The F Word - A Peer Support Group Around Fertility and Parenthood

“When are you going to have children? When am I going to be a grandparent? Are you sure you want to put yourself through the whole IVF thing? You’re gonna regret not having children. Don’t you think two children are enough?”

The pressure around fertility and parenthood can be huge. Feeling alone, emotional, frustrated, angry, lonely, or disappointed because of your body or situation? Whether you have or don’t have children, want, or don’t want to have children, can’t have children, or are unsure if you want to have children, the goal of this group is to create a space where big and small questions around fertility and parenthood can be discussed and to alleviate some of the pressure. The F Word is a space for connection and support for women* and non-binary people who may have similar experiences.

Following The F Word workshops we ran in the summer of 2021, we want to continue the conversation with a regular peer support group for participants to talk and listen to each other’s feelings, worries, experiences and uncertainties, to share similar experiences and create a space where concerns around fertility and parenthood are considered without judgement.

Explore these topics and the feelings they bring up with Girl Gang Manchester and Lea Heim, a trained social care worker, academic and member of Girl Gang who is personally affected by this topic and has been thinking and reading about it for a while.

The group will meet every 2nd Tuesday of the month until April, 8pm - 9:30pm via Zoom. Spaces are limited to 10 people, and we ask that you commit to attending regularly so that the community can be comfortable with each other, and build a sense of trust and solidarity.

The meeting dates of the group are as follows:

Tuesday, 11. January 2022, 8pm - 9:30pm

Tuesday, 8. February 2022, 8pm - 9:30pm

Tuesday, 8. March 2022, 8pm - 9:30pm

Tuesday, 12. April 2022, 8pm - 9:30pm

This group is kindly supported by the Peer Support Innovation Grant from the Independent Mental Health Network https://www.imhn.org/

*Girl Gang Manchester always use the word ‘woman’ inclusively and are actively trans inclusionary in our events, planning and policy. We welcome trans women, genderqueer women, cisgender women and non-binary people.

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Why we ask identity questions?

We want to make our events as inclusive as possible and we often get questions from people who for whatever reason say ‘I really want to come but I am nervous, will I be the odd one out?’ Whilst we will always strive to do our best to make everyone feel welcome, it is useful to know a little more about who our audience is for each event so we can be honest in our responses to any queries. It also helps us tailor events for the people attending and identify who we aren’t currently reaching with our work.

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