IVF BFF

In this episode we dust off our mics to bring you a big old catch up of where we are both at now. Sian has had her baby, and Catherine is currently in the third trimester, and we discuss life after treatment and our ideas for the pod moving forward (it will NOT become a pregnancy or parenting podcast!)TW: We discuss birth, birth trauma, pregnancy after IVF and pregnancy loss. If these topics are difficult for you please skip this episode and come back another time.Follow us on insta: @ivfbffpodEmail us [email protected]

In this episode, Catherine chats to the wonderful Alice Rose, founder of Fertility Life Raft. Alice is a coach and mentor and offers a plethora of support for those going through the struggles of infertility. We chatted about her own journey to create her family and the incredible mindset work she discovered along the way which gave her better tools to cope with an incredibly stressful time dealing with infertility. Alice offers various coaching courses, the next one being her brilliant Reclaim six week programme, which is open for enrolment until midnight UK time on 2nd November.You can find Alice on Instagram at @fertilityliferaft, and her next course can be found at fertilityliferaft.com/reclaim. We hope this is a helpful and soothing listen!

TW: This episode is a discussion on pregnancy after IVF and following miscarriage. Please only listen if you feel able to, In this episode, we discuss Catherine's recent BFP, and what it's like to be newly pregnant again following IVF and a previous miscarriage, including all the anxiety that naturally comes along with it. We also catch up with Sian on her experience of pregnancy after IVF. Follow us on Instagram @ivfbffpodEmail us at [email protected]

We are deep in the two week wait! In this episode, Catherine and her husband Carl talk through their recent transfer and share their feelings from the middle of the dreaded two week wait. We also discuss how recent events impacted Carl, and the perspective of the partner through treatment and miscarriage, especially as a male partner. TW: We discuss pregnancy loss in this episode. See you on the other side!Follow us on Instagram @ivfbffpodEmail us at [email protected] us to be added to our Whatsapp support community.

In this episode, Catherine and Carl are in the thick of treatment and we catch up on their recent egg collection. We chat about the process, the numbers, the dreaded embryology phonecalls and the plan for a fresh embryo transfer - it all hangs in the balance!TW: Brief mention of Catherine's previous positive test and subsequent miscarriage. Follow us on Instagram @ivfbffpodEmail us at [email protected]

In this episode, we speak to the wonderful Becky Kearns, who goes by Defining Mum on Instagram. Becky talks about her journey to having her children via donor egg conception, and her work to advocate for those going through or considering donor conception. This is a heartwarming chat about Becky, her family and the route she took, and the incredible advocacy work she continues to do. We hope it will resonate with those in a similar situation and maybe educate others. TW: We briefly mention pregnancy loss as part of Becky's story. We also briefly catch up on Catherine's next round of IVF and how the injections are going. Follow us on Instagram @ivfbffpodEmail us at [email protected]

This is a real treat of an episode, we managed to catch the wonderful BFN girls, Gabby and Emma for a chat! BFN is amongst the OG fertility podcasts, and became an absolute beacon of light for Sian and myself in our trying days. They are funny, frank, and informative and through their incredibly successful podcast they have amassed some incredible guests. They also happen to be two of the loveliest humans you could meet.A quick trigger warning, both Gabby and Emma's stories did end in IVF success but we don't speak much about their pregnancies or babies in this episode.This was recorded a couple of months ago, during Catherine's last two week wait, and we had meant to release it before now, but life threw us a curveball with our pregnancy loss, so it was put on the back burner. If anything seems a little out of date that is why. You can find BFN on social media, podcasts, and also read or listen to their brilliant book. They are currently taking a summer break from their substack but will be back in the autumn. We hope you enjoy the episode!You can find us on instagram @ivfbffpod or email us on [email protected].

TW: This episode contains discussion of miscarriage and medical/surgical management of miscarriage. We also briefly touch on Sian's successful pregnancy in a couple of places momentarily.The episode we never wanted to have to record. We sadly discuss here Catherine and Carl's recent miscarriage. It's an emotional and real chat, as ever - we bring you everything, warts and all. However we manage some light and shade too. We are sending love to anyone affected by pregnancy or baby loss.Links for miscarriage support below:https://theworstgirlgangever.co.uk/https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/https://www.tommys.org/https://www.sands.org.uk/https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/bereavement-support/practical-advice/places-to-go-for-support/

TW: This episode contains discussion of a positive pregnancy test after a successful frozen embryo transfer. In this episode, Sian and Catherine discuss Catherine's BFP after her recent embryo transfer. We discuss the various feelings involved in early pregnancy after IVF and the future of the podcast (don't worry, it will NOT become a pregnancy pod!)To anyone struggling and still waiting for their good news, we are sending you so much love.Follow us on Instagram @ivfbffpodEmail us at [email protected]

Catherine is deep in the two week wait following her second embryo transfer, and what better time to bring you a TWW survival guide with the wonderful Carly Garrett.We discuss why the two week wait, both in natural trying and IVF is such a heavy time and the feelings associated with this, and Carly offers some excellent strategies and techniques to help cope.Carly's work offers so much support for those going through this tricky time and we hope you find this a soothing episode with some helpful advice.You can find more of Carly at her website: https://www.carlygarrett.co.uk/Follow us on Instagram @ivfbffpodEmail us [email protected]

In this episode we chat to Katie Rollings, the founder of Fertility Action. We discuss Katie's tireless work campaigning for NHS equality in access to IVF, and her work in patient support and Fertility Action's newly awarded charity status! Katie is an absolute firecracker and it was inspiring talking to her.To support quality in NHS fertility treatment, you can sign the petition here.https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/711621We also discuss Catherine's recent second frozen embryo transfer, the first attempt since her failed round in February.Follow us on Instagram: @ivfbffpodEmail us: [email protected]

In this episode we speak to Jennifer Edmonds, founder of Element Pilates & Yoga all the way in Australia! Jen shares her own fertility journey, whilst telling us about her background in exercise science, and how yoga was a game changer for her own fertility story, Her free fertility yoga guide can be found here:https://jennifer-edmonds.mykajabi.com/fertilityyogaguideWe also catch up with Catherine's transfer prep and hear how her pre-transfer scan went.

In this episode, Sian and Catherine get stuck into answering all the questions you've been asking over on our Instagram page. We discuss Catherine's current medicated round prep and hopefully there's some nuggets of advice for everyone in our Q&A. Follow us on Instagram: @ivfbffpodEmail us: [email protected]

TW: This episode contains discussion of secondary infertility and dealing with trauma.In this episode, Catherine and Sian chat to the brilliant Dr Grace Lee-Brindle, aka. The Not So Fertile Psychologist on Instagram. Grace talks us through her own journey navigating secondary infertility, and also about her work as a clinical psychologist specialising in fertility support.Grace's own practice, Hope In Mind Psychology can be found at glbpsychology.co.uk. On Instagram you can find her as @thenotsofertilepsychologist.Follow us on Instagram: @ivfbffpodEmail us: [email protected]

TW: This episode contains mention of TFMR and pregnancy loss. In this episode, Sian and Catherine catch up on Catherine's latest IVF news. We then speak to the wonderful Emma Whitney, AKA the Embryologist, Director of Embryology and Genetics at The Evewell Fertility Clinic. Emma speaks to us all about her work as an embryologist, her own journey to building her family and answers some of our top questions. Follow us on Instagram: @ivfbffpodEmail us @[email protected]

We are back for a second series! In this episode, Catherine and Sian discuss Catherine's prep for a natural frozen embryo transfer, although it isn't as plain sailing as we'd have hoped. Sian has had a recent trip to the breast clinic (all fine, luckily) - another unwanted side effect of IVF! Follow us on Instagram @ivfbffpodEmail us at [email protected]

In this episode, Sian and Catherine catch up on Catherine's recent IVF updates as she prepares for another embryo transfer following a first failed round. We also chat about the difficult day that is Mother's Day and ways to cope with it when experiencing infertility. Follow us on Instagram @ivfbffpodEmail us at [email protected] will be back very soon with series 2!

TW: This episode contains discussion of a positive pregnancy test. In this episode, Catherine and Sian discuss the outcome of Sian's first round of IVF, which has been successful. We talk about Sian's news and how to delicately and sensitively handle this going forward within the infertility community. We also discuss how news like this can impact a friendship when one person has good news whilst the other is struggling. We give some advice as to how we are handling it, and things that might help listeners cope with friends' pregnancy announcements. It is important for us to say that this remains a TTC and infertility podcast, and we will now not be mentioning Sian's pregnancy as a rule. We will focus on Catherine's continued IVF treatment and the stories of the wider infertility community, and we are dedicated to this remaining a safe and comforting space to those struggling. We will always use trigger warnings when needed too if any discussion of pregnancy needs to be had.

CW: This episode contains discussion of a negative pregnancy test and a failed round of IVF. We still manage a giggle in there but this is a real and raw conversation, if you feel you can't listen to this right now please skip or save for later. In this episode, Sian and Catherine discuss Catherine & Carl's recent BFN and failed round of IVF. We also chat about Sian's recent embryo transfer and the two week wait. Follow us on instagram @ivfbffpodEmail us at [email protected]

It's been a mammoth week for Catherine and Sian!Catherine has had her embryo transfer, plus found out how many blastocysts she and Carl ended up with from this round, and Sian had her egg collection on her 36th birthday. We discuss what happened in both the transfer and egg collection, and the danger of comparisons when going through IVF, or even just TTC alongside close friends also in the same boat. Follow us on instagram @ivfbffpodEmail us at [email protected]

In this episode we discuss Catherine's recent egg collection and the results so far, and how she found the process. Sian has had her dose doubled, and has a few more scans under her belt. We both discuss the next couple of weeks and Catherine's transfer (hopefully) and Sian's egg collection next week. Find us on Instagram @ivfbffpodEmail us at [email protected]

In this episode, Sian and Catherine have a round up of their weeks, and their treatment plans so far. Catherine is willing her follicles to grow between scans, and Sian had a curveball thrown at her during a scan which threatened to derail treatment. We then chat to Catherine's husband Carl, who takes the time to talk all things male factor infertility, and how he has dealt with his diagnosis of a male factor fertility issue. We also discuss the perspective of a partner supporting with the physical aspect of treatment, and how to support each other when going through it.Follow us on instagram @ivfbffpodEmail us at [email protected]

Catherine and Sian have both started treatment and injections are well underway! In this episode we discuss the start of both of our treatment, and our respective treatment plans. We talk about how we are feeling, the reality of IVF treatment sinking in, and what's coming up next. Follow us on Instagram: @ivfbffpodEmail us at [email protected]

Happy New Year! In this episode, recorded on New Years Eve 2024, we discuss our progress so far leading up to our IVF treatment and how we are getting ready to start treatment. Sian is gearing up for her first scan and injection in two days, and Catherine still has a week or so to wait. We also discuss New Year and how it can leave us feeling. Get in touch, follow us on Instagram at @ivfbffpod or email us at [email protected].

It's Christmas!In this episode, Sian and Catherine catch up on their IVF news and updates from the last few weeks, and then chat all things dealing with Christmas whilst struggling to conceive. We ponder what to say to Auntie Ethel who casually asks when you're going to have kids at the family Christmas gathering, and how others can best support us. ]Expect fake prosecco, present swapping, and a few laughs along the way whilst we navigate what is inevitably a very difficult time for so many. We hope you enjoy - Merry Christmas.

In this episode, Sian and Catherine have a catch up on their weeks, chat about the reaction to the first ever episode and then discuss all things to do with the first year of trying to conceive.

In this episode, Sian and Catherine give an introduction to who they are, and their stories so far. We chat about what an IVF BFF actually is, and what it feels like to be stepping into the daunting world of fertility treatment.