Asian support group

The next meeting of the Infertility Network UK Asian support group will be held this Tuesday at the Harley Street Fertility Clinic in Devonshire Street, which is just off Harley Street in Central London. The Asian support group has proved to be a huge success and has featured on the BBC's Woman's Hour and the BBC Asian Network in recent months. The group is open to everyone - you don't have to be having treatment at the clinic or to be a member of Infertility Network UK. Do come along on Tuesday at 6.30pm if you're interested - it's a very informal, supportive and friendly group.

Fertility support

I've been facilitating a number of support groups in the last few months, and have also attended some too, and at the end of every meeting I go to, I am more convinced that meeting other people in the flesh is hugely helpful to anyone experiencing fertility problems.

Online support has grown so much in recent years that most clinics have completely given up on the idea of providing a support group for patients - with one or two notable exceptions! It's a great shame, as although patients want good success rates, they also want to feel supported. Too often, patients come to the group with stories of insensitivity and lack of understanding from clinic staff. It's a great shame, as these same staff are often working flat out to improve the clinic and the treatment in every way that they can, but the little things can easily get forgotten.

Chatting to someone else online can be helpful, but actually meeting someone and talking to them is a far richer experience, and can be far more rewarding. I've yet to meet anyone who went to a support group and left concluding it wasn't for them. Once you take the plunge, you may be surprised at how much you get out of it.

Details of support groups meeting in England can be found at www.infertilitynetworkuk.com

Asian support group

Talking to others who are in the same situation can be a huge help when you are trying to conceive, but sometimes cultural differences can cause particular problems that not everyone can appreciate. Now, British Asians with fertility problems are about to benefit from a group aimed specifically at them, which will be set up in London early in the new year. For more information, check out the Infertility Network UK website.

Fertility support Groups

Now it's so easy to talk to one another online that the traditional clinic support group has become rather neglected. It's much more convenient to be able to chat to one another online, and to be able to access support as and when you need it. It's also far easier, as it takes courage to walk into a roomful of strangers when the only thing you have in common is your fertility problems.

Earlier this week, I went to a clinic support group in Woking, and it made me realise that there's a lot to be said for this rather old-fashioned kind of get together. This group - like many others - has a speaker at most meetings, so you get the chance to learn more from people who are experts in their individual fields, and more importantly you also get to meet one another face to face. There was a very welcoming atmosphere, and by the end of the meeting people were happily chatting and swapping information which is what these events should be about.

It may not be easy to gather the strength to get there in the first place. I still remember how we dithered when someone set up a support group in our area. We nearly didn't get into the car to drive there, and then we nearly didn't get out of the car once we arrived, sitting there telling one another that we weren't the sort of people who went to support groups, as if anyone is... Once we'd managed to knock on the front door and get inside, it was incredibly reassuring to be in a roomful of others who all knew what it was like, and who weren't going to start asking those "when are you going to get around to having children" questions. For the first time, we even managed to laugh about some of our experiences, and we went home feeling so relieved that we'd finally met other people who were going through the same thing.

Of course, you can get that reassurance online. But you never know who you're talking to, and you don't have that human contact which can really help when you're feeling lonely and isolated. I wish more clinics made the effort to run support groups, but they aren't going to do that if they think patients aren't interested. I know it's not for everyone, but if you have a local support group, do think about giving it a try. You may be pleasantly surprised.