Friendships after Infertility

Resentment that built up during your infertile years may not automatically evaporate once you're a parent. In this excerpt from The Belated Baby: A Guide to Parenting After Infertility, the authors acknowledge those leftover infertile emotions, and discuss how you can move on to meaningful relationships with old friends and fellow parents—regardless of how they got there.

When you were hoping to become a parent, maybe you glamorized the other side of the fence. Once you were a mom yourself, you imagined, you'd immediately fall into a close circle of fellow moms, and find all the love and laughter and support they seemed to share when you were watching from "outside." You'd no longer feel alone, or outside the group—with a baby, you've gained—at last!

If only it were that easy. Friendships can be just as challenging once you become a parent as they were before—or at least as complex. One of the best ways to work through your residual bitter feelings is by having strong, supportive friendships. But after going through infertility, those friendships may have changed.