For those facing the challenges of childlessness

Media volunteers needed

National Fertility Awareness Week 1-5 Nov 2021 is one month away and we need your help. We will be highlighting the following five themes during the week and we need people happy to share their experiences in these areas with the media (you can be anonymous). If you are able…

Pursuing other meaningful life goals

It is not worth spending all that time on nothing but childbirth! I certainly don’t want my whole life spent on nothing but childbirth! Developing and pursuing other meaningful life goals helps most people to reach acceptance of their unmet desire for children. However, despite desiring to ‘move on’, some…

Acceptance

Compared with others, our experience is not that easy, it’s difficult. However, we will let it go because we need to continue with our life. Reaching acceptance takes time and many people sustain a strong hope to have (more) children for a long period of time, which can sometimes go…

Meaning making

Infertility has sent me on a spiritual journey in search of my lost soul When faced with loss, we will always try to make meaning of our situation. The search for meaning implies reaching some form of understanding of why loss happened and how it impacts our life. With this…

Research showed that…

... there are three important tasks that help most people come to terms with their unmet desire for children: making meaning of their experience, developing acceptance of their reality, and refocusing life on other fulfilling goals Actively engaging with these will help you to adjust and renew your sense of…

More To Life Meet Ups

When living without children wider social interactions often bring intrusive questions or unwelcome insensitive comments. It is therefore small wonder that many choose to withdraw from their known social network and patterns. More to Life recognises this and aims to offer support to find meaning in life beyond children and…

Beyond the Comfort Zone. Refinding yourself after fertility treatment.

My name’s Fi and I don’t have children. Over the years, this statement has produced so many different feelings. There was relief up until my mid 20s when I was in the carefree stage of finding out who I was and deciding what I wanted to do when I grew…

Conceiving Histories Exhibition

A review by Kerry, More to Life Member The Peltz Gallery, Birbeck College, University of London This exhibition came about partly because literary historian, Dr. Isabel Davis, was curious as to whether “something that hasn't happened could have a history?” Working alongside Artist, Anna Burel, they have produced what initially…

#childlesshour on Twitter

Created in 2017, each and every Tuesday evening at 8pm #childlesshour, hosted by Walk in Our Shoes, is an opportunity to meet others who are childless not by choice on Twitter.  The conversation is fast, fun and varied and has already brought people more information, inspiration and confidence.  Whether you…

Coping with Christmas

Join Jody Day, the Founder of Gateway Women, on this free, live video webinar on: ‘Coping with Christmas’ Saturday 2nd December 2017, 6-7pm GMT Limited numbers so make sure you register today. Click here to find out more.  http://gateway-women.com/workshops/coping-with-christmas-a-free-live-online-webinar-with-jody-day-sat-2nd-december-2017-6pm-gmt/

Why companies need a Children in the Workplace Policy

Dealing with maternity and children in the workplace can be difficult. Employers often don't recognise the sensitivities around people who are involuntarily childless. A member of the MTL community had this article published in the HR Magazine recently. Have you had this conversation with your employer? Is it something you…

Male Infertility

This year’s National Fertility Awareness Week saw considerable coverage, with many channels helping to highlight male infertility.  The coverage included new research by Leeds Beckett University showing the impacts on men due to infertility.  Find out more about the research here. (http://fnuk.wpengine.com/male-infertility-is-emasculating-its-treatment-one-sided-and-insensitive-and-emotional-support-is-lacking-first-qualitative-survey-of-mens-experiences-of-fertility-problems-finds/) Watch Sheridan Voysey who spoke to BBC news…

Walk in Our Shoes

Walk in Our Shoes is a website created for and by men and women who are childless not by choice.  By sharing a photo of their own shoes and telling a story about their experiences they invite you into their world and help you realise that you are not alone.…

World Childless Week 11 – 17 September

The campaign, set up by Stephanie Phillips, has been created to banish the stigma of being unable to have children. This might be due to fertility problems, infertility as well as other issues. There are a number of different infertility weeks already but most are focused on how to improve…

Support for those in Northern Ireland

Hilary: NI Co-ordinator (Part-time) and Rachel: NI Support Co-ordinator (Part-time) In Northern Ireland we work across the country to provide help to people at all stages of their fertility journey. We aim to provide support and appropriate information to those considering their future fertility; those trying to become parents; those…

The Pants Project: Valentine’s night party

Fancy something different for Valentine's Night? Join the Pants Project for a night of live music, pink champagne and canapes to raise funds and awareness for those facing fertility problems. The Pants Project will be auctioning underwear, jewellery and lots more with the proceeds going to help support people with…

Life Skills Programme – Northern Ireland

A FREE 6 week Life Skills programme called ‘Living Life to the Full’, through funding from Aware. Based on a CBT approach, it will look at ways to challenge your thinking and experience life in a more positive way. If you are struggling with coming to terms with a life…

Coping with the challenges of Christmas

Facing Christmas and the festive season when you’re childless by circumstance can be too painful to bear. It’s hard enough seeing images of family and what you don’t have and want during the rest of the year, but there’s something about Christmas that can make it far, far worse. Perhaps…

What legacy can the childless leave?

This is an interesting article about childlessness and the desire to leave some kind of legacy to the world - read the article here