Some time ago we posted about another group, the HOPE Pregnancy Loss Support Group, that also meets at St. Luke’s UMC. One woman actually attended the meeting last Tuesday and had some great comments, which are shared below. If you’ve suffered a miscarriage you might also consider this as another way to work through your grief. While my miscarriages were a few years ago, I’m still considering going now. Anyway, here’s the feedback:

“As for the HOPE group, I loved it. I really wish I had known about it months ago. There were about 15 women there and based on what was said it’s a pretty regular group with a few people coming and going each month. At the beginning of the meeting we went around the room and shared our stories and the discussion just sort of flowed from there. Most of the women have children at home, some have experienced infertility*(*please note that infertility is not the focus of this group), and others had their losses many, many years ago and still come to the meetings. Overall, the group seems to be very compassionate. The December meeting is actually an informal memorial service for the babies. They’ve also recently built a small garden as a memorial to the babies. You can buy a plaque and inscribe it with whatever you want and then it goes on the wall. I was just really impressed with these things. They don’t minimalize your pain or the life of your babies. If anything, the group affirms that your pain is real and acknowledges the existence and importance of the babies which were lost. Depending on what you’re looking for I can see the group being a really great thing. It was incredibly comforting and therapeutic to know that other women have experienced similar things, have struggled with the same feelings of pain, loss, anger, etc. The only downside I can see is that it’s difficult to listen to the experiences of the other women–they are truly heart breaking. In some ways it opened up old wounds and hurt, but I’m not entirely sure that’s a bad thing. I think that talking about it with other women may actually be beneficial in the long run.” - Recent Group Attendee 

If you think this could be for you, please contact Rev. Marsha Hutchison at 317.846.3404 ext. 315 for additional details. They also offer one-on-one support.

It’s hard to believe that summer is drawing to a close and that fall is on it’s way. As the seasons change, so is Indy Resolve. We are looking for new leaders to take over the group for 2010. While we have kept up a site and this blog, that is not required. You can simply send out the e-mail and have the meetings.You could also change the location and evenings. If you think you’d be interested, please either e-mail us at indyresolve@yahoo.com or let us know at the next meeting. Without new leaders, the group will dissolve and we’d like to see it go on. So, think about whether this might be something for you! And a reminder that the next Resolve meeting is this coming Monday, September 14th from 6:30 – 8:30 pm.

Here’s a great response we received from a wonderful woman who attended our support group once. I thought it was very honest account of what happens on the “other side” of the fertility journey. We wish **** all the best for a health pregnancy of her and the babies.

“Thank you for sending the email, since our IVF round was successful I was unsure about contacting anyone, I thought it might make people uncomfortable or upset.  I know how I felt when hearing someone else had gotten pregnant and I didn’t want anyone to feel bad.  This has been such a hard pregnancy so far, I’ve had hyperemsis pretty bad.  From week 6 to week 12 I had to go to the hospital 3x’s for dehydration, I was hooked up to an I.V. at home for 8 days for dehydration, I was also hooked up to an zofran pump for 4 weeks,  and I lost 20 lbs total… I have to go for a weigh in tomorrow to make sure I am gaining weight.  I have been able to eat for about 1 1/2 weeks now, so I’m hoping that keeps up. The thing we have to deal with now, is we’re having twins, so the question EVERYONE asks is “Did you use fertility treatments?”  It gets old having to field that question, over and over again.  Only close friends, and family know we did IVF, but we say no to everyone else. 

As Karen and I left the last meeting (which was great!) we talked about how each meeting we have new faces. It’s a good feeling to know that we continue to reach new people each month but we wonder what has happened to those of you have attended before? We know a few of you have gone to become pregnant and that is wonderful. How has the pregnancy affected you now after your fertility journey? What about the rest of you? We’d love to hear if attending even one meeting helped you take a new step on your fertility journey and where you are now.

Also, the national Resolve organization is now offering free teleseminars and offer a great range of topics. If anyone actually “attends” one, we’d love to know if you felt it was worthwhile.

Find details at: http://www.resolve.org/site/PageServer?pagename=teleseminar

We will have a fun change to our format for the May meeting. For part of our time together, we’ll have a local speaker and aspiring author on finding humor while trying to get pregnant, Lori LeRoy. Here’s more about Lori:

“As a woman with a gigantic set of birthing hips and two uteruses (I have a bicornuate uterus), I thought I’d have no problem conceiving. Adding insult to injury is the fact that my husband’s sperm count is off the charts. However, it’s been about 4 years of assisted and non-assisted trying and still no baby. The way my husband and I have coped with this frustrating ride on the road to conception is through humor. There are many, many embarrassing and awkward moments when you’re going through the many procedures, wacky suggestions from Web sites and friends and such. Instead of shedding tears, we decided to chuckle and giggle. It’s probably not the method of choice for every couple (and we do still have our moments of sadness), but it’s helped us tremendously. In fact, I am currently working on a manuscript, tentatively titled “A Pregnant Pause — Fertility Foibles”, which tells funny real-life sperm stories, egg anecdotes and conception chronicles of couples on the road to parenthood It includes stories from our 4 years of trying as well as other men and women who have been able to find some hilarity in their baby-making trials.”

So, if you’re still waiting for the right month to come, this is it. We’ll share laughs with Lori, share the heartache of Mother’s Day and be there for each other in the process.

Here’s our May meeting information:

Monday, May 11th from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
St. Luke’s United Methodist Church on the north side of Indianapolis
100 W. 86th Street – between Meridian and Spring Mill Rd.