NO IDEA what people are going through, and how hard it is for them to get through one single day. Because if you had a window into our DM’s, you would see that this woman is not the only one who is trying her best to straddle her desire to have a family with the confines of jewish law.

The mikvah can be a deeply emotional experience—especially for those navigating infertility, loss, or pain. Even well-meaning comments can unintentionally cause hurt.

This post is a gentle reminder: when in doubt, keep it simple.
Be supportive. Be respectful. Most importantly, be quiet when silence is more healing than words.

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

#shabbatshalom #shabbat #goodshabbos #friday #fridayfeels #infertility #fertility #quote #acknowledge #acknowledgment

Six times I hoped. Six times I grieved.

So when the Jewish calendar asks us to mourn destruction - I don’t need a fast day to remember what’s missing.

Fertility grief during the Three Weeks isn’t just symbolic.

It’s personal.

It’s raw.

And now… Israel.

There’s no guidebook for grieving your own pain while your people are grieving on a whole other level.

If your heart feels split between your personal loss and collective mourning all of us are doing, you’re human.

You get to hold both.

How many times have you wanted to give *that* person a snippy remark after they made you feel bad, but you just couldn’t think of one at the time? Here’s the post for you.

Liz Glazer joins Aimee Baron, MD to talk about the moment when everything changed, when her daughter, Leo Pearl, was stillborn and the aftermath, and growing up not knowing if she was ever going to be able to have a family.

A heartbreaking anonymous story gives an insight into one woman’s feelings as she prepares for her visit to the mikvah (ritual bath), a necessity in orthodox communities before husband and wife reunite. This immersion happens after a woman finishes menstruating, and it renders her ritually clean to have sex again.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This process is deeply painful for those who are not able to get pregnant or for those who have lost a pregnancy, as it is a monthly reminder that their bodies are not carrying a child. (When someone is pregnant, she usually does not menstruate, therefore she does not have to go to the mikvah).

This writer shares all of her emotions, as she dips in the water.

PSA: This next story about Halachic infertility is hard to read.

For those of you who spend every waking moment steeped in Jewish law, following its every edit with all of its nuances, it’s difficult to contemplate someone who doesn’t take it as seriously as you.

And we know that it’s probably going to be even more difficult hearing from some one who chose to turn away from Halacha (jewish law). This someone tried every possible way to stay within the confines of what the law was saying, but instead felt isolated, angered, depressed and shut down. She chose to do what she needed to do for her mental health.

And why are we sharing her story? Because IWSTHAB’s mission is to hold space, comfort and validate anyone who is struggling to have a child. And in this case, the anger and disillusionment are the emotions that need to be supported.

Also, we want to remind all of you that when you ask “How many children do you have?” you really have NO IDEA what people are going through, and how hard it is for them to get through one single day. Because if you had a window into our DM’s, you would see that this woman is not the only one who is trying her best to straddle her desire to have a family with the confines of jewish law.

The mikvah can be a deeply emotional experience—especially for those navigating infertility, loss, or pain. Even well-meaning comments can unintentionally cause hurt.

This post is a gentle reminder: when in doubt, keep it simple.
Be supportive. Be respectful. Most importantly, be quiet when silence is more healing than words.

Thank you so much to @sam_ster_ela for sharing her circumstantial infertility story with us. We’re holding you and everyone dealing with this pain 🫂🫂🫂

She always knew she wanted to be a mom.
Even without a partner.
Even after loss.
It hasn’t been easy — but she’s still here, still hoping, still trying.

Ejaculatory dysfunction isn’t talked about enough, so we’re honored to share this story with the IWSTHAB community.

You will always make it through

These are the voices of our community finding the strength to go on after recurrent loss.

The type of pain no one should have to experience.

Here are some of the infertility books that we have listed there — all from authors that we’ve personally interviewed.

So many ups. So many more downs.

Thank you to this follower for sharing her story 🫂

Thank you to this incredibly brave woman for sharing her story.

Parents who are choosing to use a donor for their child are thinking exactly the same way. They want to be parents more than they want to share their DNA.

These are some of the things that parents think about when considering using a donor (and things that other people think when you share you are going the donor route)

"We failed 11 IVF's at 4 different prominent fertility clinics with my own eggs, before we even considered donor eggs- what a difference it is going for a transfer being pretty confident that I'll end up pregnant!"