Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Brighton fertility support group
The Brighton fertility support group organised by Infertility Network UK will be meeting this Thursday, 24 March, at the Agora Clinic in Hove at 6pm. The meeting is open to everyone - you don't need to be having treatment at the clinic - and you don't need to book to come to the group, just turn up on Thursday evening. Hope to see you there!
Friday, 18 March 2011
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.
Tomorrow's More to Life day
Just to make sure everyone is aware that you can just turn up on the day tomorrow for our first ever More to Life day for the involuntarily childless and pay on the door. It promises to be a fascinating afternoon, and we've got a fantastic range of speakers - and we've also gone far beyond our expectations when it comes to the numbers of delegates. There are details on the More to Life website - the runs from 1.30pm and will be held at The Resource Centre in Holloway. Do come and join us if you can!
Sunday, 6 March 2011
More to Life - March 19
The first ever day for people living with involuntary childlessness has been set for March 19. The More to Life day will be marked with an afternoon of talks and workshops at the Resource Centre in Holloway, and bookings for the day are now open.
The day will include talks from BICA counsellor Jayne Williamson, based at the University of Aberdeen, on coping strategies and a workshop run by Vivienne Edgecombe focusing on childlessness and a happy life. There will be a break with an opportunity to meet up with others from your local area, followed by Hazel Hodge speaking about a fulfilling life without children of your own. The day will end with the co-author of Beyond Childlessness, Rachel Ormrod, speaking about Surviving, then Thriving.
It promises to be a really interesting afternoon, and you can book online at www.moretolife.co.uk
The day will include talks from BICA counsellor Jayne Williamson, based at the University of Aberdeen, on coping strategies and a workshop run by Vivienne Edgecombe focusing on childlessness and a happy life. There will be a break with an opportunity to meet up with others from your local area, followed by Hazel Hodge speaking about a fulfilling life without children of your own. The day will end with the co-author of Beyond Childlessness, Rachel Ormrod, speaking about Surviving, then Thriving.
It promises to be a really interesting afternoon, and you can book online at www.moretolife.co.uk
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
The blog is back...
Apologies for the lack of posts for the last few months. I've been finishing my new book, due out later this year, which is now finally written and in the editing stages, so the blog is back!
It has been a dreadful few months for anyone needing fertility treatment, as one PCT after another has slashed funding despite the Department of Health and the government making it quite clear that PCTs are expected to be working towards implementing the NICE guideline and providing up to three cycles of IVF. It's particularly sad to see that many of the PCTs are now using the fact that others have already cut funding as an excuse - as if following someone else's bad decision makes it acceptable.
Don't worry - the blog won't all be doom and gloom. There will be the latest updates in fertility tests and treatment, and lots of interesting news and comment so I hope you will enjoy following Fertility Matters again!
It has been a dreadful few months for anyone needing fertility treatment, as one PCT after another has slashed funding despite the Department of Health and the government making it quite clear that PCTs are expected to be working towards implementing the NICE guideline and providing up to three cycles of IVF. It's particularly sad to see that many of the PCTs are now using the fact that others have already cut funding as an excuse - as if following someone else's bad decision makes it acceptable.
Don't worry - the blog won't all be doom and gloom. There will be the latest updates in fertility tests and treatment, and lots of interesting news and comment so I hope you will enjoy following Fertility Matters again!
Friday, 12 November 2010
Surrey funding cuts
So Surrey is the latest to jump on the bandwagon - hping to make up a deficit of £125 million pounds by axing spending on tattoo removal, treatments for baldness and guess what... yes IVF. However they managed to end up with a deficit of £125 million pounds, one can safely say that it wasn't by spending money on fertility treatment, which is estimated to be less than half a percent of total NHS spending. And it's interesting that they have managed to cut £7 million from their spending on "management" (which is still going to cost around £10 million a year).
It's easy to cut IVF spending. No one gets terribly upset, apart from the people waiting for treatment who are often so devastated by their experience of not being able to conceive that they find it hard to talk to their friends about it, let alone to start waving placards outside their local PCT offices. The long-term impact for these couples is usually neglected in talk about "priorities". We know that more than 90% of couples with fertility problems suffer depression, and this can often lead to other health problems. In the future, the opportunity to try to have a child if you can't do it easily will only be available for those who have the cash to pay.
What's really worrying about all this is the precedent that is being set. Surrey have cheerfully announced that "If you don't need it, the NHS won't pay for it." Who decides what constitutes "need"? Do you really "need" a hip replacement? Or a cataract operation? Do children "need" free prescriptions? Do pregnant women "need" scans? If the NHS is only there to deal with life-threatening conditions, then we don't "need" an awful lot of what it does, but is that really a future that anyone wants?
It's easy to cut IVF spending. No one gets terribly upset, apart from the people waiting for treatment who are often so devastated by their experience of not being able to conceive that they find it hard to talk to their friends about it, let alone to start waving placards outside their local PCT offices. The long-term impact for these couples is usually neglected in talk about "priorities". We know that more than 90% of couples with fertility problems suffer depression, and this can often lead to other health problems. In the future, the opportunity to try to have a child if you can't do it easily will only be available for those who have the cash to pay.
What's really worrying about all this is the precedent that is being set. Surrey have cheerfully announced that "If you don't need it, the NHS won't pay for it." Who decides what constitutes "need"? Do you really "need" a hip replacement? Or a cataract operation? Do children "need" free prescriptions? Do pregnant women "need" scans? If the NHS is only there to deal with life-threatening conditions, then we don't "need" an awful lot of what it does, but is that really a future that anyone wants?
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
Is fertility-related stress a good thing?
If you've ever worried about your stress levels when you're going through fertility treatment, you can stop worrying now. A new study has found that women who were most stressed during treatment had a higher pregnancy rate than those who rated themselves lower down the stress scale.
The researchers in the States weren't expecting this outcome when they studied more than 200 women going through treatment as it is generally believed that stress has a negative impact on fertility. They found that women who put themselves high on the stress score appeared to have a 20-30% higher pregnancy rate than those who were less stressed
There is nothing less helpful when you are going through fertility treatment than being told that it won't work if you are stressed - infertility causes a huge amount of stress, and telling women that they are making things worse by feeling stressed ends up being a vicious circle - you feel guilty about being stressed which then makes you more stressed, so you have to feel even more guilty about being more stressed etc. For that reason alone we should welcome this new research.
You can read more here
The researchers in the States weren't expecting this outcome when they studied more than 200 women going through treatment as it is generally believed that stress has a negative impact on fertility. They found that women who put themselves high on the stress score appeared to have a 20-30% higher pregnancy rate than those who were less stressed
There is nothing less helpful when you are going through fertility treatment than being told that it won't work if you are stressed - infertility causes a huge amount of stress, and telling women that they are making things worse by feeling stressed ends up being a vicious circle - you feel guilty about being stressed which then makes you more stressed, so you have to feel even more guilty about being more stressed etc. For that reason alone we should welcome this new research.
You can read more here
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