The Fertility Podcast

IVF Babble is a gorgeous looking website with a whole host of informative and friendly information, from understanding different symptoms you might be experiencing during your cycle to what to ask about at your fertility clinic. There's also celebrity interviews and discussions with experts in the fertility field. I had a chat with its founders Sara Marshall-Page and Tracey Bambrough who have both been on their own fertility journey's and both have twins!   You will also hear us discuss IVF Buddy which is launching in April and will enable people going through fertility struggles to find someone else to talk to, this is a brilliant idea as so often when you're having to get your head around IVF it's hard to know who to talk to. I had my best friend there for me, as she had previously been through three rounds of IVF before having success and I was then able to share my experience with another good friend. If I'd have known about IVF Buddy when I was going through my treatment I might well have encouraged my husband to have a look as he was much more reluctant to speak to anyone about it but me.http://wp.me/p4T6k0-lD

Do you know what Endometriosis is? Can you believe that as many women have it as have diabetes, yet it can take up to 7 years to diagnose? Meet Claire aka @EndoLady on twitter who I found online sharing her experience of Endometriosis. Claire spoke to me to share her story and struggle to deal with the condition as well as shedding light on the symptoms of Endometriosis. Claire blogs regularly in a really honest and enlightening way and works as a volunteer for Endometriosis UK Which leads me onto my second guest, Emma Cox, CEO of Endometriosis UK the leading charity that supports women living with Endometriosis. The organisation works to improve the lives of people affected by endometriosis and to decrease the impact it has on those with the condition and their families and friends. Emma explains the resources the charity has available such as a helpline and a pain and symptoms diary which they advise to use to track your pain as Endometriosis is cyclical and given that most GP appointments aren't longer than 10 min, the more information you can be armed with ahead of your appointment, the better. There's also information on how to get involved with the worldwide Endometriosis March which is taking place on 25th March 2017. You can also follow them on twitter

Forget the myths about egg donation hear from a woman who has altruistically donated 29 of her eggs. I also speak to the founder of Altrui, a UK egg donation programme Have you wondered about egg donation and been put off by the sensationalised newspaper articles or just not really understood how it all works? My latest episode hears from an egg donor.  A lovely lady called Amelia who has donated 29 eggs. Amelia shares her story of her husbands cystic fibrosis and her own gynecological problems which meant that a starting a family wasn't an option for the pair. So Amelia chose to help others start theirs.  She is now crowd funding to help another couple start their family.You can read Amelia's blog and get a link to her justgiving page here . Amelia is working with Altrui who I have also spoken to in this episode. Alison Bagshawe is the founder of Altrui and explained to me how Altrui was set up in 2010 to meet the overwhelming need for egg donors in the UK. Alison believed that couples in the UK needed more practical help when seeking a donor, and that the women who donate eggs deserved to be properly looked after, well-informed and appreciated for what they were doing. There is lots of brilliant information on Altrui's website which I think if you are interested in becoming a donor or considering using a donor please do go and have a look as it really it beautifully presented.   

When an Indian Bull's sperm is given considered so special, why aren't Men given the correct nutritional advice to enhance theirs? Nutritionist Melanie Brown offers a solution. My latest guest Melanie Brown is a Nutrionist who specialises in helping people to prepare for pregnancy, be it natural conception, or through an assisted reproduction cycle. I had a fascinating chat with Mel who is finishing a Master's Degree and as part of it, wants to focus on male fertility issues.  Mel spoke about how she feels Men are being ignored when it comes to teh attention given to their fertility.Saying that she felt there "has probably been more research done on bull and stallion sperm than human sperm" Meet Yuvraj , the bull in question whose sperm is worth so much to its owner that Yuvraj is massaged, has his own playlist and treated to such a lavish diet that is costs £21 per day to give him his two daily meals!  You can read more about  Yuvraj . Mel and I spoke about why she feels Men are overlooked when it comes to information about what they can do to improve their sperm health. As part of her Masters, she is looking to work with men who have fertility issues over a 12 week period to see if a diet of lovely sounding things like fresh fruit, veg, pulses, seeds, meat, fish, poultry - you know basically healthy eating, just cutting out all the CRAP.. can help.. If you'd like to get involved in Mel's trial drop her an email and tell her I sent you to [email protected]  

Once you've had a child through fertility treatment should it be easier to deal with your emotions when friends announce baby number 2? Should you be content with what you've got or are you OK to have that yearning for another? Also learn about natural fertility tips to help you get pregnant . My latest episode focuses on managing your internal voice when dealing with 2nd pregnancy announcements from your baby friends. Inevitably it's hard and stirs up a range of emotions from guilt to anxt mixed with joy for your friend of course. Get my shownotes here 

Test your sperm guys. If you're trying for a baby and it's taking a while, there's nothing to be ashamed of, get a test either over the counter or in a lab. But don't just sit there, get involved. Hear about the latest sperm testing available. Click here for the episode  show notes

Meet Jenni, a curly haired lovely lady who caught my eye on twitter. Not only because I'm a fellow curly barnet but because she was tweeting about freezing her eggs and making a documentary. Jenni is based in LA and her short film Chill The Documentary is gaining all sorts of accolades in the short film festival circuit in the US. Hopefully we'll get to see the film this side of the pond. For now, you can hear from Jenni about her decision to document what she had decided, how she decided to freeze her eggs and what happens next... I've had a few conversations with some of my single girlfriends about this. The general feeling is that it's expensive. However if you have the money why not make sure you have no regrets if you're worried about your fertile age. I've featured it on this podcast before in a chat I had with Tracy Sainsbury from The London Women's clinic about her work as an IVF counsellor and the advice she has for women wishing to freeze their eggs. Tracey is also involved in an event happening in London next week (24th January 2017) To find out more about Jenni's and her work visit her website  I also spoke with Anya Sizer about an important discussion taking place in Parliament on Thursday 19th January 2016 regarding the post code lottery for Fertility treatment in the UK  

  I found Tasha Bishop on twitter, or maybe she found me. However it happened, Tasha is one determined young woman. Eloquent, entrepreneurial and clearly prepared for anything life throws at her. Whilst I continue on my journey speaking to those whose route to parenthood hasn't been as straight forward as planned I'm still amazed at how complicated it can be to have a child.. from birth defects to issues still yet to be understood. Tasha, as you will hear in our chat was born with Mayar-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome in simple terms this means born without a womb but you can read the explanation above and listen to how Tasha explains more.  When I first was in touch with Tasha, I asked her to email me with more info about her story and I wanted to include some of it here. As you'll hear in our chat, she is studying English Literature and I just loved how she wrote to me. It was a lengthy email so I have paraphrased it but spend the time to read this and ask yourself if you were this composed at 19... I know I bloody wasn't! http://wp.me/p4T6k0-k1

Survival hacks for this Christmas from Dr Robin Hadley as he discusses how men deal with involuntary childlessness

Jody Day and Kelly Da Silva gives their Christmas survival tips and discuss the work they do helping those who have found themselves involuntarily childless.   Christmas is challenging for all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons. I was keen to speak to two women Jody Day and Kelly Da Silva about their survival tips for Christmas when you are childless. Both women share their stories and both have great survival hacks. Know you're not alone, make a note of their facebook groups listed below and make sure you have them on your phone for those moments, over the festive period where someone says something without thinking and you find yourself wanted to run out the door.http://wp.me/p4T6k0-jJ

Having to produce a sperm sample when not for pleasure isn't something any man is keen on doing.Tom Webb, Director of a new documentary is putting the spotlight on the male journey through fertility journey and shares his extraordinary 12 year journey with his partner Nic.   Meet Nic and Tom - the subjects of my latest episode. You'll hear from Tom who tells their story and is now crowdfunding to make a documentary about how men are affected during fertility treatment. As Tom states very clearly in our chat 'I'm very conscious of the fact I never want to compare what men go through to what women go through as it's so very different'. Tom however is keen to put the spotlight on the struggles Men have and like I try to do with this podcast give them a voice. You can find out more about the crowd funding campaign to support The Easy Bit here  I first found out about Tom and his partner Nic from twitter, where I find so many fascinating people willing to share their story on this podcast. The pair were writing a blog together about their fertility treatment and the challenges it threw in their faces. Nic had to undergo surgery ahead of treatment and the pair documented their steps initially to let their family know what they were going through rather than having to repeat themselves again and again. But as you'd imagine, their blog was far more reaching. Tom's work for a production company meant he was also responsible for producing the #HiddenFaces campaign for Fertility Network UK which is a brilliant insight into the variety of people affected by #infertility. I urge you to watch the videos.http://wp.me/p4T6k0-jr

Find out more about being an egg or sperm donor and hear more about the support available from Fertility Network at the UK's Fertility Show. At the end of National Fertility Awareness Week, I made it to The Fertility Show - yey! It's a destination I've been wanting to go to, however I didn't know about whilst going through fertility treatment and then once I was pregnant I didn't think it was the right place to take a growing tummy. Then last year, I didn't have the chance. So I was delighted to be invited and had a great time looking around at who was there and introducing this podcast to more people. I spoke with Anya Sizer, about her new role at Fertility Network UK, her adoption experience and the Hidden Faces campaignhttp://wp.me/p4T6k0-jk

An exclusive episode from the 25th anniversary party of the HFEA with an insight from some of its founding members. I was delighted to be invited along to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority   (HFEA) 25th anniversary celebrations, and get more of an insight into the work the organisation has been doing. It was fascinating to hear from different members and how they have been involved and I hope this podcast episode gives you more of an understanding of the essential work the HFEA does. In this episode you'll hear from Sally Cheshire, Chair for the HFEA, Hugh Whittal, who was the first deputy CEO,  Adam Balen  Professor of Reproductive Medicine & Chair British Fertility Society. Kate Brian, author and journalist who has been a guest on this podcast before and is an HFEA board member , Simon Jenkins  a columnist for the Guardian and was a board member between 2001 and 2006 and Sue Avery , an early HFEA member, embryologist by training and head of the IVF clinic at Birmingham Women's Hospital.

Hear from Emily Hodge about her work to coach and support people with their minds after cancer, having overcome bowel cancer at 30.

Find out what's in store if you're attending 2016's Fertility Show in London, plus how Infertility Network UK has had a rebrand. Have you thought about going to The Fertility Show in London next month? I've not been however I've spoken to the organisers in previous years and wanted to find out about this year's show. Laura Biggs in the MD and she's new in charge. I was keen to hear about this year's show and what she hopes to achieve with the changes her events company River Street have made. I also caught up with Susan Seenan, CEO of Fertility Network UK  which is the newly rebranded Infertility Network UK and you can hear all about what's instore for the new site which will be launching for this year's National Fertility Awareness Week 2o16. Do have a listen to some of my previous chats with Susan about the incredible work she does. Susan talked about the #Hidden Faces campaign that Fertility Network has been running, asking people who have been through treatment to share their pictures so you and I can see more people just like us.. normal people affected by something no-one could have predicted.http://wp.me/p4T6k0-iT

A round up of my UK fertility clinic visits with Access Fertility plus find out what's coming up for National Fertility Week 2016

James Hopkisson and Nick Raine-Fenning talk you through their ethos for Nuture in Nottinahm and the fertility treatments available Welcome to Nottingham, once again. My second clinic visit to the East Midlands. This time to Nuture. I was keen to have a chat with these guys as one of my best friends now has twins as a result of treatment at Nuture and another friend is going through treatment there . I'm originally from Nottingham so I still have a good number of friends there. I met with Nick Raine-Fenning and James Hopkisson who are the Medical Directors and were very passionate about the treatments they offer. Nurture was established in 1991 by the University of Nottingham to study the science behind IVF and develop new techniques and treatments. In 2014 we joined The Fertility Partnership, the largest provider of assisted conception cycles in the UK.

Hear from Leeds Centre for Reproductive Medicine about the fertility treatment they offer http://wp.me/p4T6k0-iuHello again and welcome to my latest clinic visit, which took me to a somewhat rainy Leeds - but with the friendliest taxi driver I've met so far. Leeds Centre for Reproductive Medicine is result of merger in January 2010 of two very successful Reproductive Medicine Units based within the Clarendon Wing at Leeds General Infirmary and the Gledhow Wing at St James's University Hospital. The new Centre is now located at the Seacroft Hospital in purpose developed facilities. I spoke to lead embryologist, Karen Thompson, Nurse Nicola Sugden and Consultant Elisa Baskind. A bit about me, if this is your first listen and viewing of The Fertility Podcast, I'm Natalie your host and I had successful treatment in 2014. You can read more about me here. For now all you need to know, is I've been working with Access Fertility  who work with clinics around the UK, offering finance plans for you if you have to self fund your treatment. What I am doing is giving you an insight in the clinic, as someone who has been through treatment, to hopefully help you with your decision. Finding out you need to have fertility treatment is massive, it's overwhelming. So when it comes to choosing a clinic it can feel like another stress, will it be the best place for you? The HFEA have just relaunched their website ( in beta version) which you can view here  that's what we did. If there had a been a podcast about the different clinics and what they are like, when we had to choose I would definitely have listened to it. The world of fertility is fascinating and the people in it are truly remarkable.  I hope you find this clinic visit useful and as interesting as I did.

Find out more from Oxford Fertility, and their A-Z of fertility as well as their unique waiting room giving you a unique view of their embryology lab

Learn more about the bespoke fertility services available at The Agora in Hove, catering for Brighton and Hove's diverse community This time in my UK clinic visit tour, I was at the seaside and actually in another of my former stomping grounds - Brighton, well Hove Actually ( as the locals say) to visit The Agora Gynaecology & Fertility Centre in Hove, East Sussex,specialises in diagnosing and treating the causes of infertility, offering bespoke fertility services to both NHS and privately funded patients. The clinic is about a 5 minute walk from Hove station and as you can see is hard to miss.I spoke with Carol Gilling Smith, Medical Director and founder of the clinic who shared her passion for the care she provides and her pride in her bespoke service for the diverse community of Brighton and Hove. Also her work on fertility prevention for cancer patients. I also spoke with Mel Callister, Clinical Nurse Manager with her infectious smile and especially proud of the work she does.

Central London clinic Boston place talks about its fertility preservation work for cancer patients as well as giving me a guided tour of its state of the art lab Welcome to my next clinic visit, this time I was in central London at Boston Place, which is a stones throw from Marylebone Station. Definitely the closest clinic to a station I've visited yet. It's very discreet and the decor is  plush and somewhat boutique hotel like, as you can see from the pictures. Plus you can see a very excited me, stood in my scrubs in a lab which was a real treat  as I've never been into one before. You can hear all about it from Dr Cristina Hickman who was responsible for building the lab and has worked all over the world. I also spoke to Dr Anna Carby and Nurse Mary Kennedy.

Hear from Care Fertility Nottingham and the ground breaking with they do in the fertility world, from world firsts to indepth analysis in their labs.   The Care group has clinics across the UK  and some of its staff were part of the pioneering team involved in the world's first IVF baby. You'll be hearing from some of their other clinics, later in the season. In this episode you will hear from Sarah Swift, a counsellor at Care,  Dr Mahar Ragunath, Mary Smedley, Nurse Manager, Collen Lynch, an embryologist. I was excited to go back to Nottingham, my home town and despite the rain it was a fascinating visit to Care. A bit about me, if this is your first listen and viewing of The Fertility Podcast, I'm Natalie your host and I had successful treatment in 2014. You can read more about me here. For now all you need to know, is I've been working with Access Fertility  who work with clinics around the UK, offering finance plans for you if you have to self fund your treatment. What I am doing is giving you an insight in the clinic, as someone who has been through treatment, to hopefully help you with your decision. Finding out you need to have fertilitytreatment is massive, it's overwhelming. So when it comes to choosing a clinic it can feel like another stress, will it be the best place for you? The HFEA have just relaunched their website ( in beta version) which you can view here  that's what we did. If there had a been a podcast about the different clinics and what they are like, when we had to choose I would definitely have listened to it. The world of fertility is fascinating and the people in it are truly remarkable.  I hope you find this clinic visit useful and as interesting as I did.  

Male infertility needs to be spoken about more and in this episode you hear about azoospermia, a short film about a man coming to terms with being childless and a research paper on men's use of online fertility forums. Meet Kristen, she's a lovely lady who left me a message via my website ( which you can too)  and in this episode you'll hear her share her story of her and her husband's journey to starting a family, which hasn't been in any way straight forward. Kristen's husband was diagnosed with azoospermia andthe pair have been trying for over four years . You get to hear Kristen share her feelings on her husband's diagnosis and where they are now.  Kristen has just started blogging, so if you'd like to fin out more about her check out her blog  Garry Paton is the producer of The Crossing, which is out in October. Below is a scene from the film  - meet Terry before his relationship falls apart! Follow the films progress on twitter here  Dr Esmee Hanna, from the Centre for Reproductive Health talked about the research she had done looking at men's use of online forums. You can access the paper here .  There is also a third paper which also looks at what they have discovered about male infertility which you can read here     

How to deal with miscarriage. Hear two women share their struggles of dealing with recurrent miscarriage and their tips on dealing with your grief. An honest and frank chat on a topic that needs to be spoken about more

You wouldn't think by looking at the sky in the picture that is was taken on 31st July! It was a pretty cloudy day, but I also don't think I've got the hang of my new camera app either. Still, I wanted to share this snap from a kite festival as my husband and I were somewhat amused to see a line of sperm flying high in the sky. How are you? I hope my post finds you well as we enter into mid summer in the UK and await another heatwave. The last one happened whilst I was out of the country of course! This episode of my podcast is just to update you on what's going on in the podcast and hopefully get you in the mood to get in touch. I've been having some exciting chats with folk I met at Fertility Fest as well as chatting with the HFEA to keep my podcast growing and I'm asking for your support too. Over the next month, I'm really aiming to engage more with you, my lovely listener. If you follow me on twitter, do say Hi, if you'd like to sign up to my newsletter just leave your details in the box below and I PROMISE to start getting better at keeping in touch. My podcast is for you, to help, in what is one of the most testing times of your life. I hope it does. Bye for now Natalie x

 Newlife Fertility Centre brings together a highlyqualified, caring and professional team under the auspices ofmedical director, Mr Amin Gafar an internationally respectedexpert in assisted conception, with over 20 years' experience atthe forefront of fertility medicine. He has gathered around him ateam of highly qualified professionals, who bring their ownexpertise and dedication to patient care to Newlife. In my chat,you will be hearing from Mr Amin Gafar and Blair Sowry, LeadEmbryologist. Newlife has it's own holisticcentre, including a yoga room and acupunture suite which I thoughtwas a lovely touchNewlife shownotes

In my chat, you will be hearing from Dr ThanosPapathanasiou, Lead Consultant, Stephen Lynch, LeadEmbryologist who gave me a very good tour of the clinic, FertilityNurse Carol Steel and Joanne Brand, Clinic AdministratorGet the shownotes here BournHall Norwich shownotes

In my latest clinic visit with Access Fertility, I'm in Glasgow at GCRM speaking to Dr Marco Gaudoin, PatAmbrose, Clinical Care Manager and Chris Adam, Acting Lab Manager  and Nicole Gibson Deputy Lab Manager. Find out all about IVF, ICSI, Fertility treatment, ovarian reserve test, open evenings and much more  GCRM Glasgow shownotes

Hear my chat with Wessex Fertility. You will be hearing from DrJaqui Tuckey, Consultant,  Holly Moseley, Embryologist andRosie Bishop, Marketing co-ordinator who gave me a touraround. Get the shownotes here Wessex Fertility shownotes

You will be hearing from Dr Arpita Ray, Lead Clinician,Leanne Kidger, Lead Nurse and Anne O Leary, lead Embryologist. Getthe shownotes here http://wp.me/p4T6k0-dr

Hear a round up of the inaugural Fertility Fest 2016 in London, which took place on Saturday 11th June, at The Park Theatre. I don't tend to issue a podcast with a disclaimer but I feel I need to explain as I've put this podcast together whilst being at my inlaws, after my day at Fertility Fest. So it's been a bit of a rush job, as I'm meant to be joining in, not working! Also  my inlaws weren't aware of our fertility treatment, and my spending the day away, whilst my husband was with them with our son, was inevitably going to provoke questions as to what I was up to. Needless to say, over dinner, I explained what I'd been doing and about my podcast - all of which I'd not told them about and 'we came out'...again... we told the inlaws about our fertility treatment. Once again, it was tough.. and it highlighted something that was so prominent from my experience yesterday, when you've had treatment, it's with you for life... and that is something else that you need to factor in with the dealing process. You can either embrace it as many do, and in some ways with this podcast, I have... but at the same time, i've still not told everyone about it. Our son is 15 months, yet it was still hard talking about it. As you'll hear in this podcast, we all struggle to talk about it, even though we know we should do more and Fertility Fest was all about those of us affected by 'infertility' in whichever way... talking more, which I think it achieved beautifully. If I'm honest I've not done yesterday justice in my podcast, as it was too big for me to capture on my own.. but I hope it gives you a taste of the community that you are a part of.  I want to say a humongous thank you to Jessica Hepburn for making this happen and for Gareth Farr and Gabby Vautier for their wonderful play which I hope they get to share with the rest of the UK. Everyone if it makes people cry. Wherever you are in your fertility journey, you need to know... this is your family.. N xxx

Hear my chats with Hemlata Thackare,ConsultantGynaecologist and Fertility Specialist, JeanetteMacKenzie, Seniorembryologist and lab manager and Louise Mitchell,Deputy NurseManager.  You can access the shownotes for thisepisodehere LWC'sshownotes

Hear my chats with Nick Sharp, Senior MedicalDirector,Stephanie Gadd and Helen Miller, Fertility Nursespecialist.Bath Fertilityshownotes

In this episode, you'll hear from Dr Ishola Agbaje, Lead Consultant, Dr RObbie Kerr, Lab Director and Sandra Sloss, Lead Fertility Nurse as they explain about their fertility treaments available to patients in Northern and Southern Island GCRM Belfast show notes

A visit to Bourn Hall Cambridge, the world's first IVF clinic and the clinic responsible for The Fertility Podcast baby. You will hear from Dr Mike MacNamee, Chief Executive, Martyn Blaney, Head of Science and Tania Turner,Patient Services Manager

Hear chats with Dr David Polson, Medical Director, Dr Debbie Falconer, Lead Embryologist and Rita Dixon, Patient Co-ordinator  as they explain the fertility treatments available at Manchester Fertility as well as their well established donor programme. You can click through to the show notes here  <a title="Season 4 - Manchester Fertility " href= "http://wp.me/p4T6k0-bS">Manchester Fertility show notes

The Fertility Podcast will be charing 2 panel sessions at this year's Fertility Fest2016. You can find out more at the shownotes here shownotes. Also i announce the launch of Season 4, which is happening on Monday 9th May 2016 with Access Fertility 

Male infertility needs to be spoken about more as in the UK along 50% of infertility cases are due to the male factor. ICSI is a breakthrough treatment which is specifically for men with low sperm count and in my chat with ManInfertile who I met on twitter, he was amazed to have never heard of this treatment, despite talking to professionals about what options he and his wife have for the future. Have a listen  and you can find the shownotes here shownotes on this male infertility episode

Have you considered artificial insemination to get pregnant? I've taken a side step to chat to a husband and wife inventor duo who have created something pretty remarkable for the fertility market. 

A honest account from 3 guests on how they have managed their work and their treatment, two ladies and one gent.

Louise Brown has written her remarkable story being the world's first IVF baby, I was keen to hear about the parties she went to around the world and her obsession with Mark Owen from Take That. 

There are so many myths on what can affect sperm count, Professor Allan Pacey explains whether there is any truth in what you might have heard. 

Tracey Sainsbury, IVF Counsellor, guest from a previous episode, who works at The London Egg Bank as one of her jobs, talks about the pros and cons of egg freezing. 

This episode makes it clear you are not alone on this fertility journey. Even if you have decided not to tell anyone you are on it. There are support groups with Infertility Network UK and specific IVF counsellors who can guide you through. 

Need to de-clutter your mind to deal with fertility treatment? Listen to Alexia Leachman explain how she uses reflective repatterning to help you do so. 

Susan Seenan explains how you can lobby your MP if you have found yourself in an area where there are restrictions on IVF funding that are unfair, such as a reduction of cycles or no funding if you are over 35. 

Listen to Access Fertility CEO, Ash Carroll-Miller explain how they work with fertility clinics to offer payment plans for fertility treatment  and how if it doesn't work they will refund 70% back

Carmen describes the fertility landscape in Mexico as she discovered she needed fertility treatment and how she turns to art to show her true emotions as she deals with loss and heartache trying to conceive.  Her art speaks of influences of Frida Khalo and her desire to start her family portrayed through chairs is so touching.    Carmen has also written books to help families talk about their fertility journey, beautifully illustrated by her sister.