On the back of my hoodie I have written:
“People will forget what you said and did, but never how you made them feel.”
And on the front:
Life By Love
fertility → family
It might look simple from the outside, but for me it carries a whole world of meaning. It represents the space I work in every day, and the part of life that I feel is often deeply overlooked.
The space between fertility and family
The journey from fertility to family is not just medical. It is emotional, physical, relational, and often deeply vulnerable. It can be full of hope one day and fear the next. For many, it is also a space of silence, where a lot is carried internally because it feels too complex, too private, or too heavy to put into words.
What I often see is that people are moving through this space while being met with systems that are doing their best, but simply don’t have the time. Ten minutes here, a quick update there, a scan, a result, a next step. It is efficient, but it is not always human in the way people actually need.
And yet this is one of the most sensitive transitions in life.
This is where I feel my role becomes important. Not to replace medical care, but to walk alongside it in a different way. To slow things down. To listen for what is underneath the words. To notice when someone is holding their breath through an entire conversation without realizing it.
Because sometimes what matters most is not another piece of information, but the feeling of being truly seen and understood as a whole person. In many ways, this is about remembering that there is a person behind the client, someone who is working so hard to build their family, while often carrying it all quietly on their own.
Why feeling seen changes everything
The way someone is supported during this time can shape how they move through the entire experience. Not only physically, but emotionally and even in how they relate to their body and themselves.
I don't believe support during this stage is something extra or "nice to have." I see it as preventive care. When people feel safe, heard, and not alone in what they are going through, something in them softens. There is more space for clarity. More capacity for trust. Less internal pressure to carry everything on their own.
This is why I often go beyond what is expected. Not because it is required, but because I see the gap when I don't. Traditional systems are not built to provide the time, continuity, and emotional support that many people need during this journey. And so I choose to offer that space.
What I want people to feel when they work with me is not being rushed or managed, but being genuinely cared for. Like they can exhale a little. Like they are not just a case or a timeline, but of a human moving through something deeply meaningful.
Because in the end, most people won't remember every detail of what was said or done along the way.
But they will remember how they felt while they were going through it.
So I often come back to a simple question:
Who is looking after the person behind the client?
And what might shift if you didn't wait for things to become overwhelming before you allowed yourself to receive support?
Love,
With love, Johanna.
