How Infertility Impacts Friendships – and How Counselling Can Help

Infertility is more than a medical condition—it’s an emotional journey that affects every aspect of life, including your relationships. One of the most overlooked impacts of infertility is how it can strain, shift, or even fracture friendships.

When friends are falling pregnant, celebrating baby milestones, or simply not able to relate to your experience, feelings of isolation, jealousy, or grief can emerge. And while this is natural, it can be incredibly painful.

At Your Story Counselling, we understand how complex and overwhelming infertility can be. Through infertility counselling, we support individuals and couples navigating not just the clinical side of fertility challenges—but the emotional and relational toll it takes.

How Infertility Can Affect Friendships

Infertility can place unexpected strain on even the strongest friendships. You may find yourself:

Feeling Left Behind

When friends are announcing pregnancies or parenting milestones, it can feel like your world is standing still while theirs is moving forward. This sense of falling behind can lead to resentment, sadness, or avoidance—even when you're happy for them.

Withdrawing from Social Events

Baby showers, birthdays, family gatherings—what used to be joyful events may now feel like emotional minefields. Avoiding these moments can protect your mental health, but may also create distance in your relationships.

Struggling to Talk About It

Infertility is deeply personal. You may feel uncomfortable bringing it up, unsure how your friends will respond—or worse, feel dismissed or misunderstood when you do.

Receiving Unhelpful Advice

“Well, just relax and it will happen.”“You can always adopt.”“At least you know you can get pregnant.”

These comments, while often well-meaning, can feel invalidating or dismissive. Over time, they may erode trust or create emotional distance.

Changes in Connection

As your experiences diverge, it can be harder to relate to friends with children. What once felt like easy conversation can now feel strained or superficial. Sometimes, friendships naturally shift—or even fade—through this process.

You're Not Alone: The Emotional Cost of Infertility

The grief of infertility is invisible. Because others can’t see your loss, they may not understand the emotional rollercoaster you're on—month after month, cycle after cycle.

It’s common to feel:

• Lonely, even when surrounded by people

• Angry or resentful without wanting to

• Ashamed, broken, or "less than"

• Guilty for distancing yourself from loved ones

• Anxious about the future or your sense of identity

  
  

These feelings are valid—and you don't have to carry them alone.

How Counselling Can Help

Infertility counselling offers a safe and confidential space to process your emotions, explore the impact on your friendships, and find clarity and confidence as you move forward.

At Your Story Counselling, our approach to counselling is compassionate, down-to-earth, and centred on your unique story. We support individuals and couples at every stage of the fertility journey, helping you to:

• Work through feelings of grief, anger, or loss

• Build emotional resilience during treatment or uncertainty

• Navigate friendship dynamics with honesty and boundaries

• Reconnect with your identity outside of fertility struggles

• Find strength and support in your relationship or as an individual

  
  

You don't need to reach breaking point to benefit from counselling. Sometimes just having a neutral space to speak openly—without judgement—can bring immense relief.

Final Thoughts

Infertility can leave you feeling disconnected, not just from your body, but from the people you once felt closest to. But your friendships, like your emotions, deserve gentle attention, not shame or silence.

Whether you're seeking understanding, emotional release, or practical tools for navigating difficult conversations, infertility counselling can support you in honouring both your grief and your relationships.