LUCY KEMP Infertility and Pregnancy Loss Counsellor | Community organisation

LUCY KEMP Infertility and Pregnancy Loss Counsellor

Phone: 0401243540

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24.01.2022 Today is a great day. Every fortnight for the past 3 years I have sat with a client as she has grieved for the loss of 7 pregnancies. Throughout it all, she has remained full of grace, courage and somehow held on to hope. She has taught me so much about vulnerability and bravery. This afternoon she gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Finally her dream has come true, after taking many long breaths on an incredibly tough journey.... Today is a great day.

24.01.2022 I have always felt incredibly privileged that my clients share their innermost thoughts and feelings in our counselling sessions. I learn so much from them about humanity and life. Recently, I sat with a client who has endured 7 pregnancy losses as she explained that she no longer felt she could be optimistic. I empathised with this after she has suffered so much heartache but I asked her if, rather than being optimistic, she could join me in holding hope. She is now pre...gnant with a little girl and every week at our sessions, I continue to hold that hope with her. When I read this beautifully honest article on the weekend, it resonated as a story like so many told by my clients. As Christiane Gurner says so eloquently, "...when it comes to the IVF battle, I don't expect miracles. I'm just trying to keep Hope and Trust as allies. To keep them alive." http://www.smh.com.au//the-ivf-warrior-a-letter-to-my-lost

18.01.2022 Please love yourself enough to be unapologetic about what you need. Do everything you can to kick the back-of-the-line narrative out the door. Surround yourself with people who encourage you, who care for you...who ask what they can do to help. I read these wise words today in Kumi Taguchi’s beautifully honest letter to her new-Mum self in the book The Motherhood. I believe self-compassion - being kind to yourself - is paramount for women going through infertility, pregnancy loss and adjusting to life as a new Mum. If you do just one thing for a friend who has just had a baby, buy her this book. It will normalise what can be a challenging few months. (If you do two things...go over and hold that baby just for 15 minutes, so that Mumma can take herself for a walk alone in the fresh air and sunshine ).

16.01.2022 There are many myths about infertility, but I think the most damaging is the belief that stress causes infertility. So often I sit with clients who have had people around them suggest that they should just relax, take a break and then they will get pregnant. I'm not sure there is anything more annoying than to be told to "relax" when the thing you most want in the world is to be pregnant. As this article points out, "the myth that stress causes infertility unfairly places the responsibility for treatment failure or success on the shoulders of the woman, a conclusion that is not supported by science." https://www.washingtonpost.com//183a1556-74e3-11e8-b4b7-30

14.01.2022 That beautiful moment when you get to cuddle the baby girl your brave client has waited 7 years to welcome...

10.01.2022 Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful Dads out there. And to all those men who long to be a Daddy but whose grief is often overlooked in pregnancy loss, or who are enduring the IVF rollercoaster...you are in my thoughts today. https://www.smh.com.au//ivf-is-a-sausage-factory-i-was-not

09.01.2022 So often I am in awe of my clients and feel incredibly privileged that they are vulnerable enough to share their innermost thoughts and feelings with me. This week was no exception, and when I read this quote I thought of so many of these brave women.

09.01.2022 I am constantly amazed and inspired by the resilience so many people show in their determination to become parents https://edition-m.cnn.com//ivf-rainbow-baby-ph/index.html

06.01.2022 So often a client comes into my office convinced they are suffering from depression when in fact what they are experiencing is grief. Whilst antidepressants have their places in treating mental illness, when we look at whether a person is suffering from anxiety or depression we always should consider their personal circumstances. As Dr Joanne Cacciatore points out in this interesting article, "When you have a person with extreme human distress, we need to stop treating the... symptoms. The symptoms are a messenger of a deeper problem. Let's get to the deeper problem." Often feelings of anxiety or depression may in fact have been brought on by the grief of pregnancy loss or infertility. Providing counselling support - a listening ear, an empathetic response in a safe environment, effective strategies to manage anxiety - can make all the difference and avoid the need for antidepressants. http://www.smh.com.au//nearly-one-in-10-australians-take-a

05.01.2022 Grief is like an ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing...All we can do is learn to swim. A wonderfully practical article explaining how to support a friend through their grieving process. https://tinybuddha.com//how-to-help-a-friend-through-grief/

05.01.2022 Wise advice from Hadley Freeman on this International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

04.01.2022 This morning, as I started Mothers Day with cuddles and homemade cards, I thought of the difficult road navigating pregnancy loss and the rollercoaster of IVF that led to the beautiful destination of the most important role of my life...motherhood. I spent much of today quietly reflecting on all the friends and clients who share with me their often incredibly arduous journey to become a mother. For some, there is no happy ending. And so today, on Mother’s Day, I want to honour all those women who face such ambiguity and enormous challenge in their quest to become a mother with courage, grace and resilience.