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Dr. Erica Berman has her Masters of Counseling Psychology and a special certificate in infertility counseling. She also has her Ph.D. in Exercise Sciences and has been working as a fitness instructor and personal trainer for 20 years. She enjoys helping clients make positive changes in their lifestyle and health. She has a special interest in the area of infertility which extends not just to individuals and couples facing infertility, but also clients dealing with low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, and relationship issues. Along the way, she has also developed a passion for helping members of the LGBTQ community create families through third-party assisted-reproductive technologies.
Today in the second part of my two-part series about the impact of sexual abuse on fertility, we will be talking about some of the ways that sexual abuse can impact a woman’s fertility, and how it can impact women during their child-bearing years. We talk about the prevalence of sexual abuse, and why we have such a hard time believing that someone we know could be the abuser. We talk about the specific ways that a history of sexual abuse can impact a woman’s relationships when she chooses to have children and the ways that a history of abuse can impact a woman who is experiencing fertility challenges.
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Topics discussed in today’s episode
- How prevalent is sexual abuse? And why is this an important topic to bring to light?
- The nature of pain and loss and why we are always comparing our experiences to those of others
- Why do most people still believe that sexual abuse is rare? And why do we have a hard time believing that someone we know could be responsible?
- The impact that sexual abuse can have even if the survivor of the abuse doesn’t define it as sexual abuse or assault
- The different ways an experience of sexual abuse can impact a person’s relationships and his or her ability to trust others
- Why women who have experienced sexual abuse may delay having children until later in life
- The additional challenges that women who have a history of sexual abuse face when they are also facing fertility challenges
- The importance of teaching your children the proper terminology for their genitalia, and how this relates to sexual abuse
- The impact that infertility can have on a couple’s relationship
- The different ways that men and women react to infertility struggles and why these different reactions can cause relationship challenges
- The relationship between age and fertility
- How to support someone who is experiencing fertility challenges
Connect with Erica!
You can connect with Erica on her website, and on Facebook and Twitter!
Resources mentioned
- Erica Berman | Erica Berman Health and Wellness Counselling
- How Sexual Abuse Affects Fertility | Huffington Post | Erica Berman
- When Infertility Affects Your Marriage | Huffington Post | Erica Berman
- Want to have kids one day? Get to know your fertility health | Huffington Post | Erica Berman
- The Kind of Fertility We’re Not Talking About | Huffington Post | Erica Berman
- “We want to talk about sex”: Grade 8 girls push for Ontario sex-ed reforms to include the concept of consent | The Globe and Mail
- FFP 026 | Myths and Facts About Sexual Assault | The Impact of Sexual Abuse on Fertility and Infertility Part 1 | Erin Martin
- FFP 011 | Age-Related Fertility Decline | Using Reproductive Technologies | IVF, IUI & IVM | Dr. Melanie McDowall
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Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by Sirc of (The Nock)
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