Not having a child

If you have not been able to preserve your fertility, or even if you have, you may come to accept that you won’t have a child, or more children. You might feel like you ran out of time, money or energy to keep trying to have a child.

Emotional responses

Not being able to have a child after cancer treatment may cause a range of emotions, including:

• sadness or emptiness
• a sense of grief or loss for the life you thought you would have
• anger that cancer and its treatment caused changes to your body
• relief, contentment or happiness
• empowerment, if you chose not to have children.

Finding fulfilment without children

It can take time to accept that you won’t have a child and learn to enjoy the benefits of being child-free – more time to follow other aspects of your life, focus on your relationships, advance your career or afford a different lifestyle.
Many people have happy and fulfilling lives without children or gain satisfaction from other types of nurturing.

Seeking support

How you feel about having a child may change over time. It may depend on if you have a partner and how they feel.

If you want support, you can talk to a counsellor, social worker or psychologist. They can also help you deal with challenging situations (e.g. if your partner feels differently to you).

Learn some tips on coping with an infertility diagnosis and other ways to find support.

I learnt that you can Iive a fulfilled life without children.

Duncan

→ READ MORE: Emotional impact of infertility