Male Approaches to Dealing with Infertility

Men and women may have different thought and emotional patterns when faced with adversity such as sub-optimal fertility.  Men may not outwardly show a need to deal with or unpack things, making it easy to overlook their internal struggle. Yet it's important to support them through such a diagnosis especially since they may not be comfortable discussing it with their pals. A man's partner may be the only person he's comfortable discussing it with.

Along the same line, some men aren't always interested in what they may perceive as "just talk" despite the emotional value of discussing things. They may be more action-oriented in their approach to the world - possibly one of several successful strategies formed during 300,000 years of homo-sapiens male evolution. It's more of a problem-solution mindset, as in, "here's my problem, so rather than spend too much time hypothesizing about it, let's get the right tool and get to work on solving it."

Shady Grove Fertility published a great article on this issue recently. Here's an excerpt:

"Traditionally, men feel and deal with their emotions differently than women. Women will use conversation as means of weaving the fabric of a relationship, while men are interested looking at the end result—cutting  the cloth and making the product. Thus, when an issue is presented, men are often solution focused, searching in a “tool bag” for how to solve a problem. So while a woman may need to talk to work through her feelings and feel better, her partner may not."

We're excited that The Underdog is the first of many effective tools we aim to create to help your swimmers reach their full potential.