Gentle Reminders
Some MUCH needed reminders this week. Take what you need ❤️❤️
#fertility #infertility #infertilityawareness #support #groups #emotional #support #secondaryinfertility #primaryinfertility #general #loss #grief #griefsupport #childless #childlessnotbychoice #tfmr #ivf #ivfjourney #pregnancy #pregnant #reminder #reminders #family
You wouldn’t know by looking at this photo that…
Just a little background for those of you who are new here…
❤️Feel free to ask me any questions!❤️
#infertility #miscarriage #pregnancyloss #jewishwomen #jewishwoman #nonprofitsofinstagram #jewishcommunity #fertilitysupport #fertilityjourney
Side by Side
In this deeply moving reflection, Rivka Beck (@rivkabeck52) shares what five years of infertility, pregnancy loss, and rebuilding have looked like—from countless treatments and four heartbreaking losses to learning how to carry grief alongside joy.
If you’re grieving too, this is for you. There’s room for your pain.
And remember, you don’t have to be okay to keep going.
Texts to send
You don’t need perfect words to support someone through infertility or loss.
You just need to show up. Gently. Consistently. Without pressure or expectation.
💗Sometimes that looks like a heartfelt check-in.
🥤Sometimes it looks like iced coffee on the porch.
🫂Sometimes it’s just letting them know they’re not alone.
This carousel is packed with real texts you can send when someone you love is hurting.
Copy, paste, tweak. Whatever you do, just don’t stay silent.
Because silence can feel like abandonment. And no one deserves to be “left on read.”
Help us keep showing up for everyone in our community who needs our support. Donate to our fundraiser today.
The silence of infertility-Man’s perspective
We’re bringing this post back because stories like this deserve to be heard—again and again.
He never expected infertility to be his story.
He didn’t grow up with the language for loss, or the space to grieve what couldn’t be seen.
But when he shared his experience, it echoed across this community. Because male infertility is real. It’s common. And it’s too often met with silence.
We see you. We hear you. We hold you.
Kveller
“Oh no, not again.
I was sitting in synagogue when an all-too-familiar feeling washed over me. I felt the tears stinging my eyes, the urge to ugly blubber rising to the surface.
I cannot make a spectacle of myself in shul again. Hold it together, Rachel.
But how could I? The rabbi was giving his pre-Yizkor sermon, the speech given before the traditional communal prayer to memorialize deceased family members.
You’re a link in a chain,” he repeated throughout his speech, reminding us all of the very Jewish idea that we must remember the past in order to build a better future. We memorialize those lost so we can teach our children the lessons previous generations taught us, continuing the chain of our peoplehood.
Except I will never be a link in a chain...”
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Beautiful piece by our board member, Rachel Honeyman
Link to the full article is in our stories and our bio
Childless not by choice | infertility | IVF | miscarriage | Jewish woman
Fertility Grief Part 3
@shoshanastavsky, who has gone through her own fertility journey and a breast cancer survivor, writes about the feelings that are sitting in all of our hearts and gives meaning to the pain. Thank you. 💔❤️💔 “Grief looks like seeing the bottom of a pint of Ben & Jerrys in one sitting.”
#fertility #infertility #infertilitysupport #fertilityjourney #support #groups #group #supportgroup #loss #pain #grief #surrogacy #miscarriage #tfmr #trimester #pregnant #pregnancy #pregnancyloss #fertilityawareness #grieving #heartbreak #heartbreaking #grieving #announcement #duedate #motherhood #parenthood #judaism #jewish
You can still grieve
You don’t have to justify your grief.
Not to others. Not to yourself.
There’s no grief “criteria” you need to meet.
No timeline. No rulebook. No “right” way.
Whether it was your first loss or your fifth…
Whether you cried for days or stayed numb…
Whether anyone else knew or understood—
your grief is real.
We’re here to honor it. To hold it. To hold you.
#fertility#infertility#infertilitysupport#fertilityjourney#support#groups#group#supportgroup#loss#pain#grief#surrogacy#miscarriage#tfmr#trimester#pregnant#pregnancy#pregnancyloss#fertilityawareness#grieving#heartbreak#heartbreaking#grieving#announcement#duedate#motherhood#parenthood#judaism#jewish
Coping in 3 weeks
Not everyone feels ready to dive into the grief of the Three Weeks. Sometimes just holding steady feels like a big win.
If you’re in a season of quiet healing, if you’ve finally caught your breath and don’t want to lose it again—you’re not wrong for that.
Jewish tradition makes room for mourning, yes—but it also makes room for mercy.
Take what serves you. Leave what doesn’t. You’re allowed to honor your healing on your own terms.
#fertility #infertility #infertilitysupport #fertilityjourney #support #groups #group #supportgroup #loss #pain #grief #surrogacy #miscarriage #tfmr #trimester #pregnant #pregnancy #pregnancyloss #fertilityawareness #grieving #heartbreak #heartbreaking #grieving #announcement #duedate #motherhood #parenthood #judaism #jewish #threeweeks #3weeks
Fertility Grief Part 2
This time of mourning mirrors what so many of us carry privately: the emptiness, the waiting, the longing, the loss.
You’re not alone in the silence. You’re not forgotten in the grief.
#fertility #infertility #infertilitysupport #fertilityjourney #support #groups #group #supportgroup #loss #pain #grief #surrogacy #miscarriage #tfmr #trimester #pregnant #pregnancy #pregnancyloss #fertilityawareness #grieving #heartbreak #heartbreaking #grieving #announcement #duedate #motherhood #parenthood #judaism #jewish #holiday
Acknowledgement
Fertility Grief Part 1
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.
Trip to the Mikvah
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.
Halachic infertility
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.
Mikvah Attendent
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.
That’s what Matters Most
That’s what matters most ❤️🫂
Dear Mikvah
Dear Mikvah—
Thank you @shoshanastavsky for your words. You are not alone 🫂
Mikvah Voices From The Community
For anyone who has ever dreaded the water, feared the touch, or cried alone in their car after doing “what you’re supposed to do”... You are not alone. You never were.
We’re sharing this with permission, so others might feel less invisible.
Mikvah Confessions
Mikvah Night isn’t always joyful…
“The world tells us mikvah night is magical. The night of possibility, of connection. But what if it’s also the night of pressure? Of dread? Of crying in the car on the way there because you’re scared of more disappointment? You’re not broken if it feels this way. You’re human.”
If mikvah night feels hard — what do you wish people understood?
Mikvah
Mikvah - it’s beautiful, it’s magical, it’s triggering, it’s complicated, it’s painful. It can be all of these things when you’re trying to have a baby.