A Fertile Path, authored by Janetti Marotta, PhD, in partnership with ARC Fertility, brings the teachings and practices of mindfulness to care for your whole self as you navigate the complex network of emotional, physical, and situational trials that infertility presents. While experiencing the stress that comes from infertility and its treatment, self-nurturance is not just important, it's essential. This step-by-step guide offers strategies for the challenges on the road ahead and support to develop the resilience you need to stay the course of your fertility journey.
With the guidance of this mindfulness-based approach, you will discover how to:
- turn on the relaxation response and self-soothe,
- anchor attention to the present moment through mindfulness of the breath and body,
- rejuvenate physical health holistically,
- work with thoughts skillfully and emotions compassionately,
- approach challenging interpersonal situations with equanimity,
- find support in your intimate relationship,
- open to family-building options, and
- identify obstacles as challenge and crisis as opportunity.
To shift from the realm of theory to practical application, A Fertile Pathincludes meditations, exercises, journaling, and practice logs. Guided meditations that complement the formal practices covered in each chapter can be accessed on the author's website: www.janettimarotta.com/meditations. With this treasure trove of resources, you will be rejuvenated, transformed, and inspired to walk the path for yourself.
About the Author: Janetti Marotta, PhD, shares the lessons of her own healing journey through infertility, and those of the women and men she has worked with, to bring the teaching and practice of mindfulness to the challenge of fertility. After five years of repeated miscarriages, IVFs, donor IVFs, and failed adoptions, she became the mother of a daughter through surrogacy. She is a clinical psychologist, published author, featured speaker, and workshop facilitator and has specialized in every area of infertility since 1990.
Dr. Marotta is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Nevada, Reno, who has served on the regional board of RESOLVE, the National Infertility Organization, and worked as a staff psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford University. She is the founder of the Fertility Support and Mindfulness Program at Palo Alto Medical Foundation Fertility Physicians. Dr. Marotta is a long-time practitioner of meditation and mindfulness and also author of the book 50 Mindful Steps to Self-Esteem: Everyday Practices for Cultivating Self-Acceptance and Self-Compassion. For more information about her work, you may visit her website, www.janettimarotta.com. Free ten-minute guided meditations that complement each chapter's formal practice are available on www.janettimarotta.com/meditations.
