Press Releases

May 30, 2011

Author addresses emotion trauma of infertility

WESTPORT
By LESLIE LAKE
Hour Staff Writer

While many of her friends were comparing  car seats, baby feeding
schedules and Mommy and Me playgroups, Kristen Magnacca and her husband
were immersed in a world of temperature-taking, monitoring monthly. . .

Once consumed by trying to have a baby, Magnacca, now the mother of two, has written "Love and Infertility: Survival Strategies for Balancing Infertility, Marriage and Life."

Magnacca has served as an expert on the emotional aspects of infertility and conducts seminars nationally. In her book, Magnacca offers 28 strategies for coping with the emotional aspects of infertility.

She addressed a group of women who attended her workshop and booksigning on April 26 at the Westport Women's Club, sponsored by New England Fertility of Stamford in recognition of National Infertility Awareness Week, April 24 to 30.

Magnacca told her personal story of her quest to have a child and the process of realization that the goal of having a child had become all-consuming to the detriment of her other relationships, self-esteem and creativity. 

"Everything in my life revolved around pregnancy," she said. "I took all of my other creativity and put it on a shelf, because I was trying to create a family."

Infertility is a major crisis for one in eight couples, according to Resolve-The National Infertility Association. The losses include the loss of a genetic legacy, loss of the parenting experience, loss of sense of hope for the future, and low feelings of self-worth. . . .