Fertility Treatment Abroad

Taking the decision to self-fund fertility treatment is a big step but making the decision to travel abroad takes careful planning and preparation. It has been a frustrating past year for those wishing to travel abroad to Europe and further afield for IVF treatments. The attraction of travelling abroad for treatment is that the costs are lower and the availability of treatments, such as egg donation, can be easier to access. The Coronavirus pandemic has severely restricted foreign travel and many people have been paralysed by the changeable travel and quarantine rules. Traditionally the popular European destinations for fertility treatment are Spain, Greece, the Czech Republic and Cyprus. As travel restrictions look set to continue through the summer and into the Autumn, many seeking treatment abroad may have their plans curtailed. The current restrictions have been a real barrier to patients travelling as the UK government currently advises against all but essential trav…
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Jennifer Saunders calls attention to ‘chronically underfunded’ women’s health research

Jennifer Saunders warned BBC Radio 4 listeners today that women’s health research is “chronically underfunded” as she delivered her first Charity Appeal on the station. On Sunday 29th November, the comedian said that "reproductive health doesn’t always receive the attention or investment it deserves” as she expressed her support for Wellbeing of Women, a charity that invests in women’s health research. Telling the story of Amy, whose ovarian cancer tumour was the size of a mango by the time it was detected when she was just 36, Jennifer explained that the lack of priority given to women’s health research means that women are suffering in silence. “Women play such an incredibly important part in our society; we make up more than half of our population, after all,” she said. “Yet many women’s health issues are often overlooked.” She explained that Amy’s cancer is particularly difficult to treat as it has become resistant to chemotherapy, a common occurrence with ovari…
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Male Fertility MOT

Men considering their fertility might also be wondering where to begin. More than 40% of the problems that cause infertility are related to male factors. Around 1 in 20 men will struggle to conceive yet public awareness of this is not high.   Self-examination   The first place to start is self-examination, which is an important part of understanding your own fertility. All men should be aware of their bodies and be able to identify problems early. Each testicle should be examined separately rolling it gently between the thumb and forefinger. The surface to the testicle will feel smooth and should not have any lumps or bumps or tenderness. Familiarise yourself with your own anatomy and the structures of the epididymis and the spermatic cord. Always ask a specialist if you are uncertain or if you notice any unusual lumps or bumps. Testicular size is an important marker of normal function. However, most men will not have anything to compare their testicular si…
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Steve Parry on ‘Male Fertility’

Steve Parry is British Swimmer and Olympian who won Bronze in the 200m Butterfly at Olympic Games in Athens 2004. Steve is a dad and friend of Total Fertility and wants to raise awareness of the importance of Male Fertility and Testicular cancer. He shares his very personal story of surviving testicular cancer and his fears around fertility.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6Zo1hloqdw  
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When IVF Doesn’t Work

When IVF fails it is devastating. Fertility treatments offers hope to many, so to engage physically and emotionally with such a demanding and expensive treatment can leave you feeling very empty when it doesn’t work. The reality of fertility treatments is that they don’t have a 100% guarantee of success. It is often not fully appreciated that the majority of IVF cycles will not work. About two-thirds of fertility treatment cycles fail. Obviously this statement is a huge generalisation and some patients will have higher chances of success than others. If you are embarking on fertility treatment for the first time, or have had an unsuccessful cycle already, how should you prepare for the day when treatment doesn’t work? The inevitable sadness that comes when a cycle fails is normal. The best advice is not to panic but to begin to talk constructively to someone about how you are feeling and agree on the next steps. If you are going through treatment with a partner it may …
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Kelly Da Silva on ‘Coping with Fertility Treatment’

Kelly Da Silva is a Fertility Support Expert and founder of The Dovecote: Childless Support Organisation. Inspired by her own personal experience of infertility, miscarriages and involuntary childlessness of over a decade, Kelly now supports people at any stage of their fertility journey and beyond. Sharing knowledge, strategies, research and tools gained through her own personal journey, Kelly offers a range of support helping others dealing with the challenges of childlessness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iuIdGSiJMY For more information on The Dovecote: Childless Support Organisation, visit: Facebook Twitter Instagram - Kelly Da Silva Instagram - Dovecote Org
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‘Conceivable’ Jheni Osman and Dr Ed Coats on IVF – Webinar

'Conceivable' Jheni Osman and Dr Ed Coats on IVF - Webinar   Women's health charity Wellbeing of Women recently hosted another excellent webinar where Jheni Osman and Dr Ed Coats discussed what Osman had learnt during her career both as an experienced science journalist and as someone who has been through the IVF process herself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Meg9qM7uG08 Video Transcription Janet: Hello, everybody, I am Janet Lindsey, from Wellbeing of Women, I’m going to wait a few minutes before we start. I’m just looking at the bar at the bottom of my screen and it tells me that participants are joining at this very moment. So, let’s give it a couple of minutes, and we’ll wait for more people to join. I’m working remotely from home, so, that’s London for me in Clapper. What about my two lovely panelists? What about you, Jheni? Jheni: I’m in Bristol, at home in my small but cozy office. Janet: Small is good. Dr. Ed: I’m in Oxford Janet, today. Ja…
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1 in 20 Babies Born Via IVF in Australia

The latest report by The University of New South Wales, Assisted Reproductive Technology in Australia and New Zealand 2018 found that during 2018, 14,355 babies were born via IVF which represents one in twenty of all babies born in Australia. With 84,064 initiated IVF cycles and 14,355 babies born, this gave a live birth rate per embryo transfer of 27.3%. This is significantly greater than the one in fifty of all babies born in Britain. It is estimated that in the last 40 years, more than eight million babies have been born through IVF globally.  
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Dr. Ed Coats Features on Channel 4 NHS Heroes: Fighting to Save Our Lives

Total Fertility co-founder Dr. Ed Coats features in the upcoming Channel 4 documentary, NHS Heroes: Fighting to Save Our Lives, this Wednesday the 6th May at 9pm. https://youtu.be/JLG0SmYTpqA This special documentary follows a number of NHS workers both at home and at work as they continue the struggle of balancing home lives and their hospital duties during the Coronavirus pandemic.
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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and My Pregnancy

By: Dr. Ed Coats As the Coronavirus pandemic surges on, there will be many concerned about the impact that this new virus may have on pregnancy. We wrote about Covid-19 and Fertility Treatment recently with so much uncertainty in the months ahead for those trying to conceive. Those trying to conceive, newly pregnant or perhaps more established in pregnancy will be anxious to understand what lies ahead. We wanted to address the facts and what we know so far about Covid-19 and how to prepare mentally and physically for the months ahead. The Current Situation The latest coronavirus (Covid-19) began in Wuhan, Hubei province in late 2019 and since then has spread globally. There has been a massive effort to gather data from those infected to help understand how it affects us all. Pregnancy is a unique state that needs specific attention as the immune system’s response to infection can differ. On 16th March the UK Chief Medical Officer categorised pregnant woman as a…
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Monkey gives hope to boys post cancer treatment

Incredibly researchers at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have found a possible solution to infertility in boys post cancer treatment. Using monkeys, they found that harvesting the testes of pre-pubescent male monkeys before making them infertile, cryogenically freezing the testes, thawing and grafting a small piece of the testes under the skin of the monkey leading to testosterone production: “during the 8- to 12-month observation period, grafts grew and produced testosterone. Complete spermatogenesis was confirmed in all grafts at the time of recovery. Graft-derived sperm were competent to fertilize rhesus oocytes, leading to preimplantation embryo development, pregnancy, and the birth of a healthy female baby.” There were issues however, most significantly being that although fertilisation of 138 eggs with sperm occurred, only 11 embryos developed enough to be viable options and of those, only one developed all the way to birth – Baby Grady. Although …
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Semi-Identical Twins in Australia for First Time

Two four year old siblings in Brisbane Australia have become only the second case of being semi-identical twins. The sister and brother share all their mother's DNA but only a section of their father's as reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. Genetic testing was used to first identify that the two were sesquizygotic. According to Professor Nicholas Fisk, who looked after the mother and semi-idenitcal twins at Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital said:- “It is likely the mother’s egg was fertilised simultaneously by two of the father’s sperm before dividing,” he said. “The mother’s ultrasound at six weeks showed a single placenta and positioning of amniotic sacs that indicated she was expecting identical twins. “However, an ultrasound at 14 weeks showed the twins were male and female, which is not possible for identical twins.” Read more on The Queensland University of Technology Website  
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