Infertility and miscarriage, what you need in a moment of uncertainty
This is not vague comfort, but clear guidance.

Balancing Medical Truth and Mindfulness for Those Facing the Pain of Loss

The path to parenthood seems open to everyone, but for many, it involves countless struggles, tears, and unexpected losses.
In particular, as the age of marriage and childbirth increases and environmental factors change, many couples are experiencing difficulties in pregnancy and childbirth.
According to statistics, approximately 15% of couples in our country currently suffer from infertility.
Additionally, the miscarriage rate compared to births has steadily increased over the past 10 years, reaching 49.4% in 2022.
These statistics indicate that infertility and miscarriage have become important issues that our society must address together and find solutions to.
But the most difficult part of this process is that it is difficult to obtain proper information.
There's a lot of unverified information floating around on the Internet, and it's practically difficult to determine which choice is right.
This book is a scientifically evidence-based guide co-authored by Director Choi Beom-chae, an infertility specialist with 30 years of experience, and Professor Kim Hee-sun, an obstetrician-gynecologist specializing in high-risk pregnancies and psychological counseling for infertility and pregnant women.
Based on extensive clinical experience with numerous couples, the program provides accurate medical information as well as empathy for the psychological difficulties experienced during infertility and miscarriage, and meticulously presents methods to overcome them.

When I meet women who have experienced infertility in my clinic as an infertility specialist, most of them are more concerned about the possibility that the child they have come to with difficulty might disappear than the joy that most expectant mothers feel when they hear the news of pregnancy.
Because of this, it is common to see cases where people feel fear and hasty give up even at the slightest amount of bleeding that occurs during the implantation process.
In such cases, not only the woman herself, but also her husband and all the family members around her may appear to be walking on thin ice.
--- From "A Story of Infertility Solved Together"

'God does not give children to those who want them, but chooses the children who are needed.
'Failure to conceive is also a step toward successful conception.' I always tell this to couples seeking treatment for infertility.
I hope these words will bring them some comfort, and I hope that they will be blessed with the birth of a healthy child, even if it takes some time.
--- From "Infertility is something we must understand together"

Modern people are experiencing a decline in sperm count due to environmental factors such as 'pollution', 'environmental hormones', and 'stress'.
And this means that the number of male infertility patients will also increase.
In fact, statistics show that infertility problems are often caused by male factors, with 33% being caused by men and 20% being caused by both men and women.
--- From "Can male infertility be treated?"

There is one thing that many infertile patients have in common.
That means they are living a life that neglects their own health.
Especially for young infertile couples, ‘obesity’.
It is often accompanied by diabetes, high blood pressure, and fatty liver disease.
When I see couples like this, I feel sorry for them because they seem to have suffered from infertility because they failed to maintain their health despite their young age.
Therefore, if you find out that the cause of infertility is related to 'the patient's poor health due to poor lifestyle', it is important to use this as an opportunity to become a 'healthy mother'.
--- From "Affirmative Practice for Myself"

When I meet working pregnant women, I often encounter 'miscarriages due to work life' or 'self-reproach as a working woman after a miscarriage.'
When a miscarriage occurs, the worker may blame himself for it and worry about the miscarriage in advance.
However, as a doctor, I would like to urge you not to worry about miscarriage in advance or to blame yourself for it.
Although work life may be one of the complex causes of miscarriage, it is difficult to say that it is the sole cause of miscarriage.
--- From "The Legacy of Working Women"

Socially, 'older woman pregnancy' is receiving a lot of attention.
However, the older the pregnant woman is, the more likely she is to develop chromosomal abnormalities (as discussed above).
Because chromosomal abnormalities are unpredictable, the only thing we can do to correct them is to take good care of our health before pregnancy.
If you maintain a healthy condition in the uterus, your pregnancy can be maintained healthily.
--- From "Practices for Miscarriage Prevention"

Because inheritance is something you can never control by your own will, the feelings of helplessness and loss that come with it can be deeply traumatic.
So, I tell people who have experienced a miscarriage, “You need to cry loudly enough.”
Even if you can't even make a sound because of the unbearable sadness, you must cry out loud.
Because those who have experienced a miscarriage must pour out and sweep away all the layers of sadness that have built up in their hearts.
--- "Accept and mourn sufficiently

As mentioned earlier, pregnant women who have suffered a miscarriage need ample time to grieve.
Therefore, rather than covering it up, it may be better for the relationship for the couple to have honest conversations and communicate their feelings.
So, I always tell pregnant women who come to my first outpatient clinic after a miscarriage that their husbands cried a lot.
Then, many wives would get teary-eyed when they hear that story.
It may be because she feels that her husband is also sharing this painful time, and that she is not alone.

--- From "Understanding Each Other's Hearts with Family"