Scotland invests in fertility services

Great news if you live in Scotland where the Scottish government is investing 12 million pounds in fertility services over the next three years.  The aim is to reduce waiting lists so that no one waits more than a year for fertility treatment - and to improve access across all local health boards.  Maybe this will inspire an improvement in the rest of the UK where the postcode lottery means that your access to treatment depends entirely on where you live.

Infertility Network Scotland, who have been campaigning hard for improvements in access to treatment in Scotland, have welcomed the move - details here

How do your sperm swim?

Male fertility problems are sometimes caused by sperm not moving properly - but although scientists can see if sperm aren't moving or are swimming backwards, their normal patterns of movement are not usually closely monitored.  Now, scientists in the States have tracked sperm using 3D techniques to see exactly how they move.  They followed 1, 500 sperm, monitoring how they swam to try to understand more about their motility and found that rather than swimming in completely straight lines, most follow slightly curved routes, and a small percentage will swim in circular whirls...

You can read more about the research on the website of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 

The HFEA debate

I was really sorry to have to miss the recent debate organised by Progress Educational Trust on the future of the HFEA, and so was pleased to find a write up of the evening in this week's edition of Bionews.  It was clearly a lively and interesting debate - it may only be a snapshot view but it's interesting that those working in fertility clinics seemed keenest to be rid of the HFEA, while those on the outside were keener for it to remain.  I'd be the first to agree that streamlining and change are both necessary, but it's far too easy to focus on the negatives and to forget all of the good work that the HFEA has done and continues to do.

One of the speakers apparently claimed that people were travelling overseas for treatment because of over-regulation by the HFEA in the UK.  Having spoken to many people who've opted to have treatment abroad, I can't remember hearing one of them mention "over-regulation" as an issue - excessive costs and waiting lists were more likely to come up as reasons for having treatment abroad, as well as higher success rates in some other places and being treated as an equal by consultants.

Sadly the one thing that wasn't mentioned in the reporting of the evening was patient information, and I don't know whether this cropped up at all.  For most fertility patients, information provision is one of the most important functions of the HFEA.  It's the publication of success rates, the reliable information about new treatments and the calm response to fertility scare stories that is so vital - and yet it seems to be the one thing that most of the experts discussing this seem to entirely overlook.

Fertility information - Northern Ireland

Sometimes it can seem as if anywhere outside London gets forgotten when it comes to fertility-related events, but for anyone living in Northern Ireland there's good news with a special Fertility Information Day set for October 20th.  

Run by the lovely Sharon Davidson from Infertility Network UK, the day will take place at the Hilton Hotel in Templepatrick, Ballyclare.  A variety of presentations and workshops are planned including sessions on new developments in treatment, donor treatments, nutrition, complementary therapies, emotions and stress and dealing with work issues. A number of fertility clinics will be running exhibition stands on the day too.

The day costs just £10 - unless you are a professional working in the field in which case it is £25 - and that includes refreshments and a sandwich lunch.  For more information, click on this link.

The FertilIty Show

It's nearly that time of year again... I've just been sent posters and flyers for The Fertility Show, which this year runs over the weekend of November 3 and 4 at London's Olympia.  Promising to be a bigger event than ever before, there's an impressive range of speakers lined up covering pretty much everything you could want to know about fertility from the absolute basics to the latest new techniques in IVF.  The seminars also take in many related issues including complementary therapies, surrogacy, treatment for single women and lesbian couples, the male perspective, adoption, fostering, treatment abroad and help and support too.

This year there are around 100 exhibitors too, giving you a chance to talk to staff from fertility clinics around the world as well as complementary therapists, legal firms and support networks. The Fertility Show gathers together leading experts in the field along with a wide range of specialists all under one roof for one weekend - and provides an ideal opportunity to learn more in a supportive environment.

I know it's not always easy to get your head around going to a "show" about fertility when it can be hard to talk about the subject to your closest friends and family, but one of the real benefits of the weekend is being in one place with so many other people who know exactly how you're feeling - although infertility affects one in six of the population, it doesn't always feel that way when you're in the middle of it all.  

Take a look at the website - www.fertilityshow.co.uk- and see what you think. I'll be there on the Saturday, talking about how to choose a fertility clinic and chairing a question session with overseas clinics - so come along and say hello1

Quintuplets - should this really be a success story?

I've just been reading about a "miracle" birth in the States, where a woman has given birth to quintuplets after fertility treatment.  The tiny babies were born at 28 weeks and are apparently "critical but stable".  It is so very sad that anyone who has had to go through the traumas of not being able to conceive should then have the further trauma of premature babies spending weeks if not months in intensive care in hospital. The babies are in an intensive care unit that has just recently been caring for sextuplets, born to a couple who had IUI.

No reputable fertility professional should be putting the lives of babies and mothers at risk by carrying out treatment which results in the conception of five or six babies at once.  We are only hearing about the babies which make it as far as being born, albeit prematurely, but it would be far more common to miscarry when so many embryos implant at the same time.

In the early days of fertility treatments, when specialists were still unsure quite how women's bodies would react to fertility drugs, such multiple conceptions may have been more understandable, but there is no need for anyone to take such risks any more - and any fertility specialist who boasts sextuplets or quintuplets on their CV should be avoided as they certainly don't have their patient's best interests at heart.

Obesity and your eggs

For some time, women who are very overweight have been told that they have a reduced chance of success with IVF - and in some areas have been denied access to funded treatment because of this - but now for the first time researchers may have found out why.  It appears that women who are very overweight are more likely to have abnormalities in their eggs and that this reduces the chances of fertilisation.

Researchers in the US examined almost 300 eggs that hadn't fertilised during IVF cycles, and found that the eggs belonging to women who were severely obese were much more likely to have abnormally arranged chromosomes.  It is important to stress that these weren't women who were just a little plump - the eggs were only shown to have a problem in women who had a BMI (body mass index) of at least 35.  Interestingly, the research team say that by losing weight woman could improve their chances of getting pregnant - so the damage is not irreversible. 

Losing weight can be difficult when you're going through fertility treatment and feeling generally rather down and depressed, but this new research suggests that for anyone who is seriously overweight, making an effort may prove to make all the difference.  Don't forget that you can always visit your GP for help and advice about weight loss - and that joining a group can sometimes give you the added impetus you need.  For anyone with PCOS who is finding it hard to lose weight, I'd suggest getting in touch with Verity - the PCOS network - not because they have some miracle weight loss magic, but because the support of others in a similar situation can make all the difference.