Jacqueline Fernando
Follow Jacqueline and her work @apsara.therapy.
Five sentences about me…
I’m a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist based in California and after experiencing infertility and miscarriage, I decided to focus my private practice on supporting those struggling to build their families. I started Apsara Therapy to create a space where people struggling with infertility could feel safe, heard, and understood. I’m a proud advocate and volunteer with RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association, and run free monthly support groups because I’m passionate about eliminating the stigma and loneliness that surrounds this disease. I’m devoted to family, cooking, good books, and being a houseplant nerd.
Five sentences about what I've endured in the fertility realm...
My husband and I spent 8 years in the infertility world struggling to conceive because of an Unexplained Infertility diagnosis. What a maddening and cruel joke of a diagnosis! Fertility treatment reminded me that I have very little control of anything and that being patient and handling setbacks was going to be a skill I had to learn whether I wanted to or not. Our fertility journey took us through 10 rounds of IUI and 3 IVF. I eventually gave birth to a daughter in 2014 and my rainbow baby son in 2019 through the miracles of IVF.
One thing I wish I knew going into my fertility journey...
Family & friends who have not been through infertility are going to unintentionally say, do or not do things that are going to hurt your feelings. Try not to get too mad at them, but instead try to be deliberate and teach them how they can support you during this journey.
One thing about me that is forever changed because of my fertility journey...
I firmly believe that infertility patients are warriors in the truest sense. I have tremendous deep respect for those fighting to build their families in a process that is so difficult.
One funny moment or anecdote from my fertility journey...
My husband is the biggest scaredy-cat of blood and was zero help with injectables. It was 100% me using the bathroom mirror, standing on one foot to administer progesterone in oil (PIO) in order to prevent blood squirting across the walls, and recreating a’ CSI: Miami’ crime scene.
One product, practice, or ritual I adopted during my fertility journey, which I have/have not kept a part of my life...
Saying "no" to things that I don’t want to do or people I don’t want to spend time with because they don’t bring me joy, and not feeling the need to justify or explain myself. It is liberating!