Reproductive health counselling is support for the emotional, personal and relationship concerns that can arise around fertility, pregnancy, loss, and family-building decisions. It gives you space to consider what an experience means to you, talk through difficult choices and identify the support you need. A counsellor can help you work through feelings and conversations, while medical questions remain with your healthcare team.

You do not need to have a diagnosis or be receiving fertility treatment to ask for support. You might be deciding whether to pursue treatment, considering a donor or gestational carrier, or trying to make sense of a loss. The reason for coming to counselling can be as individual as the experience itself.

Who may benefit from reproductive health counselling?

Support can be useful for people at different points in their lives. Margaret Russ’s in/fertility counselling includes work with people facing fertility challenges, intended parents, donors, gestational carriers and donor-conceived individuals. She also offers support around loss and family-building decisions.

You may want a place to talk if you are:

• Waiting for answers or weighing fertility treatment options
• Finding that uncertainty is affecting your day-to-day life
• Considering egg freezing, donor conception or a gestational carrier
• Coping with pregnancy loss or a change to the future you had imagined
• Trying to discuss a reproductive decision with a partner or family member

Seeking counselling does not mean you are handling things badly. Some decisions simply involve more feelings and relationships than you expected.

What might you discuss in a session?

Feelings that are hard to share elsewhere

A person can feel hopeful about one possibility and worried about it at the same time. They may also want privacy, particularly when others ask personal questions. Counselling offers time to put those thoughts into words without needing to settle every feeling in one conversation.

It may help to start with a simple question: “What has been most difficult this week?” Your answer could be a decision, an appointment or an interaction with someone close to you. You do not need to arrive with a clear goal.

Relationships and decisions

Reproductive experiences can bring up different needs within a couple. One partner might want to research the next step; the other might need a pause. Talking about those differences can help each person understand what the other is asking for.

If you are making decisions involving a donor or gestational carrier, conversations about expectations, boundaries and future relationships may also matter. Margaret’s reproductive counselling service addresses these topics. Her individual and couples counselling offers support for relationship stress and life changes more broadly.

What can you do before seeking counselling?

You can begin by writing down the questions that keep returning to you. Separate questions for your medical team from those about your feelings, values or relationships. If another person is involved in a decision, ask what they need from a conversation before trying to resolve it together.

You can also decide what information you want to share with family or friends. A short response such as “We’re keeping this private for now” is enough. For further reading and Canadian support organisations, Margaret’s Resource Corner offers a place to start.

Frequently asked questions

1. Is reproductive health counselling the same as medical care?

No. Counselling addresses emotional concerns, relationships and decisions. A qualified healthcare professional should answer questions about diagnosis, tests or medical treatment.

2. Do I need to be undergoing fertility treatment?

No. Margaret’s fertility counselling page says you can begin while planning ahead or exploring your options, even if you are not working with a clinic.

3. Can I attend on my own?

Yes. You can seek individual support for your own feelings or decisions. Margaret also offers couples counselling when you want to work through concerns together.

4. Can counselling help with donor-related decisions?

It can provide space to discuss motivations, expectations and relationships. Margaret offers specific counselling and assessments for donors, gestational carriers and intended parents. Ask her what type of session fits your situation.

5. Is online counselling available in Ontario?

Yes. Margaret’s website states that she offers virtual counselling across Ontario. Her office is in Etobicoke.

If you would like to discuss what support might look like for you, you can contact Margaret Russ with your questions. You can begin with whatever feels most relevant right now.