Bouquets of flowers. Hallmark Cards. Exuberant social media posts with photos of beaming mothers holding their newborns some taken thirty years ago, some thirty minutes ago. Mother s Day is not a day many typically associate with pain and loss. But for women battling infertility, the open and seemingly unavoidable celebration of motherhood can reopen wounds both fresh and old. It s important to take care of yourself as you work to build your family. One way to do that is to proactively plan how you ll spend certain holidays that make it a little harder to fight this battle. Another is to connect with others who are going through the same thing, or have been in your shoes before. So we asked our Instagram community for their best tips on how to survive Mother s Day, and here s what they said. 1. Keep yourself busy. Mother s Day is not a day to sit around the house not only because of what the day celebrates, but what day of the week it falls on!

Popular culture has trained us to associate self-care with indulgence - with treating ourselves and ‘me time.’ Don’t get us wrong - we love a good spa day or Netflix binge, and sometimes, that’s exactly what we need. But it’s important to realize that self-care is much more than that.

Scientific research tells us that gratitude is one of the best ways to beat stress and help patients cope with the physical and emotional demands of infertility treatment - but practicing it is easier said than done. Here are a few simple, practical ideas for naturally infusing more gratitude into your everyday life - and feeling better today.