Experiencing infertility or the loss of a child can affect every part of your life. Alongside grief, many people experience anxiety, guilt, anger, loneliness, or a sense that the future they imagined has suddenly changed. These experiences can also place strain on relationships, self-esteem and emotional wellbeing.
Therapy offers a confidential space where you can talk openly about what you are going through without judgement or pressure. Whether your loss is recent, happened many years ago, or you are living with the uncertainty of infertility or fertility treatment, therapy can help you make sense of your experience at your own pace.
At Leone Centre, we recognise that these experiences are deeply personal. There is no “right way” to feel, and there is no timeline for healing.
Our therapists support individuals and couples through child loss, pregnancy loss, infertility and fertility-related challenges with compassion, sensitivity and professional expertise.
What matters most is that you do not have to carry it alone.
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A Place to Land During Grief
“The loss of a baby is a heartbreaking, tragic and isolating experience. Often, you’re expected to manage your grief, and to get on with ‘normal’ things. Therapy offers a place to land in the storm that is life at this time, where you will be met with the compassion and empathy you need.”
– Martina Bador, Couples and Individual Therapist at Leone Centre
Martina’s reflections remind us that speaking about grief can be a powerful step in feeling less alone.
Martina Bador is an Individual, Couples and Psychosexual Therapist at Leone Centre, with over 18 years of experience working in the NHS and universities. She is a member of the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists (COSRT) and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
Learn more about Martina Bador
How Your Therapist Will Work with You Through Child Loss or Infertility
As no two experiences of infertility or child loss are the same, your therapist will work alongside you to understand your unique experience and support you in the way that feels most helpful.
Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed by grief, struggling with anxiety around fertility treatment, finding relationships difficult, struggling to cope, or simply looking for somewhere to process your thoughts, therapy provides a compassionate, confidential space to explore your experience at your own pace.
Therapy can provide you with a safe space to:
- express emotions that may feel too heavy or complex to share elsewhere
- talk openly about your grief and receive support
- understand overwhelming emotions such as anxiety, anger, guilt, overwhelm, or numbness
- process traumatic experiences relating to pregnancy, birth, fertility treatment or loss explore changes to your identity, confidence or sense of self
- discuss difficult decisions around fertility treatment, family planning or future hopes
- receive support with relationships that may be affected by loss
- strengthen communication and emotional connection within your relationships
- develop ways of coping with intrusive thoughts, uncertainty and emotional overwhelm.
- space to explore identity, meaning, and hope after significant loss or trauma
Some people attend therapy for a short period while experiencing a particularly difficult stage, while others find longer-term support helpful as grief evolves over time. Therapy moves at your pace, offering a compassionate space where every part of your experience is welcome.
Feel safe in the comfort of your own home with online therapy, available via Zoom worldwide with most of our therapists.
Contact our friendly team to learn more.
The Many Forms Grief Can Take
Both child loss and infertility can bring forms of grief that are deeply personal and often misunderstood. While each experience is different, both can leave people feeling isolated, unseen, or struggling to make sense of emotions that others may not fully recognise.
For some, grief may look like sadness or longing. For others, it may appear as numbness, exhaustion, irritability, or a sense of disconnection from themselves or others.
It can also bring guilt, anger, or confusion about why something so painful has happened.
Whatever your journey looks like, your feelings are valid. Loss is not something that can be measured or compared, and you do not need to justify your grief in order to deserve care and support.
Grieving Child Loss
Whether it is an early miscarriage, a stillbirth, the loss of a baby, or the death of a child later in life, every loss is profound in its own way.
When a child’s future is suddenly taken away, the grief is not only for the child who has died, but also for their future that was imagined together. It is a loss that can feel impossible to put into words, touching every part of a person’s world.
Grief may carry the weight of years spent loving, caring, and growing alongside them. Memories become both deeply precious and deeply painful, with the loss felt across the whole family.
However your loss has unfolded, it deserves to be acknowledged with compassion. There is no hierarchy of grief, and there is no need to compare your experience with anyone else’s.
Infertility and Grieving the Future You Imagined
According the NHS, “around 1 in 7 couples may have difficulty conceiving”. Though relatively common, infertility can bring a kind of grief that is often unseen. There may be no funeral, no shared rituals, and sometimes very few people who know what you are going through; it can feel like a loss that is carried quietly and alone. Yet the pain is no less real.
Many people find themselves grieving the future they had always imagined. The family they hoped to build, the milestones they pictured, and the life they expected can suddenly feel uncertain. Each month, each treatment, or each unanswered question can bring a renewed sense of hope followed by heartbreak, making grief feel ongoing rather than something with a clear beginning or end.
For some women, infertility can also affect the way they see themselves. In a world where motherhood is often closely tied to ideas of femininity and identity, it is not uncommon to question your worth or feel as though your body has somehow let you down. These thoughts can be incredibly painful, but they are not a reflection of your value. Infertility is not a personal failure, and your worth is never defined by your ability to have children.
Whatever your journey looks like, you deserve kindness, understanding, and space to grieve the future you had hoped for. Your experience matters, even if it feels unseen to others.
Can Infertility and Loss Affect Relationships?
Infertility and child loss can place enormous pressure on relationships. Even when partners are deeply supportive of one another, they may grieve in very different ways. One person may want to talk openly, while the other may withdraw or focus on practical tasks. Neither response is wrong, but these differences can sometimes create misunderstanding or distance.
Relationships may also be affected by fertility treatment, changes in intimacy, financial pressures, differing hopes for the future, or the emotional impact of repeated disappointment and loss.
Therapy can provide a space where both partners feel heard and understood. Couples therapy can help improve communication, rebuild emotional connection, explore difficult decisions together and create space for each person’s grief without judgement. Individual therapy can also support people in understanding their own emotions and strengthening relationships with those around them.
Learn more about couples therapy here.
When Should You Seek Therapy for Infertility or Child Loss?
There is no right or wrong time to begin therapy. Some people seek support immediately after a loss or diagnosis, while others reach out months or even years later when emotions resurface or life events bring grief back into focus.
You may benefit from individual therapy if:
- grief feels overwhelming or difficult to manage
- anxiety or intrusive thoughts are affecting daily life
- fertility treatment is becoming emotionally exhausting
- you feel isolated or misunderstood
- you are finding it difficult to imagine the future
- you simply want somewhere safe to talk.
Couples therapy may be helpful if you would like to:
- strengthen your relationship after loss or infertility
- better understand each other’s experiences of grief
- rebuild connection and improve communication
- find hope and confidence in your future together
- explore difficult decisions in a safe and supportive space
You do not have to wait until you feel you are “coping badly enough.” Many people find that talking with a therapist early on can help them feel more supported and less alone throughout their journey.
Grief and the Importance of Being Heard
One of the most powerful aspects of therapy is simply being heard. Many people who experience child loss or infertility describe feeling as though their grief is invisible or difficult for others to understand.
In therapy, your story is not rushed or minimised. It is given space. Sometimes that alone can bring a sense of relief by knowing that what you feel is valid and allowed to exist.
Healing often means learning how to carry what has happened in a way that feels more supported, steadier, and less isolating.
We Are Here for You
If you are reading this because you have experienced child loss, are going through infertility, or you are supporting someone who is, our therapists are here to support you.
You do not need the perfect words to begin therapy. You do not need to have everything figured out. You only need to arrive as you are.
At Leone Centre we are here to listen, to support, and to walk alongside you at your pace. Your grief matters. Your story matters. And you do not have to face it alone.
Get in touch with our friendly team to discuss your enquiry.
Grief and Infertility Counselling FAQs
How can couples therapy improve relationships affected by loss or infertility?
Loss and infertility can place enormous strain on a relationship, often affecting communication, intimacy, and the way each partner copes with grief. Couples therapy provides a safe space to better understand one another, strengthen your connection, and navigate challenges together.
When should I seek therapy for grief or infertility?
There is no “right” time to seek therapy. Whether your loss or fertility journey is recent or happened many years ago, therapy can help whenever you feel ready to explore your experiences, process difficult emotions, or find support moving forward.
How can therapy help after experiencing child loss?
Therapy offers a compassionate space to process your grief at your own pace. It can help you make sense of overwhelming emotions, honour your child’s memory, and find ways to carry your loss while continuing to live a meaningful life.
Where are therapy sessions held?
At Leone Centre, we offer online therapy worldwide allowing you to access support from the comfort and privacy of your own home. We also offer in-person therapy in London if preferred, from secure, beautiful therapy rooms in Fulham, Wimbledon and Belgravia.
- About the Author
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Co-founder and director of Leone Centre, 20+ years of experience supporting people, and offering valuable knowledge through Couples Counselling and Individual Counselling. Before becoming a therapist, I worked in the financial sector.