You know sometimes how you feel a burst of creativity coming on? Last Sunday, I awakened before dawn and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I could tell an idea was percolating. And then,
poof!
the name, The Trying Times, came to me, and with it, the idea for an e-newsletter for reproductive warriors.
As I lay there in the dark, I realised that there are so many of us in the pregnancy loss and infertility community who are experts in what we do. Some of us are writers. Some of us are activists. Some of us are medical professionals, or nutritionists, or amateur experts in whatever medical condition we have. And I realised I’m not aware of any other resource which brings together a curated list of links to others’ work in a monthly e-newsletter.
Thus, The Trying Times aims to amplify voices from the reproductive trauma community. It shares humanist (non-religious) and intersectional (representative of all walks of life as much as possible) writing and art, alongside helpful resources for people currently experiencing pregnancy loss and infertility.
REPRODUCTIVE TRAUMA ENCOMPASSES:
miscarriage, stillbirth, primary infertility, secondary infertility, anyone else who has needed a doctor’s help to get pregnant (e.g. LGBTQ parents and single parents by choice), pregnancy complications (e.g. placenta previa), birth differences (e.g. a cleft palate), traumatic delivery, as well as babies in the NICU, and parents with pre- and postpartum depression and/or anxiety.
How to Read The Trying Times
I’m still working out the kinks, but I’ll publish the first issue this month. You can sign up for the mailing list here. You can also follow The Trying Times on Instagram @thetryingtimes, Twitter at @_thetryingtimes and Medium at @readthetryingtimes.
Content Warnings
As someone who is actively TTC, I am acutely aware that I have grief triggers and suffer from pregnancy loss and infertility PTSD. Maybe you do too. So, where appropriate, beneath each link will be a content warning (CW) with keywords for topics that might trigger grief and/or anxiety,
e.g. “CW: pregnancy loss.”
I’ll do my best not to ambush you!
How to Submit to The Trying Times
If you have (or want to recommend) a piece of writing, artwork, or a resource that would interest The Trying Times’ readers, you can submit it here.
♥
Just for fun, here’s a sneak preview of some logos / artwork I’ve been working on :)
Shirl says
Wonderful that you’re doing this Lauren ! Kudos to you and all reproductive warriors out there .