Fertility Road Magazine 45 July:August 2018

NEW FERTILITY JOURNEY PARTNERS HERTS AND ESSEX FERTILITY CENTRE 

FertilityRoad 

THE OBSTACLE 

IS THE PATH 

What is standing 

in your way? 

JULY/AUGUST 2018 

FOOD TO OPTIMISE 

YOUR FERTILITY 

Optimise your chances of 

conceiving with fertility 

friendly foods 

BACK TO 

FRONT AND 

INSIDE OUT 

Turning Secondary 

Infertility on its head 

Skip the 

WHAT IS 

POLYCYSTIC 

OVARY 

SYNDROME? 

Summer BBQ to 

Boost Fertility 

ISSUE 45 JULY-AUGUST 2018 

SUPPLEMENT WAR: WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN FERTILITY BASED SUPPLEMENTS

hertsandessexfertility.com 

01992 78 50 50

World Class Fertility Centre 

Outstanding Success Rates 

With 29 years experience we know what matters to you 

The most successful fertility clinic in the East of England* offers: 

• A truly personalised service 

• An independently owned clinic managed by leading experts 

• A cost effective fertility treatment with outstanding results 

No need to travel the world, for world class fertility treatment 

Fertility Assessment & Treatment|Egg/Sperm Donation & Sharing Programme|Surrogacy 

If you need help to fund your IVF 

ask about our no cost option 

www.eggshare.co.uk 

| fertilityroadmag | follow us @fertilityroad 

*HFEA verified results for 2015. The most successful fertility clinic in the East of England 

and one of the top IVF clinics in the UK in terms of live birth per embryo transfer. 

fertilityroadom |

FertilityRoad ISSUE 45 fertilityroad fertilityroadmag 

Contents 

BODY 

10 THE SUPPLEMENT WAR 

at to loo for i fertilityased 

sulemets tat will otimie 

your ealt 

14 FOOD TO OPTIMISE YOUR 

FERTILITY 

y maig sure you ae a 

ealty alaed diet you a 

otimise te uality of your eggs 

or serm 

18 SKIP THE SUMMER BBQ 

ummer is a great time to loo 

at your oortuities to oost 

utritio ad fertility 

22 WHAT IS POLYCYSTIC OVARY 

SYNDROME? 

is a ormoal imalae 

tat affets to eret of 

wome of rerodutie age aross 

te world 

MIND 

26 THE OBSTACLE IS THE PATH 

o you feel tat you eig it 

wit ostale after ostale 

derstadig wat is stadig 

i your way a el you moe 

forward 

30 THE NEW NORMAL 

eter tat was ust a few 

mots ago or seeral years 

your ormal way of liig te 

is liely to e ae ee ery 

differet to ow it is ow sie 

you emared o roet ay 

FERTILITY 

JOURNEYS 

36 HERTS AND ESSEX FERTILITY 

our ae to reeie free 

treatmet ad free fertility 

osultatios at teir state of te 

art lii 

38 IVF SPAIN 

e team from ai ae a 

udate o te oules rogress 

FERTILITY 

360 

44 The risks and rewards of 

egg donation 

eeiig eggs from a door 

is sometimes te oly otio 

for wome were te asee 

of teir ow eggs or oor egg 

uality reets regay from 

atural oetio 

56 ICE, ICE BABY 

e is a good time to freee 

your eggs 

60 BACK TO FRONT AND 

INSIDE OUT 

urig eodary fertility o 

its ead ad looig at it i a 

differet way 

MEN ONLY 

64 LOSE THE BEER GUT 

ess weigt is a growig 

rolem for me o wat a you 

do to get i sae 

| fertilityroadom 

| fertilityroadmag | follow us @fertilityroad

Contributors 

The people who made this issue happen… 

Michelle Mulliss BSc (Hons) 

MBAcC 

Michelle specialises in natural and 

assisted fertility and provides a unique 

approach of integrated medicine. 

Liz Bottrill 

Liz Bottrill is a Partner in the Family 

Law Team at Laytons Solicitors with 

over 25 years’ experience in the 

field. She has a particular interest 

and expertise in the law relating to 

children and fertility. 

Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD 

Marilyn is the UK’s leading 

nutritionist specialising in 

women’s health. 

Jessica Hepburn 

Founder of Fertility Fest and 

author of her new book 21 Miles: 

Swimming in search of the meaning 

of motherhood. 

Dr Caroline Phillips PhD 

Caroline was senior embryologist at 

the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital 

in the 90’s. She now runs an online 

hub - Fertility Clinics Abroadwhich 

offers resources and information to 

people seeking IVF abroad. 

A’ndrea Reiter 

A’ndrea is a Reiki Master and 

Holistic Fertility Specialist. 

Sarah Holland 

Sarah is a Fertility EFT Coach and 

Mentor and supports women 

and couples. 

Dr Jodie Peacock ND 

Jodie is a Naturopathic doctor 

in Canada who runs the online 

program, Enhance Fertility 

Bootcamp. 

Craig Reisser 

Craig is a father through donor egg 

surrogacy and IVF. Craig works with 

Oregon Reproductive Medicine, 

the clinic that helped him become a 

father, to help other intended parents 

building their families. 

Kathy Payne 

Kathy is a women’s health coach 

online and in Norwich UK, offering 

bespoke programmes for women 

and couples, as well as online classes 

and courses. 

Juliana Kassianos 

Juliana is a Natural Fertility 

Therapist and founder of The 

School of Fertility. 

Helen Davies 

Helen is the Author of ‘More Love 

To Give’ and runs website and 

Facebook support group dedicated 

to Secondary Infertility. 

FertilityRoad 

Publisher 

PJ Jarvis-Mack 

pj@fertilityroad.com 

Managing Editor 

Tone Jarvis-Mack 

tone@fertilityroad.com 

Art Editor 

Richard Porter 

Ad Sales 

Tone Jarvis-Mack 

tone@fertilityroad.com 

020 7183 9882 

Accounts Manager 

Lynsey Jackman 

lynsey@fertilityroad.com 

Distribution 

UK Distribution 

Goldkey Media Ltd 

0207 491 4065 

UK/US Distribution 

PineApple Media Ltd 

01245 600368 

Print Subscriptions 

fertilityroadsubscribe.co.uk 

Social Media Marketing 

Clinics Go Social 

clinicsgosocial.com 

020 7183 9882 

Licensing enquiries 

licensing@fertilityroad.com 

Legal 

Laytons LLP 

2 More London Riverside 

London 

SE1 2AP 

Published by 

Mack Publishing Ltd 

12a Fawkon Walk 

Hoddesdon 

EN11 8TJ 

UK 020 7183 9882 

US (323) 892-8486 

SUBSCRIBE 

Take out an annual subscription to Fertility Road. 

PRINTED IN THE UK 

For more information or to subscribe visit fertilityroad.com UK £3.95 ,US $10.99, CAN $10.99 

Fertility Road is now 

available to read across all 

tablets and mobile devices 

fertilityroad.com/digital 


fertilityroad.com | 05

FR News & Views 

Lifestyle changes can help OBESE 

women improve their fertility 

Although obesity can significantly decrease a 

woman's ability to get pregnant, losing weight 

through diet and exercise can improve her 

odds, according to a research review. 

Programs that promote weight loss through 

lifestyle change, rather than bariatric surgery 

or medications, are preferred and can increase 

the chance of spontaneous pregnancy, the study 

authors conclude in the Canadian Medical 

Association Journal. 

“It is important that women are aware that they may 

jeopardize their reproductive health if they are obese 

and should consider improving their lifestyle,” said 

senior author Dr. Jean-Patrice Baillargeon of the 

University of Sherbrooke in Canada. 

Infertility, which is defined as the inability to 

become pregnant after 12 months of trying, 

affects about 15 percent of couples in Canada, the 

review authors note. Infertility affects 12 percent 

of women in the United States, according to the 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Given that 25 percent of Canadian women of 

reproductive age are overweight and another 

19 percent are obese, the authors write, it’s 

“prudent” to determine the best ways to reduce 

the potential impact on fertility. 

“Evidence also shows that if a mother is obese 

during pregnancy, it increases the risk of obesity and 

diabetes in her kids as well,” Baillargeon, who is also 

president of the Canadian Society of Endocrinology 

and Metabolism, said in a phone interview. 

Baillargeon and colleagues reviewed research 

published in the last 10 years on the links between 

obesity, fertility, lifestyle modifications and 

other obesity treatment options. They focused on 

analyzing data from the 20 most relevant review 

articles and original research papers. 

This prior research finds that the risk of 

infertility increases 27 percent in women who are 

overweight, and 78 percent in women who are 

obese. Obesity is defined as having a body mass 

index (BMI), a ratio of weight to height, of 30 or 

higher. BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered 

overweight, and between 18.5 and 24.9 is 

considered a healthy weight. 

Obesity most commonly harms women’s fertility 

through menstrual and ovulation disorders, 

which include polycystic ovary syndrome, the 

authors write. Overall, the chance of pregnancy 

drops 4 percent with each one-point increase in 

BMI. Obesity also decreases the effectiveness of 

fertility treatments, they note. 

“Women who are obese usually need more 

expensive fertility treatments as well, which can 

be a barrier for them,” Baillargeon said. “We want 

women to be aware of these factors.” 

Obesity can affect the pregnancy itself, the 

authors point out. It’s associated with higher odds 

of gestational diabetes, postpartum depression 

and cesarean delivery. Newborns are also more 

likely to be born early and have health problems 

such as neural tube defects or heart anomalies. 

Several international health organizations 

recommend a 5 percent decrease in body weight 

for obese women who want to become pregnant 

or pursue fertility treatments. Past studies 

have found that women with polycystic ovary 

syndrome, in particular, benefit from weight 

loss programs because they tend to have higher 

central obesity and insulin resistance that could 

hinder pregnancy. 

“These few studies don’t give solutions to all 

of the unanswered questions here, but on 

the whole, we should take notice that obesity 

actively interferes with reproduction,” said Dr. 

Annemieke Hoek of the University of Groningen 

Medical Center in the Netherlands, who wasn’t 

involved in the review. 

“Parents, future parents, government officials 

and policymakers should be aware that if 

the population grows fatter and fatter, we’re 

increasing our chances of infertility,” Hoek said 

in a phone interview. 

Although losing weight is beneficial, women 

should avoid extreme dieting immediately before 

and during pregnancy, said Dr. Richard Legro, a 

reproductive endocrinologist at the Penn State 

Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in 

Pennsylvania, who wasn’t involved in the review. 

“There should be a divide between getting ready 

for pregnancy and actively being pregnant,” he 

said in a phone interview. “Women shouldn’t be 

dieting when their bodies need to be an energy 

store. It sends mixed messages to the brain.” 

These mixed messages, in turn, “lead to yo-yo 

dieting that we want to avoid,” Legro said. “We 

need to focus on appropriate weight maintenance 

across the pregnancy cycle.” 

06 | fertilityroad.com 


Sponsored by 

Country Singer and Actress 

Jana Kramer Announces Pregnancy 

with Second Child After Using 

Ava Fertility Tracking Bracelet 

Country singer, actress and podcast host Jana Kramer announced 

today she is pregnant with her second child, crediting the 

Ava fertility tracking bracelet with helping her conceive after 

struggles with secondary infertility and miscarriage. 

Kramer, already a mom to two-year-old daughter Jolie Rae, is due 

with baby number-two later this fall. The chart-topping singer 

and former “One Tree Hill” star, who now hosts the “Whine Down 

with Jana Kramer” podcast, has been public with her heartbreaking 

efforts to expand her family with husband Mike Caussinafter 

struggling to get pregnant and suffering multiple miscarriages. 

“I was overwhelmed with how much positive support I received when 

I chose to share my difficult experiences trying to add a sibling for 

Jolie Rae and expand our family,” said Kramer. “It’s so important 

that we women work together to lift the veil on this ‘silent struggle’ 

of secondary infertility and support each other.” 

Kramer says she decided to try the Ava bracelet - which enables 

users to identify the 5.3-day fertile window in her monthly cycle 

in real time - after trying to get pregnant for several months 

without success: “Ava let me know that the fertile days in my 

cycle were different from those I had identified before using 

other fertility tracking methods. Once we followed the Ava data 

and tried on the ‘right’ days, I got pregnant within the first cycle 

wearing the bracelet.” 

According to Ava Co-Founder Lea von Bidder, Jana is one of more 

than 10,000 women who have become pregnant using the Ava 

bracelet since its launch in August 2016. Ava has also been credited 

with another celebrity pregnancy, that of “The Bachelor” alum, Jade 

Tanner Tolbert, who gave birth to baby Emerson last fall. 

How Ava Works 

Ava measures nine physiological parameters including pulse rate, 

breathing rate, heart rate variability, temperature. Because Ava 

measures physiological parameters that are directly impacted by 

the reproductive hormones estradiol and progesterone, it can detect 

a five-day fertile window in a woman’s cycle in real-time. Users 

simply wear the Ava bracelet at night and sync it with the Ava 

app in the morning, avoiding the hassles, mess and invasiveness 

of other fertility tracking methods like ovulation strips and BBT 

thermometers. Regulated as a class 1 medical device by the FDA, the 

Ava bracelet was proven in a recently concluded clinical study at the 

University Hospital of Zurich to detect an average of 5.3 fertile days 

per cycle - in real time - with 89 percent accuracy. 



LEGAL 

i ottrill 

YOU, ME AND CO-PARENTING 

my field of ratie ofte see tese used 

were oe aret deides tey wat to reloate 

eiter aroad or to a differet art of te 

wi will imat uo te amout of time a 

ild a sed wit te oter aret e 

te ild is a ay we all oarets are liig 

lose y tougts of moig away may e far 

from eeryodys mid oweer oer te ourse 

of a ilds miority it is ot uommo for 

a aret to wis to reloate ad tis a ause 

eormous diffiulties were reiously a o 

aretig arragemet wored well 

The term co-parenting is not one that has a formal 

legal definition, but is a term that is becoming 

more widely used by the general public. 

reiously referee to oaretig usually 

meat a situatio were arets wo were i a 

relatiosi ad searated ad were o loger 

liig togeter meaig tey were aig to are 

for teir ildre searately 

more reet times te use of te rase o 

aretig iludes oules wo deide to ae a 

ild togeter irresetie of teir relatiosi 

is migt e two frieds wo ot deserately 

wat a ild ut wo are ot i a relatiosi or 

a samese oule wo ae a ild wit a fried 

atig as te tird aret to failitate oetio 

my ratie as a diore lawyer see te 

imat of aretal searatio ad efored 

oaretig o ildre firmly eliee tat i 

tose searios it is ot te searatio of teir 

arets er se tat auses issues for te ildre 

oered ut te maer i wi te adults 

odut temseles troug te searatio 

roess ad i artiular ow tey wor togeter 

as oarets i differet ouseolds ormer 

arters wo a ut aside teir ow diffiulties 

ad wor togeter i te est iterests of teir 

ildre a e ery effetie arets deed 

a gie may eamles of ay ildre 

followig a good diore ad as may eamles 

of uay ildre augt i te middle of a 

failiguay marriage 

oarets wo mae a atie oie to e su 

rior to oetio do ot ae to oe wit 

te imat of teir relatiosi readow o 

teir ailities to oaret effetiely oweer 

tis does ot elimiate disagreemets tat your 

tyial diored arets may fae or eamle 

deisios as to weter a ild atteds state or 

riate soolig or deisios as to religious ad 

moral urigig 

f tere are disutes etwee oarets as to 

wat is est for te ild te ourt as te 

ower to mae orders reuirig adults to tae or 

reet tem from taig stes 

t is ot ossile to ot out of eig a oaret 

i te eyes of te law or eamle a oule 

wo deide to ae a ay ut suseuetly go 

o to ae oter ildre aot deide tat 

tey are o loger aret to ild umer oe 

or a agreemets ot to ursue oarets 

for maiteae e efored witi te ourt 

system meaig ayody wo fids temseles 

i a oaretig situatio regardless of ow it 

arose ad ay agreemets reaed aot aoid 

fiaial resosiility for teir ow ild 

oaretig a e a ery rewardig eeriee 

ad roide a ay ome life for ildre to 

grow u i oweer it is imortat tat ayody 

wo is oosig to oaret disusses fully wit 

teir fellow oaret te eetatios of all 

ioled to aoid or miimise te otetial for 

later oflit oaretig agreemet a el 

address issues at a early stage we all arties 

wat wat is est ad easulates itetios at 

a time we ooeratio is ig 

i ottrill is a arter i te amily aw 

eam at aytos oliitors wit oer years 

eeriee i te field e as a artiular 

iterest ad eertise i te law relatig to 

ildre ad fertility 



Get A one year 

Sponsored by 

subscription 

for £10 

iludig 

SAVING 

£13.70 

issues deliered 

to your door 

Sign up at fertilityroadsubscribe.co.uk 


fertilityroadom |

BODY 

EXPERT: 

Dr Jodie Peacock BSc, ND 

THE SUPPLEMENT WAR 

WHAT TO LOOK FOR 

IN FERTILITY-BASED 

SUPPLEMENTS 

• Delivery method - Vegetarian capsules or liquid 

are generally easier than tablets for your digestive 

system to dissolve and absorb nutrients. 

Supplements should be free of 

• Dyes - for example FD&C Red #40 aluminum 

lake, Yellow #6, Blue #1 

•Talc 

• Shellac glaze 

Company should stand behind the product 

• You want to be confident that the product you 

are purchasing contains what it says on the label 

and nothing more 

Optimizing your health before trying to 

conceive will help improve the overall health of 

your baby. The development of both egg and 

sperm take approximately 3 months, so this 

is a particularly critical time to improve your 

health. There are several different nutrients 

that are important to look at before trying 

to conceive, as they are directly related to 

improved pregnancy rates and health outcomes 

for babies. We are able to acquire nutrients 

from our diet but in some cases, to optimize 

levels, it is necessary to use a supplement. 

Basics that should be observed when choosing 

supplements are: 

• Some companies will do independent lab testing on 

their raw materials and finished products to ensure 

the product meets the label claim and doesn’t contain 

other impurities such as heavy metals or pesticides 

• I recommend calling the company to ask if they 

can provide this data to ensure the quality of 

the product 



BODY 

Most women, before they start trying to conceive, 

will begin taking a prenatal vitamin. I think a 

prenatal is essential during the time you are 

trying to conceive, and continued once you know 

you are pregnant. All prenatals are not created 

equal. There are some really great prenatals on the 

market and some of less desirable quality. 

When choosing a prenatal you need to be aware 

that there are more and less desirable forms of 

vitamins. Here are some key things to look for: 

Folate 

Taking either folate or 5-methyltetrahydofolate 

(5-MTHFR), not Folic acid which is synthetic and 

not as easily converted to its active form in the 

body, are the active forms that your body more 

readily absorbs and uses efficiently. You have a 

gene that codes your ability to convert folate into 

its active form 5-MTHFR. Approximately 15% 

of the population can’t do this at all, while about 

50% has a reduced ability to convert sufficiently. 

Without the ability to convert, and if you aren’t 

consuming activated folate, there can be higher 

rates of miscarriage, neural tube defects, as well as 

conditions such as depression, ADHD and autism in 

your future children. For this reason, if I don’t know 

the genetic status of a woman I always recommend 

taking a supplement with the active form of folate. 

You want to ensure that the dose is 

between 2-4 capsules per day. A 

one a day will not be sufficient to 

provide the essential nutrients 

that you require. In addition, 

you also want to ensure that the 

B vitamins are higher, as this will 

help with energy production! 

Iron 

Making sure your iron is at an optimal level before 

trying to conceive is extremely important to ensure 

the body has the nutrients and oxygen available to 

not only aid conception but also to aid in the increase 

in blood volume that is necessary to sustain a healthy 

pregnancy. Heme iron, iron that comes from eating 

animal products, is the best absorbed form of iron. 

If your iron is deficient, heme iron is a great form 

to use to improve levels. For women who are vegan 

or vegetarian one of the best forms of iron to use is 

an iron glycinate. This form is vegan friendly and 

very gentle on the digestive system, so causes very 

little constipation while seeing good improvements 

in iron levels. This form also won’t compete 

with calcium for absorption. Finding a 

prenatal with iron glycinate in it works 

very well to optimize the absorption 

of both of these important minerals. 

B12 – 

Methylcobalamin 

B12 is a nutrient extremely important for 

neurological development as well as for an 

important detoxification process in your body 

called methylation. If you are deficient in B12 this 

can cause symptoms related to nerve regulation, 

fatigue, difficulty with concentration and 

sleep concerns. Ensuring optimal levels is both 

important for the development of sperm and egg 

as well as overall health for the baby. 



BODY 

Vitamin D 

Sunlight is a vital nutrient. Sunlight triggers a 

cascade of reactions within your body. When your 

skin and eyes are directly exposed to sunlight, the 

sunlight itself triggers your body to manufacture 

vitamin D3. Without sunlight, you can suffer from 

bone loss, depression, sleep disorders, immune 

deficiencies, and hormonal imbalances. There are 

also multiple studies that have shown deficient 

vitamin D can impair the body’s ability to achieve, 

as well as maintain, a pregnancy. 

A simple blood test can be run to assess your vitamin 

D status. We will be covering laboratory testing in 

a future module. However, in the UK, Canada and 

other countries of northern latitude, it is rare to 

find someone who isn’t supplementing to achieve 

adequate vitamin D levels in the winter months. It is 

generally recommended to supplement with at least 

2,000 IUs of vitamin D3 per day. 

Omega 3 Fatty Acids 

Essential fatty acids are fats that we must consume 

in our diets as our bodies don’t have the ability to 

make them. Being that they are deemed “essential” 

fatty acids, this means we cannot live without 

them. Both omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids 

are considered essential. In the standard North 

American diet, we generally eat enough omega 6 

fatty acids and are inadequate in our omega 3s. 

Having optimal omega 3 levels have been shown 

to improve sperm production and increase your 

chances of successful conception. For women, 

it can also help regulate hormones, increase 

the blood flow to the uterus, increase egg white 

cervical mucus, which is needed to help the sperm 

reach the egg and helps your cycle to become 

normalized. The best dietary source of omega 3 

fatty acids is fish. There is some in flax seeds but 

the conversion of the omega 3 found in flax to 

EPA and DHA is quite low. 

When choosing a fish oil supplement it is 

essential to know the quality of the oil and to 

ensure it has been tested for things like heavy 

metals such as mercury as well as for other 

pollutants like dioxins and PCBs. Because these 

toxins can contaminate our water supplies they 

concentrate as they move up the food chain. It is 

imperative that companies manufacturing fish 

oils molecularly distil the oils and have them 

tested for impurities. Any company that will 

provide an independent lab test showing the 

quality of their oil would be a good option. If the 

company doesn’t test or won’t provide the results 

I would avoid using their products. 

For dosing, you want to be getting approximately 

2 grams of combined EPA/DHA per day. In capsule 

form this will be between 2-4 capsules or generally 

around ½ tsp of a high potency liquid. 

CoQ10 

CoQ10 is an enzyme made in the liver that works 

as an antioxidant and supports the powerhouse 

cells called mitochondria, important in both 

sperm and egg quality. After the age of 30, 

the mitochondrial function begins to decline. 

This is especially relevant to fertility because 

your oocytes or eggs have a high quantity of 

mitochondria to produce energy to aid in the 

development of the egg. In a study looking at 

oocyte quality, researchers explored the link 

between impaired mitochondrial performance 

and oocyte deficits. They concluded that 

impaired mitochondrial performance created 

by suboptimal CoQ10 availability can drive ageassociated 

oocyte deficits resulting in infertility. 

A general recommendation for couples over the 

age of 30 is to take 100mg of CoQ10 twice per 

day for both partners. 

There is an important amino acid called 

L-carnitine that works alongside CoQ10 to allow 

it to enter the cell. If you are deficient in carnitine 

then even if you take extra CoQ10 it doesn’t 

enter the cell and help with energy production. 

L-carnitine only comes from animal sources of 

protein, so if you are vegetarian or vegan you are 

very likely deficient. If you have any concern with 

conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue 

or poor egg quality I would add at least 1g of 

carnitine into your daily regime. 

There are several other supplements that 

may be helpful depending on your individual 

situation. For example, there are some 

important nutrients that can help to optimize 

hormonal regulation and egg and sperm quality 

and can be added to a supplement regime based 

on your individual requirements. 

However, starting with these supplements will 

provide your body with an improved base level 

health and ensure basic deficiencies are avoided 

that can prevent healthy fetal development. 

Dr. Jodie Peacock is a Naturopathic doctor 

in Canada who runs the online program, 

Enhance Fertility Bootcamp. For other tips on 

regulating your menstrual cycle please visit 

enhancefertilitybootcamp.com or email me 

at info@enhancefertilitybootcamp.com 



BODY 



BODY 

The food you eat plays an important role in 

your fertile health. By making sure you have 

a healthy balanced diet, you can optimise the 

quality of your eggs or sperm, enhance your 

body's ability to get rid of toxins and provide 

a nourishing environment for a baby to grow. 

EXPERT: Juliana Kassianos 

FOOD TO 

OPTIMISE 

YOUR 

FERTILITY 

Optimise your chances of conceiving by 

eating fertility friendly foods 

If time’s on your side, ideally you want to 

start becoming more conscious of your food 

choices three months before you start trying to 

conceive. This is because it tends to take around 

90 days for eggs and sperm to mature, and in 

this time the quality of them can be affected by 

nutritional factors. Furthermore, you want to 

develop optimum conditions for conception to 

take place and, thereafter, an embryo to thrive. 

It’s always best to have a varied diet so you 

get the nutrients your body needs from the 

food you eat, but when it comes to trying to 

conceive, it’s good to also take a pre-pregnancy 

supplement. These tend to vary in price and 

ingredients, whichever you choose, just make 

sure it has 400 micrograms of folic acid. 

Animal protein 

Proteins aren’t used as they are found in food, but 

are broken down into amino acids. These amino 

acids are vital for manufacturing reproductive 

hormones, as well as for healthy egg and sperm 

production. Therefore, it’s important to have a diet 

high in protein when trying to conceive. 

Animal proteins, such as eggs, meat and fish 

are ‘complete proteins’ as they contain all the 

essential amino acids your body needs. Eggs 

also happen to be a very good source of vitamin 

B12, of which deficiencies have been linked to 

infertility and miscarriage. If you’re from the 

UK, choose those with a British Lion Quality 

Mark. This is a symbol on the eggshells and packs 

that show the eggs have been produced to high 

food safety standards, so your risk of contracting 

salmonella poisoning for example is low. 

Red meat can trigger inflammation in the 

body and has been linked with increased risk 

of endometriosis. For men, however, it’s a good 

source of L-carnitine and L-acetyl-carnitine. 

One study showed administration of L-carnitine 

and L-acetyl-carnitine to sperm samples led to 

improved sperm quality and chromatin quality. If 

you choose to eat red meat, quality is important, 

try to make sure it’s grass-fed and lean cut. 

Eat fish that are high in healthy omega-3 fatty 

acids: Salmon, Mackerel (not King Mackerel), 

Anchovies, Sardines and Herring. Make sure 

they’re wild caught, as farmed fish may contain 

residues of antibiotics. Try to avoid or restrict 

consumption of deep-sea dwelling fish such as 



BODY 

tuna, swordfish and Marlin as they tend to contain 

high concentrations of mercury; a toxic heavy 

metal linked to infertility. 

Non-animal protein 

Many non-animal protein sources such as 

vegetables, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds are 

‘incomplete proteins’, as they don’t contain all the 

essential amino acids your body needs. 

You may not eat animal protein because of health 

concerns or environmental and ethical factors, in 

which case plant proteins are a good alternative. 

Beans, legumes and whole grains are the richest 

vegetable sources of protein, but can lack in one 

or two essential amino acids. But those lacking in 

beans and legumes are normally supplied in whole 

grains. Therefore, having a combination in your 

diet can ensure you get all the essential amino 

acids your body needs. 

There are a whole variety of beans 

and legumes you can choose 

from, but be aware that 

chickpeas and soybeans 

contain high amounts 

of phyto-oestrogens; 

plant compounds that 

have an oestrogen-like 

effect in the body. Peas 

are a great source of 

protein and can be added 

to smoothies in the form of 

pea protein powder. 

Healthy whole grains include oats, 

buckwheat and quinoa. Not only do they 

contain protein, but also complex carbohydrates, 

providing you with a steady stream of energy. 

Think Bircher muesli, buckwheat pancakes and 

quinoa salads. Take note that rice may contain low 

levels of arsenic; it’s naturally found in water and 

soil, and can be absorbed by rice crops as they grow, 

so as always, eat in moderation. 

Nuts and seeds are not only a good source of 

protein, but also healthy fat, vitamins and 

minerals. For women, almonds are rich in 

riboflavin (vitamin B2) of which deficiencies 

have been linked to sterility, miscarriage and low 

birth weight. Brazil nuts are rich in selenium, 

which help with the development of healthy 

ovarian follicles. Sunflower seeds are rich in 

folate (vitamin B9), which can help to increase 

progesterone levels, as well as reduce the risk of 

anovulation and birth defects. For men, walnuts 

are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, which help to 

improve sperm quality and pumpkin seeds are 

rich in zinc, which help to improve sperm motility 

and quality. 

Ideally you want to 

start becoming more 

conscious of your food 

choices three months 

before you start trying 

to conceive 

Carbohydrates 

Carbohydrates are divided 

into two types: simple and 

complex. Simple carbohydrates 

such as sucrose (table sugar), fructose 

(fruit sugar) and lactose (milk sugar) are digested 

and absorbed quickly, which means you get a burst 

of energy, normally followed by a slump. 

Excess refined sugar can contribute to 

inflammation and insulin resistance, which can 

impact your fertile health. Try sweet natural 

alternatives like: dates, which are a rich source 

of fibre and vitamin B6; Lucuma powder, 

a caramel-flavoured Peruvian fruit rich in 

potassium, iron, zinc and fibre, which back in 

the Inca Empire was viewed as the symbol of 

fertility; and raw natural honey, which can help 

to boost your immune system. 

Complex carbohydrates found in whole grains, 

beans, legumes, vegetables and fruit, are digested 

and absorbed much more slowly, providing you 

with a steady stream of energy, keeping your 

batteries running throughout the day. These are 

the type of carbohydrates you want to make sure 

you have in your diet. Take note that vegetables 

and fruit containing vitamin C are particularly 

good for men, as it assists in the prevention of 

sperm agglutination (clumping together) and 

absorption of iron. 

Fibre is a complex carbohydrate found in plant 

foods like whole grains, vegetables and fruit. 

It can’t be digested by the body, so it doesn’t 

provide us with energy. This is because the body 

doesn’t have enzymes that are able to break it 

down. However, fibre has many health benefits, 

including helping the body to get rid of excess 

oestrogen and controlling blood sugar levels, as 

it slows the absorption of sugar. Oatmeal, sweet 

potato (with the skins) and bananas are packed 

full of fibre. 

Fats 

Fats are important to have in your diet as they 

provide the necessary precursors for healthy 

hormone levels needed for optimal fertility. There 

are four types of fats: trans fats, saturated fats, 

monounsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats. 

Not all fats are the same; some are healthier than 

others. The trick is to learn to separate the ‘good’ 

from the ‘bad’ and mindfully moderate intake. 

Trans fats are the lowest in quality as they’re 

produced artificially in a process known as 

hydrogenation. The food industry loves them 

as they increase the shelf-life of produce, but 



BODY 

Sea Vegetables 

Sea vegetables are rich in antioxidants, vitamins 

and minerals, providing a natural nutritional 

source of iodine, which is important for healthy 

thyroid function. An underactive thyroid 

can affect ovulation and increase the risk of 

pregnancy complications. Edible seaweeds 

include: wakame, nori, kombu (kelp), arame, 

hijiki and dulse. 

Spices 

unfortunately so 

do we as they give 

taste and texture to 

processed, fried and 

baked foods. Read 

the ingredients list 

before purchasing and 

check for hydrogenated 

and partially hydrogenated 

vegetable oils, which you want 

to avoid. 

Saturated fats are found in butter, cheese and 

biscuits and are also ones to avoid. There is one 

exception though and that’s coconut oil. Coconut 

oil actually contains lauric acid, which converts in 

the body to monolaurin, which has antiviral and 

antibacterial properties, and so helps to strengthen 

the immune system. 

Monounsaturated fats are ‘good’ fats found in 

avocado, oils such as olive oil, as well as some nuts 

like almonds. These are the healthy fats we want 

to make sure we’re getting in our diet. Just be 

mindful of portion control. 

Polyunsaturated fats include Omega-3 fatty acids 

found in oils such as linseed and oily fish, and 

Omega-6 fatty acids found in nuts and seeds. 

They’re both ‘essential’, which means we need to 

Red meat can trigger 

inflammation in the 

body and has been linked 

with increased risk of 

endometriosis 

get them from the food 

we eat or in supplement 

form as our body can’t 

make them. Whilst 

Omega-3 is antiinflammatory, 

Omega-6 

is pro-inflammatory. 

For this reason, we need 

to make sure we try to have a 

balance of the two in our diet. 

Researchers believe walnuts, comprised of 

predominantly polyunsaturated fatty acids reduce 

peroxidation; a process that damages sperm cells. 

Omega-3 has also been shown to enhance sperm 

count, motility, and morphology. 

Fermented Food 

Fermented foods are rich in ‘good’ bacteria, 

which fortify the gut microbiome and help 

to support your immune system. A healthy 

balanced gut bacterium is necessary for lowering 

inflammation, processing toxins and reducing 

toxin exposure to a developing foetus. Some 

examples of fermented food include: Sauerkraut 

(fermented cabbage), Kimchi (fermented 

vegetables), Kefir (fermented milk drink) and 

yoghurt (fermented milk product). 

Cinnamon and ginger both 

help to regulate blood 

sugar levels, increase 

blood circulation in 

the uterus and have 

anti-inflammatory 

properties. Turmeric, 

otherwise known as 

the ‘golden spice’ has 

anti-inflammatory, 

antioxidant and 

antibacterial properties. It’s 

also been shown to inhibit the 

growth of endometriosis endothelial 

cells by reducing the production of estradiol (a 

form of oestrogen). 



BODY 

Fermented foods are 

rich in ‘good’ bacteria, 

which fortify the gut 

microbiome and help to 

support your immune 

system 

Powders 

Maca is a small Peruvian root vegetable rich in 

riboflavin, iron, calcium, zinc, fibre, thiamine 

and vitamin B6. There is evidence that it has 

fertility-enhancing properties and in men and 

women. Spirulina is a blue-green algae, which is 

65% protein and rich in calcium, iron, vitamin 

B12, magnesium and fibre. In one study, rats that 

were fed a diet containing spirulina produced 

significantly higher litter size than those that 

weren’t. They’re both great to add to smoothies. 

Caffeine 

Try to limit caffeine intake to 200 milligrams a 

day. Research shows women who consume four 

to five cups of coffee daily (500 milligrams of 

caffeine) produce 70% more oestrogen in the early 

follicular phase of their menstrual cycle. Caffeine 

is not just in coffee, but also tea, fizzy drinks, 

energy drinks, painkillers, sweets and chocolate. 

Alcohol 

For both men and women, try to restrict alcohol 

consumption. Alcohol intake by women having 

five or fewer drinks a week is associated with a 

decreased chance of conceiving. One study showed 

that having as few as four alcoholic drinks per 

week before undergoing IVF was associated with a 

decrease in IVF live birth rate. 

In men, one study found that heavy alcohol 

consumption (more than seven drinks per day) 

caused reduced testosterone levels, impaired cells 

involved in sperm maturation and interference 

with the production of hormones. Another study 

suggested that even modest habitual alcohol 

consumption (five units per week) had adverse 

effects on semen quality. 

Inflammatory foods 

Increased inflammation can be a huge source 

of chemical stress in the body and you want 

to protect eggs and sperm from free-radical 

damage. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome 

(PCOS) is associated with low grade 

chronic inflammation. Try to 

avoid or restrict the following 

foods, which can trigger 

inflammation: dairy, gluten, 

caffeine, alcohol, sugar, red 

meat, trans fats, processed 

food, artificial additives, 

barbeque food and fried food. 

Whatever you do, make sure you 

eat for your unique body type. If you 

know a food is good for your fertile health, but it 

just doesn’t seem to agree with you, then don’t eat 

it. Remember, you are the ultimate authority on 

your body. For further nutritional guidance, visit 

theschooloffertility.com/nutrition. 

Juliana is a Natural Fertility Therapist and 

founder of The School of Fertility. A free 

website that provides individuals with the 

information, tools and techniques they 

need to understand their reproductive 

health, know how to optimise their chances 

of conceiving and make more informed 

decisions should they choose to embark on 

fertility investigation or treatment. Juliana’s 

focus is on nutrition, lifestyle and mindset, 

whilst her co-founder Professor Charles 

Kingsland, Consultant Gynaecologist and 

Specialist in Reproductive Medicine, covers 

the medical side. Using a combined natural 

and medical approach, they hope to help 

individuals feel more empowered to take 

control of their fertility journeys. Juliana 

has an MA in Medical Anthropology from 

Goldsmiths University of London, a BSc 

(Hons) in Human Sciences from King’s 

College London, over 10 diplomas in holistic 

health practices, is a certified health coach 

and registered holistic fertility therapist 

practitioner. theschooloffertility.com/ 



BODY 



BODY 

Skip the Summer 

BBQ to Boost Fertility 

(And Other Summer Food Tips) 

EXPERT: Kathy Payne 

Summer's here in the UK. Yay. Lots of lovely 

produce is in season. So, it's a great time to 

look at our opportunities to boost nutrition 

and fertility and the potential pitfalls of 

summer eating. 

Let’s start with the fertility and pregnancy 

risks of that summer social – the barbeque. 

We have a saying in our family about cooking 

“when it’s brown, it’s done and when it’s black, 

it’s bobbins”. Or words to that effect, anyway. 

Meaning that when it’s burned, it’s not good to 

eat. I’m sure most of us avoid eating food that 

is burned or we send it back as overdone in 

restaurants. But hey in summer, we LOVE to eat 

charred foods from the barbeque. 

So what, you might think. 

Well, there’s evidence to say that charred food 

isn’t healthy generally and - according to a new 

study - blackened food might be contributing to 

infertility in women. 

Now I think that’s worth talking about, given I 

can smell barbecued food every weekend in my 

little slice of the suburbs. 

A team at the Hudson Research Institute of 

Medical Research in Melbourne, conducted 

a small study of 17 thinner women and 16 

women diagnosed with obesity. They studied 

the uterus cavity of each woman and concluded 

that the group with obesity had significantly 

higher levels of AGES – that is “advanced 

glycation end products”; basically, by-products 

of sugar. AGES are produced in the body, but 

also arise from eating processed, sugary and 

blackened foods. 

According to reports on the study, this affects 

fertility because the AGES lead to inflammation 

in the body, which in turn affects the lining of the 

womb and makes implantation more difficult. 

Now, the thing about scientific studies is that 

you have to look more closely. How big was the 

sample? Who conducted the research? How was 

it done? On whom was it trialled? Why was it 

completed? All these are clues to how relevant 

and reliable it is. 

Here, the sample size is small, so you could 

say that results might be different over a 

larger sample. There are, however, lots of other 

credible scientific studies concluding that 

AGES are bad news for health. Just do your own 

internet search. They are implicated in ageing, 

diabetes and other chronic diseases. And now 

there’s a potential link with female fertility. 

I teach women and couples pre-conception 

care a.k.a. how to boost health to boost fertility 

whether you’re trying to conceive naturally or 

via IVF. And I think it’s well worth making all 

these small changes to maximise your chances of 

pregnancy and a happy, healthy baby. 

Charred food isn’t the only fertility or 

pregnancy risk at a barbeque. Oh no. 

Beware the risk of bacteria in foods. Some foods 

can contain bacteria that are risky in pregnancy 

and you may not always know you’re pregnant 

very early on. So be very careful of undercooked 

meats, including poultry and pork. Be equally 

careful of seafood, salads and processed meat that 

has been hanging around too long in the heat. 

Listeria, for example, is bacteria that can cause a 

dangerous – but thankfully rare – infection linked to 

miscarriage, stillbirth and birth defects. That’s why 

pregnant women are advised not to eat unpasteurised 

dairy foods and ready-to-eat chilled foods too. 

And be wary of drinking alcohol 

Alcohol is one of the things to avoid if you want 

to fuel fertility. 

I’m not being a buzzkill, but it robs us of 

nutrition. In particular, minerals and B vitamins, 

which are key to fertility. And depleting good 

bacteria in the gut. 

It’s not great for the liver and us girls need tip 

top livers for processing any old hormones out of 

the body. We don’t want them recirculating and 

causing imbalances, do we? 

Its best to give it up as part of preconception care 

or, at least, limit it to the very occasional glass of 

red wine. 



BODY 

So, what are my top tips for summer eating? 

There are some great, fertility-friendly foods 

in season in summer:- 

Berries 

I usually suggest eating 7 portions of 

veggies and fruits daily, where 

only 1-2 portions are fruits. 

It’s sugar, after all. 

Strawberries are a good 

choice, as they are less 

sugary AND have 

Vitamin C. Vitamin 

C is great for sperm 

health and some 

studies show it plays 

role in ovulation. Who 

knew? 

Other Vitamin C foods for 

fertility are blueberries, kiwi fruit, 

mangoes, citrus fruits, red peppers, watercress, 

parsley and Brussels Sprouts. 

Leafy green veggies 

I know I always say healthy eating is not all 

about the kale and it ISN’T! BUT green leafy 

veggies are packed with goodness. Real fab foods 

for fertility. 

They have folate and Vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 is 

needed for women’s hormones production and 

balance and for a healthy pregnancy. 

Your Mum was right, you should eat your greens! 

Buy organic to avoid pesticides and other nasties 

that are potentially hormone harming. 

Oily fish 

As well as containing protein, oily fish – salmon, 

mackerel, sardines – are an excellent source of 

good fats. I buy my salmon organic or wild if I can. 

Oily fish also has good levels of 

Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, 

Vitamin E, zinc. Real 

powerhouses! 

Eat yours for breakfast as 

well as lunch or dinner. 

Legumes 

The humble legume is 

not so humble. Beans, peas, 

chickpeas and lentils are a great 

source of folate or folic acid. It’s best known for 

its role in preventing spina bifida but we now 

know it’s really key for fertility. Get yours from 

legumes and also leafy greens, nuts and whole 

grains. AND women should supplement when 

trying to fall pregnant. 

Beans, peas and lentils are also protein 

packed. 

And eating good quality 

protein with each meal 

and snack balances 

blood, sugar, energy, 

mood and hormones. 

Gotta be good, right? 

And once again, 

suitable for vegetarians 

and vegans. Love those 

lentils! 

Nuts and seeds 

I’m talking almonds, walnuts, pecans, 

hazelnuts, cashews. And their nut “butters”. 

And the oils for drizzling on summer salads and 

veggies. 

Fab sources of good fats which we need for a 

healthy body and mind. AND as part of our 

stash of foods for fertility. Almonds are a good 

source of zinc and the all-important FOLATE 

(folic acid) too which women and men need for 

baby-making. Nuts also have Vitamin E which 

is helpful for women’s fertility and for sperm 

function. 

And what about seeds? Also top foods. Pumpkin, 

sunflower, sesame. flax. Great for healthy fats 

and Vitamin E. Sunflower seeds have lots of 

magnesium. And that’s important for female 

fertility and in pregnancy. 

What are some other things to reduce or avoid 

to fuel fertility? 

A fertility friendly diet is low/devoid in 

processed, packaged, junk or takeaway foods. 

So, it’s a good idea to skip the fish 

and chip suppers at the seaside. 

And the heavily processed 

ice cream that has no 

cream in it anyway! Read 

the labels on packets, 

please people. 

Talking of ice cream, 

did you know that food 

allergies can impact 

fertility, pregnancy and the 

health of your child, potentially? 

Your immune response can affect your fertility. 

One cause of immune response is food allergies. 

Over half our immune system is in our gut, so 

food affects our health and fertility in more ways 

than just plain nutrition. 

At conception, a woman’s body has a type of 

immune response. That’s because, at first, her 

body “thinks” the embryo is a foreign body. 

It follows that if that immune response is strong, 

it may be targeted at the developing embryo. 

Some scientists believe that inflammation 

in the gut PLUS the immune response to the 

embryo, can lead to miscarriage or damage to 

the embryo. 

It can also be that allergic parents pass on 

allergies to their children. 

If allergies are not addressed, the body may 

turn against itself, leading to autoimmune 

conditions that affect fertility. 

The most common foods to cause 

sensitivity and inflammation 

are wheat, gluten grains, 

dairy, eggs, soy, citrus 

fruits, nightshades 

(including potatoes, 

tomatoes, chillies, 

peppers, 

aubergine), 

nuts, peanuts 

(not actually 

nuts), 

shellfish. 

Now you know. You 

can enjoy summer eating if 

you’re savvy and avoid processed, 

packaged, junk, takeaway and charred 

foods and alcohol. Instead stock up on 

yummy, healthy alternatives that fuel health 

and fire-up fertility. 

Love, Kathy x 

Kathy Payne is a Booster of Fertility, Balancer 

of Hormones and Soother of Modern Life 

Madness, naturally. She is a women’s health 

coach online and in Norwich UK, offering 

bespoke programmes for women and couples, 

as well as online classes and courses. 

If you’d like to protect, nurture and boost 

your fertility naturally, sign up for her 

weekly newsletter and occasional offers with 

this link. As a FREE GIFT you will receive 

the popular, online course 7 Steps to Boost 

Fertility http://bit.ly/7Steps-FertilityRoad 



BODY 



BODY 

EXPERT: Dr Marilyn Glenville 

WHAT IS 

POLYCYSTIC 

OVARY 

SYNDROME 

(PCOS)? 

PCOS is a hormonal imbalance that affects 5 to 10 percent of women of reproductive 

age across the world, and results in irregular or absent periods, acne, excess body 

hair and weight gain. It is also a major cause of infertility and yet is frequently 

misdiagnosed and often missed completely. 

PCOS gets its name because under an ultrasound scan, the ovaries can look like a 

bunch of grapes, each one covered in what look like multiple cysts. In fact, these 

aren’t cysts at all, but are small, undeveloped follicles. 



BODY 

simultaneously so that you get the maximum 

effect in the minimum amount of time. 

Here’s how: 

1. Switch to unrefined carbohydrates (eaten with 

protein) and never go more than 3 hours without 

food to keep your blood sugar levels balanced 

GOOD NUTRITION IS THE 

FOUNDATION OF YOUR HEALTH AND 

YOU SHOULD NEVER UNDERESTIMATE 

HOW POWERFUL IT CAN BE. 

2. Eat oily fish and foods rich in Omega 3s to help 

your body to become more sensitive to insulin 

so it can overcome insulin resistance 

3. Cut out all dairy products for 3 months to bring 

levels of male hormones under control 

4. Eat more vegetables and pulses which helps 

control male hormones 

5. Cut right back on or cut out alcohol for 12 weeks 

to allow your liver function to improve 

6. Cut down on caffeine to give your adrenal 

glands a rest 

Symptoms 

Not every woman with PCOS will get the same 

symptoms, but common signs to look out for 

include: 

• Few or no periods 

• Excess hair on the face or breasts or inside of the 

legs or around the nipples 

• Acne 

• Oily skin 

• Scalp hair thinning or loss (male pattern 

baldness) 

• Skin tags (known as acrochordons) 

• Skin discolouration (known as acanthosis 

nigricans) where the skin looks ‘dirty’ on the 

arms, around the neck and under the breasts 

• Mood swings 

• Depression 

• Lack of sex drive 

• Weight gain especially around the middle of the body 

• Difficulty in losing weight 

• Cravings and binges 

• Irregular or no ovulation 

• Difficulty in becoming pregnant 

• Recurrent miscarriages 

PCOS creates a vicious cycle of hormone imbalances, 

which has huge knock-on effects throughout the 

rest of your body. With PCOS, the problem often 

starts with the ovaries, which are unable to produce 

the hormones they should, and in the correct 

proportions. But linked to this is the very common 

problem of insulin resistance. Women with PCOS 

very often have difficulties with blood sugar levels 

which can cause weight gain and the excess insulin 

can stimulate your ovaries to produce yet more 

testosterone. Half of all women with PCOS do not 

have any problems with their weight, yet they can 

still have higher insulin levels than normal. 

How is PCOS diagnosed? 

The most widely accepted criteria for the diagnosis 

of PCOS says that you should have two out of these 

three problems: 

• Infrequent or no ovulation 

• Signs (either physical appearance – hirsutism or acne 

– or blood tests) of high levels of male hormones 

• Polycystic ovaries as seen on an ultrasound scan 

The Seven Nutritional Steps to 

beat PCOS 

Good nutrition is the foundation of your health and 

you should never underestimate how powerful it can 

be. It is the fuel that provides you with the energy 

to live your life and it gives your body the nutrients 

it needs to produce your hormones in the correct 

balance. The better the supply of those nutrients, the 

more healthily your body will function. 

The fundamental aim of my nutritional 

approach to PCOS is to target a number of areas 

7. Cut down on saturated fats and eliminate trans 

fats to help control the potentially damaging 

inflammatory processes PCOS causes in the body 

Best Supplements for PCOS 

The use of certain vitamins and minerals can be 

extremely useful in helping to correct PCOS, along 

with a good diet. 

Chromium 

Chromium helps to encourage the formation of 

glucose tolerance factor (GTF), which is required 

to make insulin more efficient. A deficiency of 

chromium can lead to insulin resistance. It also helps 

to control cravings and reduces hunger. Can help to 

reduce insulin resistance associated with PCOS. 

B vitamins 

The B vitamins are very important in helping to 

control the symptoms of PCOS. Vitamin B2 helps 

to turn fat, sugar and protein into energy. B3 is a 

component of GTF which is released every time 

blood sugar rises, and vitamin B3 helps to keep the 

levels in balance. Vitamin B5 has been shown to 

helps with weight loss and B6 is also important for 

maintaining hormone balance and, together with 

B2 and B3, is necessary for normal thyroid function. 

Zinc 

Zinc helps with PCOS as it plays a crucial role in 

the production of your reproductive hormones 

and also regulates your blood sugar. 



BODY 

Magnesium 

Magnesium is an important mineral for dealing 

with PCOS because there is a strong link between 

magnesium levels and insulin resistance – the 

higher your magnesium levels the more sensitive 

you are likely to be to insulin. 

Co-Enzyme Q10 

Co-Q10 is a substance that your body produces in 

nearly every cell. It helps to balance your blood 

sugar and lowering both glucose and insulin. 

Alpha lipoic acid 

This powerful antioxidant helps to regulate your 

blood sugar levels because it releases energy by 

burning glucose and it also helps to make you more 

insulin sensitive. It also has an effect on weight loss 

because if the glucose is being used for energy, your 

body releases less insulin and you then store less fat. 

Omega 3 fatty acids 

Omega 3 fatty acids taken in supplement form 

have been found to reduce testosterone levels in 

women with PCOS. 

Amino Acids 

Certain amino acids can be very helpful for PCOS 

as they can improve your insulin sensitivity and 

also can have an effect on weight loss. 

N-Acetyl cysteine 

In women with PCOS this amino acid helps 

reduce insulin levels and makes your body 

more sensitive to insulin. Study using NAC in 

women who were clomiphene resistant and 

had ovarian drilling. After ovarian drilling, 

the women given NAC compared to a placebo 

showed a significantly higher increase in both 

ovulation and pregnancy rates and lower 

incidence of miscarriage. 

Arginine 

Arginine can be helpful in reversing insulin 

resistance. In one study, a combination of both 

arginine and N-acetyl cysteine were given to 

women with PCOS. The two amino acids help to 

improve blood sugar and insulin control and also 

increased the number of menstrual cycles and 

ovulation with one women becoming pregnant 

on the second month. 

Carnitine 

Carnitine helps your body break down fat to 

release energy and can help improve insulin 

sensitivity. 

Tyrosine 

Tyrosine is helpful for women with PCOS who are 

overweight as it helps to suppress the appetite and 

burn off fat. 

Glutamine 

This amino acid is useful for helping with sugar 

cravings as it can be converted to sugar for energy 

and so takes away the need to eat something sweet. 

It also helps to build and maintain muscle which is 

important for fat burning. 

Branched Chain Amino Acids 

(BCAAs) 

BCAAs include three amino acids leucine, 

isoleucine and valine. They are important in 

PCOS because they help to balance blood sugar 

and having good levels of these BCAAs can have a 

beneficial effect on your body weight 

(To save you taking all of these nutrients 

separately, there are two I use in the clinic 

NHP’s Nutri Support and Amino Support from 

naturalhealthpractice.com) 

Inositol 

A study used inositol (2,000mg) in combination 

with NAC (600mg), significant increase in 

ovulation rates. 

Having a good diet, regular exercise, controlling 

stress and taking key nutrients will help in getting 

your hormones back in balance and reducing the 

negative symptoms associated with PCOS. 

Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD is the UK’s leading 

nutritionist specialising in women’s health. 

She is the Former President of the Food 

and Health Forum at the Royal Society of 

Medicine and the author of a number of 

internationally best selling books including 

‘Getting Pregnant Faster, ‘Natural Solutions 

to PCOS’ and ‘The Natural Health Bible for 

Women’ see marilynglenville.com. Dr 

Glenville runs a number of women’s health 

clinics in Harley Street, London, Tunbridge 

Wells and Ireland. If you are interested in a 

consultation, you can contact Dr Glenville’s 

clinic on 01892 515905 or by email: health@ 

marilynglenville.com 



BODY 



MIND BODY 



BODY MIND 

EXPERT: A’ndrea Reiter 

The Obstacle 

is the Path 

Many times on this journey we feel we are hit 

with obstacle after obstacle. It can feel like we 

are trying to climb Mt. Everest in flip-flops. It 

can feel unfair, unrelenting and we can't help 

but wonder, "Why me?" 

I see this all the time in my holistic fertility 

practice. We are on such a mission to get this baby 

but we keep hitting roadblocks; and most of us 

being of the Type-A persuasion, push through it 

and keep fighting to get the outcome that we want. 

On the surface that seems like a good thing - and 

when it comes to our careers etc., it’s served us 

well. But when it comes to manifesting a baby, it 

can be a problem. 

Here’s why - energy. 

According to the Law of Attraction, like energy 

attracts like energy, so whatever energy we are 

putting out, the Universe has to bring a match to 

that energy. It’s really hard to catch sometimes 

when we are in a negative pattern because we 

think we are focusing on what we want, but really 

we are focusing on the lack of the thing we want— 

which brings more lack. 

So when we’ve been through a lot of obstacles, we 

expect more obstacles- so we get more obstacles. 

We are taught that you have to “try hard and 

push to get what you want,” but from a Law of 

Attraction trying brings more trying, pushing 

brings more things for you to push against. 

It’s difficult to see because we want the baby so 

much we will try to leap over these roadblocks 

no matter what. The problem is that patterns will 

repeat in your life until we learn the lessons we’ve 

signed up for in our lives. If we keep ignoring the 

lessons, they will keep showing up. The Universe 

is a faithful friend that way. It’s annoying- but the 

sooner we can deal with the pattern, the sooner we 

can move through it. If we ignore it, we are missing 

a great opportunity for growth, which is really why 

we’re all here on the planet. 

See if you can shift to why this obstacle is 

happening FOR you instead of TO you - because 

it is. All energy, “good,” “bad,” and otherwise is 

happening for our growth and evolution as a 

person. The more we can embrace it, the faster we 

move through it. 

So what can you do about it? Here are some simple 

things you can do to shift your energy: 

1) When we are fighting “what-is” happening, we 

bring more fighting energy, more lack, more 

fear, more “this is hard.” We get caught in this 

energetic loop of negativity and stagnancy. It’s 



MIND 

hard to get out of that momentum, but one of 

the simplest things you can do is to play some 

calming music or burn some sage or incense 

to get your mind quieted down; and with your 

eyes closed ask the question: What is this 

roadblock trying to show me? Take some deep 

breaths and repeat the question. Write down 

your findings and then take an action from 

there. For example: One of my clients did this 

and wrote down that her relationship with her 

husband was suffering because she was obsessed 

with having sex at the exact right moment, 

him taking supplements, canceling vacations, 

planning things around ovulation etc - and it 

was taking a toll on him, which wasn’t helping 

her. So her roadblock of him going on a business 

trip while she was ovulating wasn’t something 

meant to happen TO her but to show her she 

can’t force this to happen and that she needed 

to reconnect with her husband in an organic 

way. She took action by having a heart to heart 

with her husband and they agreed to take a 

couple of months off to go on the trip they 

originally planned and poof! She was pregnant. 

The obstacle was a gift to get her to step back, 

reassess and make a different choice instead of 

keep forcing something that wasn’t working. 

We just have to move 

from forcing to 

choosing. It will be a 

work in progress and 

you must be 

compassionate with 

yourself, but know 

that you can do this. 

2) Take a look at all of the things you are doing for 

your fertility journey and take stock of why you’re 

doing what you’re doing. Many times we are doing 

things like specific supplements, ovulation sticks, 

reproductive intervention or even things like 

acupuncture because we feel like we “should.” We 

can make decisions out of fear, obligation or because 

others expect us to; and not because we truly feel it’s 

the best move for us. So take each individual thing 

that you’re doing separately - close your eyes, take a 

deep breath and ask, “ Does __________ FEEL good 

for me to do, or do I feel like I SHOULD do it?” If it’s 

a “should” consider omitting it for a month. You 

can always reassess next month. But the important 

thing is that you do not keep doing things the same 

way and expect different results. We must begin 

to choose things that feel good versus making 

decisions out of fear or distrust. 

3) Take a break between marathons. Many of you 

have been on this journey for a while - some of 

you for many years. Many of my clients come 

to me after multiple rounds of IUI or IVF that 

they did back to back, or they keep trying a new 

modality every month. They keep pushing, 

pushing, pushing - mainly because they feel every 

second counts and that they can’t waste any time 

or they could miss their opportunity. I totally 

understand why it feels like you’re running out 

of time, but if you keep focusing on that, the 

Universe has to bring a match to that. And your 

body can’t handle the constant stress forever. You 

would never run consecutive marathons, because 

your body needs to have a break in between. 

You must honor that on the fertility journey as 

well. In the grand scheme of things, a month or 

two is nothing. It’s a blip on your timeline. You 

must honor where you are and spend that time 

recharging yourself with things that are for YOU 

(not to get the baby). Do things that light you 

up, knowing that is also the work of getting the 

baby here even though it doesn’t seem like it. I 

know it’s scary to back off of trying to control the 

outcome and to not push through it, but that can 

be the very thing that allows your energy to shift 

and actually change the outcome. 

When multiple obstacles come up, or patterns 

perpetuate it’s because there’s something we are 

supposed to learn/grow from. If we keep ignoring 

it, it will keep repeating. The obstacle IS the path. I 

promise. I know it’s frustrating and annoying, but 

when we can embrace it—we can move through it. 

When we fight it, we stay stuck. 

This journey can feel powerless sometimes, but 

we do have choice in whether or not we move 

forward. We just have to move from forcing to 

choosing. It will be a work in progress and you 

must be compassionate with yourself, but know 

that you can do this. Making incremental changes 

like this can shift your energy and your outcome-- 

and you have the power to do that. 

Use the situation you’re given as if you’d chosen 

it and ask yourself, “If I wasn’t in fear, what would 

feel like a good next move for me?” 

All the best on your journeys, mamas. 

A’ndrea is a Reiki Master and Holistic 

Fertility Specialist. She uses a combination 

of reiki, intuition and mindset coaching to 

move women through the emotional and 

physical blocks that are impeding them 

from conceiving naturally. Her book, How 

to Get Pregnant, Even When You’ve Tried 

Everything: A Mind-Body Guide to Fertility 

will be available in stores & on Amazon, July 

8th. Though based in New York City, she 

helps clients all over the world achieve their 

dream of motherhood. 



MIND 



BODY 

By Sarah olland 



BODY 

Can you remember what life was like before 

you started trying for a baby? Whether that 

was just a few months ago or several years, 

your normal way of living then is likely to 

be have been very different to how it is now 

since you embarked on Project Baby. 

Your new normal life revolves around eating 

well, cutting out caffeine and alcohol, making 

sure you exercise regularly (but not too 

much!), checking your apps for peak fertility, 

making sure you have sex at the right time and 

counting down the days until you can finally 

take a pregnancy test. This cycle of checking, 

waiting and testing continues month after 

month until your life is taken over by babymaking. 

Every thought, feeling and action is 

influenced by your fertility situation and it can 

be utterly exhausting! 

You also find that making any decision 

includes second guessing your pregnancy status. 

From the post-ovulation pondering: “Is it okay 

to drink this glass of wine/take this painkiller/ 

go to a pilates class if I could be pregnant?” to 

the future planning: “Can I book a holiday for 

next summer if I might be pregnant by then?” 

It feels as if you’re on a monotonous hamster 

wheel that you don’t know how to stop. 

The only sane option right now may seem to be 

to take a period of time off from “trying”. But 

whilst taking a break from all things fertility 

is tempting, you might also be concerned that 

letting a few months pass by will leave you 

further away from your dream of having a baby. 

Melissa and her husband had been trying for a 

baby for 3 years and she found she was feeling 

increasingly depressed with each negative test. She 

said: “My desperation for a baby had taken its toll on 

my mental state and I had to stop focusing my entire 

life and purpose on being a mum. My identity 

isn’t based on who I may become, but 

rather who I am now. We are 

currently taking a break from 

trying for a baby, and I’m 

using the time to focus on 

my mind and also my 

relationship to be the 

best parents we can be. 

I can truly say I’m more 

content and patient 

now than I have ever 

been. At first I was terrified 

that I would be wasting 

months by not trying, but in 

reality, I feel like I’ve got time back 

for my fertility because I’m more healthy 

physically and mentally now.” 

You may feel under pressure to carry on trying 

each month or to move ahead to fertility 

treatment. The length of the time you have 

been trying, your age, or statistics given to you 

by your clinic may make taking a break feel 

impossible. But ultimately how you plan out 

your fertility journey is your choice. 

The length of 

the time you have 

been trying, your 

age, or statistics 

given to you by your 

clinic may make 

taking a break feel 

impossible. 



BODY 

If you feel as if your fertility situation is 

pushing you and your relationship to their 

limits, then it could be time to take 

a step back. Giving yourself 

time and space to take an 

impartial look at your 

fertility journey thus 

far, and make good 

clear decisions about 

your next steps, is 

invaluable. And yes, 

this may mean taking 

a break from trying 

for a month or two, or 

even longer, but it could 

be time well spent. 

Lorraine is sure that their 

fertility struggles contributed to her 

anxiety, and her doctor advised to try and get 

it under control before moving further ahead 

with fertility investigations. She said: “I’m 

taking a break and not actively focusing on 

trying to conceive this month. The ovulation 

sticks have been set aside, I’m drinking some 

alcohol and coffee without beating myself up, 

and trying to get back to the mental state I had 

in my 20’s before this journey ever began. In 

the back of my mind I’m hoping this month’s 

somewhat reckless behaviour leads me to my 

positive test, but if it doesn’t then I can at 

least smile and think it has been an enjoyable 

month. I do think it helps having a break every 

now and again. I see it as a kind of mental and 

emotional holiday. I’ve even booked a trip away 

with friends in December, which the old me 

wouldn’t have done, just in case I got pregnant 

before. I’ve put my life on hold many times 

in anticipation of a pregnancy that hasn’t 

happened. I think I’ve worried too much about 

the future and I’m making a conscious effort to 

live in the moment more.” 

If you do decide to take some time off, consider 

how you can best use that time, so it could also 

become a valuable but enjoyable part of your 

fertility plan. You will then feel no guilt about 

taking time off or feel impatient to get back to 

trying. Your time away from all things fertility 

can be a natural, and much needed, space for 

healing and reflection. 

You may want to include: 

• A stress-free holiday to an adults only location 

where your only focus is on sunbathing, the 

cocktail menu and making special memories. 

Enjoy this time knowing that holidays with a 

baby will be very different! 

• Taking up an old hobby or interest again. Dust 

off those hiking boots, get the motorbike out 

If you do 

decide to take 

some time off, 

consider how you 

can best use that 

time, so it could also 

become a valuable 

but enjoyable part 

of your fertility 

plan. 

of the garage, or open your paint box. What 

did you use to love to do before everything 

became focused on fertility? 

• Tackling a project that you 

haven’t had the time, energy 

or money to do while 

you’ve been on the 

fertility rollercoaster. 

Do you want to 

decorate your house? 

Change your job? Get 

married?! 

Using the time to 

prioritise YOU will 

reduce stress, strengthen 

your relationship and bring 

balance back into your life; building 

a wonderful, supportive foundation for the next 

stage of your fertility journey. 

After 5 unsuccessful IVF cycles, Jo found 

she needed to re-prioritise. “When I had my 

last miscarriage, we decided to take a break 

both physically and financially. We had put 

off getting married before as the money was 

needed for fertility treatment. By taking a 

break for almost a year it meant we could pay 

for our wedding and honeymoon, and instead 

of planning scan dates, blood tests, 

egg collections and injections, I 

planned our wedding! It was 

so uplifting and I felt as 

though a weight had 

been lifted from my 

shoulders. During our 

break we got a puppy 

and I started working 

from home more for 

a work/life balance. 

We are now doing our 

6th IVF cycle so fingers 

crossed the break was the 

tonic we needed!” 

You could also use the time off as 

an opportunity to further boost your fertility 

before you try again. You may incorporate 

a mind or body detox, do research into 

your fertility challenges, or consult fertility 

specialists. Having this positive focus on your 

fertility during a break from actually trying 

for a baby will mean that you do not feel 

under pressure and can focus in a relaxed and 

unhurried way. 

After multiple miscarriages Sarah knew that she 

needed to take some time out. “I’d had enough 

and it had taken such a toll on my mind, body 

and relationship. I needed time out to make sure 

I was healthy and happy. In my break I found 

There is 

no doubt 

that getting 

off the fertility 

rollercoaster for a 

few months can be 

a positive and, for 

some, essential 

step to take. 

a less stressful job, got back to exercising, and 

researched how to prevent miscarriages. I waited 

8 months and felt in such a great space to try 

again. So, we did but unfortunately, it was not 

successful. It’s hard for me to say whether a break 

is worthwhile because I don’t have my miracle 

baby yet. I believe the most important priority in 

all of this is looking after you. It’s important to 

step back, take time out, focus on you and your 

relationship with your partner because if one day 

you are faced with the reality that motherhood is 

not going to be something you will do naturally, 

or at all, then you need to know that you, your 

mind and your relationship can get through this. 

Yes, a baby is the highest of your priorities, but 

you need to be able to take time out and reflect, 

appreciate, prepare and build strength for any 

outcome that comes your way.” 

There is no doubt that getting off the fertility 

rollercoaster for a few months can be a positive 

and, for some, essential step to take. However, 

before you make plans for your own break from 

trying, I encourage you to explore the emotions 

and motivation behind it. 

As a Fertility Coach, I talk to many people who 

have made decisions on their fertility journey 

from a place of fear or desperation. As well as 

deciding to take a break, this could also 

be going ahead with fertility 

treatment such as IVF more 

quickly than they wanted 

to, or even needed to. It’s 

understandable because 

when we feel under 

pressure we feel we 

need to act quickly. 

But we don’t usually 

make our best choices 

when under pressure, 

so it’s advisable to take 

time to consciously make 

decisions that you can feel 

good about. 

Emotional support throughout your whole 

fertility journey is vital, especially at the point 

of making important decisions. There are many 

tools and techniques to help you find emotional 

clarity and wellbeing, and you may enjoy 

finding a combination that works for you. 

Some ideas that I have seen work for my clients are: 

Journaling 

Keep a journal and using it as a space to empty 

your mind on to paper can be very cathartic and 

help you discover what your main emotional 

challenges are. Once you are clear where you are 

struggling, it will be easier to ask for support. 



BODY 

Meditation 

It is believed that we have up to 70,000 

thoughts a day, and a busy mind does not make 

decisions easily! A daily meditation practice can 

help train your mind to be calm and still, and 

make space for good decision making. 

EFT 

When you feel totally overwhelmed and 

stressed out, a technique like EFT (Emotional 

Freedom Techniques) can be invaluable. By 

rebalancing your inner reaction to stressful 

situations, it can help you become calm and 

think clearly. 

Support 

Having a support network and safe space to 

share your thoughts is essential. You may find 

support in online fertility groups, from an 

empathic friend, or with a Fertility Coach. 

I’m so pleased that you have taken the 

time to read this article today, as you are 

prioritising you and your emotional 

wellbeing. This doesn’t mean you are 

any less focussed on achieving your 

dream of having your baby, but that 

you will be so much more prepared 

for the next stages of your 

fertility journey and for the new 

adventure of parenthood. 

To learn about EFT and start using this 

technique to support you and your fertility 

you can receive my free Fertility EFT Starter 

Kit here: fertilemindset.com/starter-kit/ 

Sarah Holland is a Fertility EFT Coach and 

Mentor at FertileMindset.com and supports 

women and couples throughout the world 

via Skype consultations and online fertility 

support programs. 



MIND 

TRIPLE YOUR CHANCES 

OF HAVING A BABY. 

FREE SKYPE WITH 

IVF SPECIALIST 

FREE USE OF TIME- 

LAPSE SYSTEM 

SURGICAL SPERM 

RETRIEVAL 

UK BASED CLIENTS 

SINCE 2006 

NETWORK OF 4 

CERTIFIED CLINICS 

STATE OF THE 

ART IVF LAB 


www.klinikkhausken.no 


MIND 

FERTILITY 

JOURNEYS 2018 

Welcome back to the Fertility Journeys. 

Where do we start? This year our fertility journeys have taken off with 4 clinics 

already offering free fertility treatments to our readers. 

We are pleased to announce that Herts and Essex Fertility Centre are the latest 

fertility clinic to offer one couple the chance for free IVF treatment and a further 40 

couples free consultations. 

Unfortunately, the couple that Klinikk Hausken had chosen to work with have 

for personal reasons have not been able to start treatment. Therefore, we will be 

re-launching their fertility journey shortly. 

IVF Spain has been busy selecting two couples to work with this year and we check 

in with last years couples to see how they are doing. 

Redia IVF and Mediterranean Fertility Institute really struggled to choose one 

couple so they’ve selected two. In the next issue we’ll be meeting their couples and 

finding out more about their journey so far. 

And last, by no means least, Heather and Brandon who are working with our US 

partners Oregon Reproductive Medicine are expecting TWINS and they are over 

obviously the moon. 

We will be announcing more journey partners who will be joining us later in the 

year but for now, let’s see what our couples are up to. 



FERTILITY JOURNEYS 2018 

FERTILITY JOURNEYS: 

A FREE IVF & 40 FREE CONSULTATIONS 

WITH HERTS & ESSEX FERTILITY CENTRE 

Herts & Essex Fertility Centre is one of the UK’s most reputable and best-performing IVF clinics with 

29 years history. The clinic was founded in 1989 by our CEO Mr Michael Ah-Moye who has been 

building his impressive experience and expertise in Assisted Conception since 1984. Our dedicated 

team has helped to create thousands of happy new families by delivering over 5,900 babies. 

Our IVF treatment success rates are among 

the highest in the country according to the 

Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority 

(HFEA) database. 

We are experts in the assessment of fertility 

problems, and we identify the safest, surest and 

most cost-effective route to a successful pregnancy. 

We take immense pride in providing a medical 

service of the highest calibre, tailored to suit the 

individual needs of each patient, in a friendly, 

supportive and caring environment. 

We believe that any individual willing to 

make a lifelong commitment to providing 

a loving, nurturing, caring and supportive 

environment for a child deserves the chance 

to become a parent. Therefore, we provide a 

number of different fertility treatments to help 

heterosexual couples, same-sex couples and 

single parents to start their family. 

IUI, IVF, ICSI & PICSI 

At our clinic, we offer a number of fertility 

treatments such as IUI, IVF, ICSI & PICSI. 

IUI is a fertility treatment in which high-quality 

sperm are separated from slow-moving or nonmoving 

sperm. This sperm is then inseminated 

directly into the womb and can either be performed 

with the partner’s sperm or donor sperm. 

IUI allows the body to do more on its own than 

on an IVF cycle, so it’s a more natural but also less 

successful form of treatment. 

IVF and ICSI are laboratory techniques by which 

a single sperm fertilises a single mature egg. In 

Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) the eggs are removed 

from the ovaries and fertilised by sperm in a 

glass dish in the laboratory whereas in ICSI a 

single sperm is chosen and injected into a mature 

egg using a very fine needle under microscopic 

control. ICSI assists the sperm to achieve 

fertilisation and is the recommended treatment 

for Male Factor Infertility. 

PICSI is an additional sperm selection technique 

used to select mature sperm for use within ICSI. 

Sperm are selected based on the sperm’s ability to 

interact with a naturally occurring protein that is 

found on the cumulus complex on the membrane 

surrounding the egg. 

PICSI is an excellent choice for couples where the 

male partner has documented issues with sperm 

concentration, motility, morphology and/or 

functionality on HBA sperm analysis. 

The decision as to which treatment is the most 

suitable for our patients will depend on the quality 

of the sperm sample provided on the day of the egg 

collection as the sperm quality can fluctuate on a 

regular basis. 

EGG SHARING 

There are various reasons why some women 

require treatment with donor eggs. It may be a 

result of their age seriously affecting egg quality, an 

early menopause, chemotherapy or radiotherapy 

treatment permanently damaging the ovaries, 

unexplained infertility or that some women are 

born without ovaries. 

Egg sharing anonymously brings together two 

women needing IVF treatment but for very 

different reasons. Many women will have the 

potential to produce plenty of eggs during their IVF 

treatment while the other cannot have treatment at 

all without the precious gift of donated eggs to fulfil 

her dream of a baby. 

It gives women, who generously wish to donate 

eggs, the opportunity to help another woman and 

in return helps towards funding her own muchneeded 

IVF treatment. 




Our egg share programme, rewards the donors’ with 

a fully funded IVF treatment which includes saline 

infusion sonogram (SIS), endometrial scratch, male 

and female screening tests, and fertility drugs. 

EGG FREEZING 

Egg freezing enables healthy, young women the 

opportunity to preserve their fertility. We know that 

frozen eggs can be stored safely in liquid nitrogen 

for many years and our regulatory body, the HFEA, 

allows UK clinics to store frozen eggs for up to 

10 years, enabling patients to use them for their 

treatment in the future. This may be when they have 

met the right partner or when they are financially or 

emotionally ready to start their family. 

Egg freezing is an option to consider for fertility 

preservation if you are at risk of premature ovarian 

failure, premature menopause or if you are having 

surgery to remove your ovaries. 

Egg freezing can also help preserve your fertility if 

you are undergoing radiotherapy or chemotherapy 

treatment for illnesses such as cancer or in cases of 

transgender reassignment. 

Fertility is, unfortunately, age-dependent and 

your chance of a successful pregnancy with frozen 

eggs is higher if your eggs are frozen at a very early 

reproductive age. Success rates for treatment using 

frozen eggs depend upon many different factors 

so, when faced with a patient enquiring about egg 

freezing, we will always be honest and realistic. 

We will provide an accurate account of what egg 

freezing treatment involves its advantages and 

disadvantages, and the potential success rates. As 

long as the decision is an informed and balanced 

one, we would never discourage a woman from 

choosing to freeze her eggs. 

SPERM FREEZING 

We offer fertility preservation in the form of sperm 

freezing and banking for men who wish to store their 

sperm to use for fertility treatment in the future 

including transgender reassignment. 

Treatment with chemotherapy or radiotherapy 

or surgery for conditions that may damage your 

fertility is the most common reason for freezing 

sperm. It may be that you are about to undergo a 

vasectomy, or are undergoing treatment for cancer, 

or have a sperm count or sperm quality that is 

deteriorating prematurely. 

We also freeze donated sperm for six months 

before it can be used in sperm donation treatment. 

This allows for the sample to be routinely 

quarantined and undergo the required screening. 

SURROGACY 

We are one of the most experienced clinics in the 

UK in surrogacy; our experts have been successfully 

supporting intended parents and their surrogates for 

more than 100 cycles of surrogacy in the last 5 years. 

Surrogacy describes the arrangement made when a 

woman agrees to become pregnant and have a baby for 

another couple. The woman having the baby is called 

the surrogate and she will be the legal mother at birth, 

if she is married her husband will be the legal father. 

If she is unmarried she can nominate either one 

of the intended parents to be the 2nd legal parent. 

The intended parents will then need to apply for a 

parental order to become the legal parents, this needs 

to occur within 6 months of the baby being born 

There are two forms of surrogacy: Full/host 

surrogacy and Partial/straight surrogacy. 

FULL/HOST SURROGACY 

In this scenario, the intended parents use IVF 

treatment to create embryos which are then 

placed in the uterus of the surrogate . the embryos 

must be created using at least one of the intended 

parents own eggs or sperm. The embryos are then 

placed in the uterus of the surrogate. . 

PARTIAL/STRAIGHT SURROGACY 

Partial surrogacy involves the surrogate becoming 

pregnant by artificial insemination or IVF, using 

the sperm from the intended father together with 

the surrogates eggs. 

It’s illegal to become a surrogate for commercial 

reasons. Therefore the only payments that can 

be exchanged between the Intended Parents and 

their surrogate are those that can be classed as 

reasonable expenses. 

IN-HOUSE SPERM BANK 

Our clinic has been helping both heterosexual 

couples, same-sex couples and single women 

conceive using sperm donation for many years 

and to this end, we have established our very own 

in-house bank of sperm donors, who satisfy UK 

medical and legal guidelines to provide safe and 

regulated treatment for those requiring treatment 

using a sperm donor. 

IVF TREATMENT OFFER 

Herts & Essex Fertility Centre are delighted to 

announce that they will be taking part in the 

Fertility Journeys project in collaboration with 

Fertility Road Magazine. Our fertility experts 

are coming on board to support this remarkable 

inventiveness and give hope and support to 

couples who are trying for a dream baby. 

WHAT'S ON OFFER? 

A FREE IVF & 40 FREE CONSULTATIONS 

This year our clinic is celebrating the 40 years 

of IVF and will be offering a free fertility 

treatment (IVF/ICSI) including the medication 

to a lucky couple. In addition to this celebratory 

year, we will select 40 lucky couples for a free 

fertility consultation with one of our fertility 

doctors. The free consultation package consists 

of a full consultation, an Anti-Mullerian 

Hormone (AMH) blood test and a semen 

analysis with Hyaluronan Binding Assay (HBA) 

assessment. Same-sex couples will either have 

two AMH tests or two semen assessments. 

TO APPLY 

To enter the draw for the incredible free round 

of IVF/ICSI or a chance to have one of the 40 

fully funded consultation appointment, visit 

our website fertilityroad.com/HEFC 

The fertility treatment prize includes initial 

consultation, pre-treatment tests (ultrasound scan, 

AMH blood test, semen assessment etc), 1 cycle of 

IVF treatment, plus ICSI if required (below is what 

is included with our IVF treatment package). 

See website for full terms and conditions. 





EGG DONATION WITH IVF SPAIN 

Exclusive 

Spanish 

Partner 

A lot has happened since our last Fertility Journey post. Claire and David, winners of 

the Fertility Journey 2018, had their first medical consultation; the list of this year’s 

runner-ups will be posted soon; the recent birth of a beautiful baby and the upcoming 

birth of one of our previous winners. 

Claire and David 

‘The testing process has been very thorough, there 

are things that we´ve never been offered in the UK 

and we didn’t know these were an option really. 

This was quite important for us. The first thing 

that we were shown when we arrived, was a timelapse 

film of the embryo and, believe it or not, 

considering where we’ve come from and we´ve 

been through, we’ve never got to see that before 

and that is quite good for us, so that give a bit of 

confidence and that’s just very interesting to see 

what actually happens; the process when it gets to 

blastocyst stage’ said Claire and David. 

Claire (42) and David's (35) first time at IVF Spain... 

After 7 years trying to form a family, and thanks 

to the Fertility Journey Project, Claire and David 

decided to travel to Spain to be a little closer to 

their dream of becoming parents. On 14 May, 

the couple from Bristol visited the clinic and met 

their treating doctor, Natalia Szlarb, gynaecologist 

and Medical Director of IVF Spain. 

The couple had already been through 3 failed IVF 

cycles. Both suffer from medical conditions that make 

it impossible for them to conceive a child by natural 

means such as sperm morphology and motility 

defects, a genetic condition in the family history that 

increases implantation failure and miscarriage. As a 

result the couple decided to approach egg donation to 

achieve the long lasted pregnancy. 

Spain has one of the most advanced and liberal 

laws on assisted reproduction in Europe, allowing 

the donation of gametes without disclosing the 

identity of the donors. This encourages many 

women to become donors and furthermore 

it allows reproduction clinics to have bigger 

donor pools compared to other European 

countries. Having large donor pools allows 

assisted reproduction clinics to meet the legal 

requirements set in Spanish Law: “donors and 

patients must be similar on a phenotypic level and 

be genetically compatible to ensure the health of 

future generations” 

We asked Claire and David on their thoughts and 

impressions about IVF Spain during their visit. 

They were really impressed with the state-of-theart 

technology and techniques that patients have 

at their disposal. 

At IVF Spain we are constantly striving to be at 

the forefront of medical advance. As such, we are 

able to offer our patients pregnancy rates well 

above the Spanish average (according to data 

submitted by the Spanish Fertility Association). 

In the case of Claire and David we decided to 

perform specific tests that could provide us with 

additional information on why the embryos failed 

to implant. Among all tests that were carried 

out, the endometrial receptivity test proved to be 

decisive. This specific test determines the precise 

moment to carry out the embryo transfer, thus 

increasing the success rate. 

The test results confirmed a “displaced window of 

implantation”. In other words, the best moment 

for transferring the embryo did not match with 

a woman’s normal cycle. As a result, Claire was 

prescribed a treatment to find out the best date to 

carry out the embryo transfer. 

Both were very grateful with the received 

treatment; never before did they get that many 

information. They knew exactly what was going 

to happen during every phase of the treatment. 

“To feel to be taken care of gave us the assurance 

we needed” 

We will be carrying out a second endometrial 

receptivity test during their upcoming visit to set 

the exact date for the embryo transfer. 




Laura and Ian 

Alka 

And the runner-up is… 

We also chose a runner-up couple for this year’s 

Fertility Journey: Laura (41) and Ian (44), from 

Kirklees, West Yorkshire. After five years trying to 

form a family they decided to put their trust in Dr. 

Szlarb’s broad experience and in our IVF Spain team. 

Laura: ‘On our journey so far we’ve had 7 different 

rounds of IVF including frozen and fresh 

transfers and we sadly had 4 miscarriages. We’ve 

had a very difficult journey over the past few years 

to try and get pregnant and stay pregnant’. 

The couple highlighted the dedication, empathetic 

approach and detailed information they received 

throughout their first medical consultation. They 

were able to clarify all their doubts with the doctor 

and received a much more professional treatment 

than in any other clinic. 

Laura: Today we had a really thorough consultation 

with the doctor, much more thorough than we ever 

experienced in our seven previous attempts in the UK. 

We uncovered and discussed things we didn’t even 

understood or didn’t know that were a potential issue 

for us, which is quite surprising given that we are very 

experienced going through this. 

It has also been a totally different experience for 

Ian. This time he did not feel like a number, but 

like a future dad. 

Ian: In the UK it felt like we were being treated 

like a number rather than people. It was just one 

more case, pay the money and move on without 

getting a proper explanation. It has been a total 

different experience with IVF Spain. 

Laura suffers from endometriosis and polycystic 

ovarian syndrome, but also suffered from 

immunological problems in previous treatments. 

At IVF Spain we wanted to be sure about what was 

causing Laura not to get pregnant, and decided to 

carry out an endometrial biopsy to check her immune 

system. The test results showed high levels of NK 

cells (Natural Killers) which required medication to 

regulate her bodies’ immunological response to the 

transferred embryo and prevent the miscarriage 

(several studies have linked high levels of NK cells to 

repeated implantation failure and miscarriage). 

Laura and Ian will visit us again in September for 

their embryo transfer. We, of course, wish them 

the best of luck. 

Updates… 

We are very happy to announce that our last year’s 

Fertility Journey winners, Kathryn and Richard, 

recently became parents of a beautiful baby girl 

named Efa Marie. 

Kathryn: Efa is a dream. She’s tiny and was only 

6lb 3.5oz born. She is a sleeper by day but awake 

all of most nights. 

Kathryn 

I can’t believe we actually have our miracle here. 

She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to us and 

I am so grateful to you all. Richard loves being a 

daddy. Very hands on and he was very sad going 

back to work, as will I too. 

We also would like to remind you all that Alka and 

Rhod will be giving birth in August. They wanted 

to share with us how they got the news of being 

pregnant and what has been going on since then. 

Alka: ‘We discovered that I was pregnant when we 

were back in the U.K, 2 weeks after our treatment 

cycle at IVF Spain. The treatment had gone 

brilliantly. Three great quality blastocysts had 

developed, my uterine lining had been optimised, 

and one blastocyst was successfully transferred 

back into my uterus….It was Christmas Eve when 

we found out that the cycle had been successful, 

and we were ecstatic to hear the news! Oh my 

gosh!... It had worked… and first time too! It was 

the most amazing Christmas present we could 

ever have wished for! It was so hard keeping 

the news to ourselves... but after experiencing 

pregnancy losses before, we wanted to be sure that 

the first few months were going to be okay. 

IVF Spain were delighted to hear the news and 

even though we were now in another country, they 

were very actively involved in our care. They kept 

a close eye on our blood test results and altered our 

medication accordingly to help support the pregnancy. 

I experienced some bleeding at 6 weeks and with my 

history, I was terribly worried. IVF Spain were amazing 

in their support. I was in touch with them by phone 

and by email, and they guided me on what actions 

I should be taking and what investigations would 

be needed. They were on hand whenever I needed 

advice, and they truly helped me to stay positive. 

We went to our local hospital for a scan to check the 

viability of the pregnancy and were overjoyed to see 

the baby’s heartbeat. Everything was looking great! 

We were so relieved. Luckily the bleeding settled, 

and the next few months of pregnancy have gone 

well. Words cannot describe how it has felt to see the 

baby moving on the ultrasound scans, hear the baby’s 

heartbeat...and to feel the baby kicking… Wow!’ 





FREE IVF TREATMENT WITH IVF TRAVEL AND 

MEDITERRANEAN FERTILITY INSTITUTE 

Dimitris Kavakas 

While the doctors are busy assessing the couples 

that have applied for this truly wonderful offer 

of free treatment at their clinic in Crete we 

sat down with Dimitrius founder of Redia IVF 

Travel for a bit of Q&A. 

Q: Redia Ltd has been a business consultancy 

for Fertility Clinics. What made you develop 

the IVF Travel Portal? 

A: It was during my years of experience of 

trying to communicate with patients on behalf 

of fertility clinics that I realized what patients 

really look for. This is not just a treatment but 

the drive to make their dream come true. So 

the three main elements that concern patients, 

particularly in the UK, became our concerns in 

order to try to bring out solutions for them. 

Q: Which are those elements you are talking about? 

A: The main element is success. They get in to 

a process that is not easy nor pleasant with the 

goal of becoming parents. The second element 

is affordability since they do not know how 

much they will keep on spending until they 

reach their goal. This unknown cost is really 

scary for many fertility patients. Finally, the 

third element is time. Fertility has a clock and is 

ticking fast. Being in an NHS waiting time may 

be detrimental to the patient’s fertility levels. 




between clinics and between countries. In addition, 

the success rates of each clinic determine their prices. 

There is also a risk element that affects prices, so 

female patient’s age group is also one of the factors. 

Overall, I would say that on average, the cost of a 3 

cycle IVF programme with all medication included 

as well as methods such as blastocyst culture, ICSI, 

IMSI, Macs, assisted hatching and embryoscope time 

lapse, including embryo freezing costs, would be 

similar or slightly more expensive than a single cycle 

of IVF at a UK private clinic. 

Q: Are there conditions of eligibility to enter 

the programme? 

Q: So what does IVF Travel offer in response to 

these three elements? 

A: What we do is offer multi-cycle refund guarantee 

IVF programmes so that we can either offer success, 

in which case the main goal of the patient is achieved 

at a set price that they know from the beginning, 

or we refund the cost of the programme up to 

100% so as to take away the financial uncertainty 

from patients. In addition, we do that by offering 

affordable prices by having our patients travel 

to other countries where they can have low cost 

treatment without any waiting time. 

Q: By offering lower cost than UK clinics do 

you not discount on quality also? 

A: No, in actual fact, our partner clinics offer an 

equal and sometime much better quality than 

UK clinics. What you find in countries such as 

Spain, Greece and Czech Republic, for example, 

is that clinics focus more on the individual and 

each patient feels that they are really taken care 

of. In addition, most of our partner clinics have 

lab infrastructures that can only be found in the 

most expensive UK private clinics. 

Q: Do you have a way to screen clinics and 

ensure quality? 

A: It is in our vested interest to do so. You see, we 

are risking paying refunds back to patients since 

our business model is like an insurance. We earn 

more when our patients have quick success. So that 

is why we make sure that we only work with clinics 

that deliver high quality of services and results. 

Q: You talk about affordability; can you give 

us an idea of the cost? 

A: The cost of the programmes would depend 

on many factors. One is the individual clinic and 

country of choice since prices of treatment fluctuate 

A: Yes, there are conditions, however, in practice 

we accept almost 90% of interested patients. There 

are age conditions regarding the type of treatment 

and the refund percentage. Women up to 37 years 

of age can have a 100% refund guarantee. Women 

between 38 to 39 years old can become eligible but 

only with 50% refund. From 40 years and over, 

patients can only get into a 100% refund programme 

if they enroll in one of our Egg Donation or Embryo 

Donation programme, which have no age limit. 

In addition to the age criteria, there are a few basic 

medical conditions that patients should meet to 

enter into the programme. We ask for specific 

screening test which are assessed by our medical 

experts to evaluate eligibility. If everything is OK, 

they sign a contract and start treatment. 

Q: What if there is a discomfort of patients at 

a particularly clinic they did the first cycle? 

Do they have to stick with that clinic for all 

the cycles of the programme? 

A: No, patients have every right to change the clinic 

they have treatment at between cycles. If the cost of 

the programme at a clinic they wish to transfer is 

higher, they would just pay the difference. 

Q: Do you offer any payment schedule to help 

patients with their payments for the treatment? 

A: At the moment what we can do is spread the 

cost of the 50% of the payment over 6 equal 

monthly installments without any interest. We 

do ask however for a 50% deposit. 

Q: Do you only work with UK patients and where 

are the most popular country destinations? 

A: We work with patients globally, so no, we are not 

limiting our services to UK patients. Currently we 

work with clinics in Spain, Greece, Czech Republic, 

Cyprus, Turkey, India, Malaysia and Mexico. The 

popularity of a destination depends on the patient 

origin. UK patients prefer Spain, Greece and Czech 

Republic mainly, Australian patients prefer Malaysia 

and North American patients prefer Mexico. 





DONOR EGG IVF WITH GENOMIC SCREENING... 

WITH OREGON REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE 

After nearly ten years trying to build their family, Heather and Brandon are in 

their second trimester of Heather’s twin pregnancy. Heather has had to endure 

an extended period of severe morning sickness, but importantly their twins are 

developing well and their family and friends are overjoyed for them. 

Heather writes… 

I will never forget Monday, March 19th. During 

our 6 week ultrasound to listen for a fetal hearbeat, 

we got the news. We are having fraternal twins! 

We cannot begin to explain what a miracle we are 

experiencing! ORM has changed our lives and for 

that we are extremely thankful! 

For this journey, we had partnered with our local 

fertility clinic for the blood work and check-ups 

requested by ORM. To ensure I would be able 

to arrive at work by 8:30 a.m. I visited our local 

clinic on Monday, March 19th at 7:00 a.m. for my 

scheduled 6 week ultrasound. 

I was fortunate that during my visit the woman 

conducting my ultrasound has been doing 

ultrasounds with me for the last four years. She is 

very personable and always provides encouraging 

words every time I have the pleasure of working 

with her. 

She left me to get changed and then returned to the 

room for my ultrasound. Luckily, their petroleum 

jelly used for ultrasounds is warm so I was able to 

stay calm and not be jumpy through the process. 

I was so worried about the heartbeat. Brandon and I 

had been told it is critical that the heartbeat is over 

the 100 rate. We started the ultrasound process and 

low and behold there were two heartbeats! I cried 

uncontrollably. The nurse provided me with some 

tissues and I became completely overwhelmed. 

What?!?!? Twins?!?!?? 

After my appointment, I immediately called 

Brandon who was headed to work after taking care 

of our dog Duke at home. He was beyond shocked. 

I then sent an email to Christina our coordinator 

at ORM and she was ecstatic. We were all some 

happy campers. 

We shared the news with my mom, dad and 

mother-in-law and they were all overjoyed! My 

father said, “I knew it!” when he heard the news. He 

explained our hGC levels were too high for us not to 

be having a multiple pregnancy. 

On Monday, April 9th, we had our second 

ultrasound. I was 9 weeks pregnant. Brandon 

attended and once again we listened. We both 

heard two heartbeats! I cannot begin to express 

after such a long journey of hearing ‘No’ how 

much this news means to us. 

We have helped to raise cousins. We have heard 

some of our closest friends talk about parenthood, 

the good and the bad, sometimes unintentionally 

without regard for our journey. Now we knew it 

was going to be our turn. 

We were informed by ORM that as my pregnancy 

was now established we would soon graduate to 

the care of a local OB/GYN who would follow my 

pregnancy till delivery. Our local fertility clinic also 

informed us that after our 9 week ultrasound they 

would need to transfer our care to a local OB/GYN 

who specialized in pregnancy care. 

I consulted with my local fertility doctor and was 

clear about the type of doctor we were looking for. I 

wanted to be extra cautious. Through the early years 

of our journey we feel that we encountered a number 

of physicians who did not correctly diagnose our 

situation. We wanted to work with someone who 

would listen to us and empathize with us. In our 

experience, that has not always been the case. 

My local fertility doctor provided me with three 

physicians who were a good fit based on our criteria. 

I went through the process of talking to people and 

reviewing public knowledge and reviews of their 

bedside manner. We selected a doctor and were 

thrilled to find out after meeting with her for the first 

time that she is the mother of three-year-old twins. We 

could not be more thrilled with our selection! 

Unfortunately, morning sickness has been a 

significant challenge during these last couple of 

months. I have experienced something more than 




We wore t-shirts to share 

our news with our loved ones: 

“I can’t keep calm I’m having 

twins” and “I can’t keep calm 

I’m going to be a daddy”. 

down and the lingering aftertaste of some of my 

favorite foods was a nuisance. We encourage any 

expecting parent to consider getting some extra 

help to help with chores and a food delivery service 

for meals if it is within your budget. Unfortunately, 

that was not our reality. 

On Saturday, May 26th, at 16 weeks pregnant, 

we shared the news with our extended family! 

We sent texts to our aunts, uncles, cousins and 

friends asking them to join us for a barbecue in 

the backyard as a part of the Memorial holiday 

weekend. On the menu was a Cleveland specialty 

which requires minimal effort, the “Polish Boy”. It’s 

a Cleveland classic. 

Brandon took the lead on cutting 

the grass and barbecuing the 

beef kielbasa. I managed 

the condiments and 

sprucing up our house to 

accommodate our guests. 

We wore t-shirts to 

share our news with our 

loved ones: “I can’t keep 

calm I’m having twins” 

and “I can’t keep calm I’m 

going to be a daddy”. Once 

our family members read our 

t-shirts they were shocked by our 

announcement and filled with joy and 

lots and lots of tears. 

I know we have expressed this sentiment before 

but after ten years of trying to conceive, we are 

experiencing a fantastic and exceptional miracle 

and we are optimistic. 

This journey has been a true testament of faith, 

persistence and the determination to never give 

up. For those who are still trying, your miracle is 

coming too! 

just morning sickness. I have experienced all day 

sickness. Luckily, I was prescribed some medication 

to help with nausea and vomiting. 

I cannot attest that this medication had me back to 

normal but it did allow me to keep fluids and some 

food down. I was so dehydrated at one point that I 

was close to being admitted to hospital. 

The major side effect of the medication has 

been sleepiness. To be honest, I have spent a few 

months going to work, sleeping as soon as I got 

home, waking up to eat, and then going back to 

sleep through the rest of the night. 

My best friends became yogurt, fruit, smoothies 

and french fries. I had trouble keeping a lot of foods 

Dr Barbieri comments on Heather and Brandon's journey 

The entire ORM team is truly overjoyed that Heather’s twin pregnancy has 

continued to progress well and that she has now graduated to the care of her 

local OB/GYN for the next stage of their journey. 

Morning sickness impacts every woman’s pregnancy differently. Heather has 

certainly had to endure an extra difficult case, but thankfully this has now 

abated and she is able to enjoy this special time of her pregnancy. 

I am delighted that Heather feels confident in her selection of her OB/GYN. It’s reassuring that her 

OB/GYN is also a mother to twins as she will have first-hand insight into Heather’s experience. A twin 

pregnancy carries higher risks, so expertise with twin pregnancies and enhanced monitoring is called-for. 

We are honoured to have been able to help Heather and Brandon and will be continuing to follow their 

journey closely in the coming months ahead. 



FERTILITY 360 



FERTILITY 360 

r arolie illis 

Founder of Fertility Clinics broad 

fertilityclinicsabroad.com 

THE RISKS 

AND 

REWARDS 

OF EGG 

DONATION 

…for the recipient 

Receiving eggs from a donor is sometimes the 

only option for women where the absence of 

their own eggs or poor egg quality prevents 

pregnancy from natural conception. With more 

women having children later in life - some in 

their 's - the quality of eggs is becoming a 

more prevalent issue. Over time, eggs age ust 

like any other part of our body, and this can 

reduce fertility as well as increase the chance of 

genetic abnormalities. 

t is o surrise terefore tat older wome 

are te most ommo reiiets of egg door 

treatmet oweer te treatmet is ot 

elusie for te oer s ome youger 

moterstoe are also eligile uder ertai 

irumstaes or eamle if tere is a geeti 

disorder realet i te family su as ysti 

firosis or ileell disease egg doatio will 

reet faulty gees from eig assed oto te 

et geeratio ome youger moters will ae 

oor uality of eggs or may ot rodue tem 

i ig eoug uatities to oeie aturally 

rare ases remature oaria failure we 

meoause as egu earlier ta usual will sto 

te rodutio of eggs altogeter 


fertilityroadom |

FERTILITY 360 

Some women also suffer from what is commonly 

known as Diminished Ovarian Reserve or DOR. 

This occurs when a woman’s ovaries lose their 

reproductive potential, both affecting the quantity 

and quality of eggs produced. A woman’s ovarian 

reserve refers to the quality and quantity of her eggs, 

and diminished ovarian reserve means those factors 

are decreasing. Aging is the primary cause of DOR, 

but it can also be caused by genetic abnormalities, 

some medical treatments and even injury. 

There are many good reasons to choose egg 

donation, but choosing to undergo the treatment 

here in the UK isn’t as quick or accessible as it 

should be. Long waiting lists are plaguing the 

NHS for all manner of procedures and treatments, 

and egg donation is no exception. If you are 40 or 

over, being stuck in a lengthy waiting list for egg 

donation IVF is not ideal. Often the only other 

option is to go private, but as we found in our recent 

survey looking at fertility tourism trends, the cost 

of private treatment in the UK is disproportionately 

expensive when compared to other European 

countries - up to 50% in some cases. 

In the UK, we are also not protected by anonymity 

laws, meaning the donor’s name and details are 

readily available to the recipient and their offspring 

– this can cause issues further down the line when 

children born from egg donation want to know more 

about their ‘biological’ mother. 

The best option for some mothers in the UK may 

be to seek egg donation treatment abroad. Most 

European clinics offer cheaper egg donation 

services that their UK equivalents and many 

offer anonymous egg donation. Anonymity is 

something that many couples are looking for as 

highlighted in our research. In addition, private 

clinics abroad are not plagued by lengthy waiting 

list, which is particular importance to women over 

40 who are looking for a quick turnaround. 

Of course, having to go abroad for egg donation 

will not be to everyone’s taste. Being away from 

the support network of home can be a daunting 

prospect, coupled with the stresses and strains of 

travelling to and from the clinics. Many countries 

protect donors with anonymity law which means 

the children will never know their genetic parents. 

A blessing for some, a curse for others. 

…..for the donor 

Of course, there are two sides the story when it 

comes to egg donation. There are many reasons 

why a woman would choose to donate their 

eggs. Some for purely altruist reasons, to give 

the gift of life to someone who cannot conceive 

naturally. Others may be purely financial. 

Although it’s illegal to pay for egg donation in 

the UK, egg donors can receive compensation 

of up to £750 per donation ‘cycle’ to cover their 

costs. A donation cycle is one complete round 

of treatment, at the end of which the eggs are 

collected and donated. There is the option to 

claim more to cover higher costs such as travel, 

accommodation and childcare. 

Usually women need to be between the ages of 18 

and 35 to donate their eggs to someone’s treatment. 

Clinics may only allow eggs from an older woman 

to be used in exceptional circumstances, such as 

donating to a family member. 

Before a donation is made, the donor will 

undergo a series of health tests to ensure 

they don’t pass on any serious diseases or 

medical conditions to the baby or mother. A 

donor should always tell the clinic about any 

inheritable diseases in the family. 

Some clinics also set additional eligibility 

criteria, including minimum and maximum 

Body Mass Indexes (BMIs). 

Although the process of egg donation 

is relatively simple and pain free, the 

psychological impact of donating eggs should 

not be underestimated. A commonly-reported 

psychological difficulty that donors face is 

the thought of contributing to the birth of 

a child without any involvement in its life 

or upbringing. This can be balanced by the 

consideration that few prospective parents 

engage in the effort and expense of undergoing 

fertility treatment using an egg donor, if they 

are likely to be neglectful, disinterested parents. 

Typically, patients come from stable financial 

backgrounds within loving homes. 

In addition, it is possible to donate eggs to a 

friend or someone who is known, or to meet and 

maintain contact with the recipients if they agree 

to this ahead of time. This is called a ‘directed’ egg 

donation, which enables the donor to have limited 

involvement throughout the child’s life. 

There are also some health risks that need 

to be taken into account. The retrieval of 

eggs is a minor surgical procedure that takes 

approximately 10-15 minutes and requires 

sedation and monitoring, with a full day’s rest 

afterwards. Patient’s may feel disoriented and 

have impaired reflexes immediately following 

the procedure. While the complications are rare, 

there have been reported cases of individuals 

developing blood clots, bleeding or infection 

after egg retrieval 

It is possible to conceive with multiples 

during the donation cycle, because the clinic 

may not be able to retrieve every one of the 



FERTILITY 360 

eggs. Donor’s need to take precautions for 

the duration of the preparation time to avoid 

conceiving, and it’s advisable to abstain from 

sex for up to a week after the retrieval. 

In rare cases, women who donate eggs may 

develop ovarian hyper stimulation, which results 

in swollen ovaries, abdominal pains and the 

retention of fluid until the next menstrual period. 

Conclusion 

Before a donation 

is made, the donor will 

undergo a series of health 

tests to ensure they don’t pass 

on any serious diseases or 

medical conditions to the 

baby or mother. 

Donating eggs or receiving an egg donation is 

a major decision that should never be taken 

lightly. For some women, it is the only prospect 

of conceiving children and offers hope and 

reassurance to those beyond the natural age 

of conception. For donors, it represents a life 

changing gift that can transform the lives of 

couples desperate to have their own children. 

However, there are both physical and 

psychological challenges that must be taken 

into consideration, some that are far reaching 

and can affect couples and their children way 

into the future. 

As with any decision of this 

magnitude, it is always 

advisable to first consult 

with a GP or fertility 

health advisor. Couples 

should do their homework 

and ensure they 

are well informed 

before making the 

decision. Organisations 

such as Fertility 

Network UK are there to 

support and advise couples 

considering the treatment, and 

can provide access to other couples 

who have been there and done it. 

With more and more couples choosing the 

go abroad for egg donation and other IVF 

treatments, having a good understanding of 

what is on offer beyond the UK is becoming 

increasingly important. At Fertility Clinics 

Abroad, we provide impartial advice on what 

to expect, recommend the best clinics and 

advice on all aspects of the trip from booking 

accommodation to treatment planning. 

Dr Caroline Phillips PhD was senior 

embryologist at the Chelsea and 

Westminster Hospital in the 90’s. She now 

runs an online hub -Fertility Clinics Abroadwhich 

offers resources and information to 

people seeking IVF abroad. 



FERTILITY 360 



FERTILITY 360 

BOOK REVIEW: 

21 Miles – swimming in search 

of the meaning of motherhood 

by Jessica Hepburn 

REVIEWED BY KATE BRIAN 

It was this year's most keenly awaited 

fertility book, and Jessica Hepburn's 21 

Miles – swimming in search of the meaning 

of motherhood doesn't disappoint. Jessica has 

become one of the country's leading patient 

voices on the experience of fertility treatment 

after going through eleven unsuccessful cycles 

of IVF, and 21 Miles is her second book. It's 

the story of her decision to try to swim the 

English Channel but it's also about fertility, 

about relationships and about what motivates 

us to want to be mothers. 

Jessica was Executive Director of 

the Lyric Theatre when she 

and her partner decided 

they would try to have 

a baby, and her first 

book, ‘The Pursuit of 

Motherhood’, tells 

her story of fertility 

tests and unsuccessful 

treatment. Most of us 

might have taken some 

time out to lick our wounds 

if we’d been through the ups and 

downs of eleven rounds of IVF, several 

miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy, but Jessica, 

who is not most of us, decided to take a more 

radical route out of the sadness, and ’21 Miles’ is 

about what happens next. 

It was her New Year’s Resolution to “Give up 

IVF and do something big instead” which 

directly led to Jessica’s decision to attempt 

to swim the Channel. Despite having no 

“Never being 

able to feel happy 

for someone when 

they announce they’re 

pregnant without feeling 

sad for yourself at the 

same time” 

experience of swimming beyond school lessons 

and occasional lengths of the pool, she sets 

herself the challenge of the 21 mile swim from 

the Kent Coast to France. She also decides to 

interview 20 women, inviting them to have a 

meal with her to help her to “get fat to swim the 

English Channel and answer the question: Does 

motherhood make you happy?”. 

The book intersperses chapters about her 

preparations for the swim with her meetings 

with the women she has invited to to address her 

question, some of whom are familiar 

figures in the public eye. There 

is no particular theme to the 

interviewees, some have 

children and others don’t, 

and they come from very 

different walks of life, 

but they are all women 

whose stories around 

motherhood or living 

without children have 

sparked Jessica’s interest. 

The meals she had envisaged 

often turn into cups of coffee, 

one a ten minute phone call and 

another an extremely brief email, but each 

of the women brings a different perspective to the 

question of motherhood and what it means. She 

also asks each of the women to give her a word 

to motivate her for the swim, a talisman for the 

challenge ahead. 

The juxtaposition of these two very different parts 

of the book, the swimming and the interviews, is 

a structure that ought to feel disjointed, and yet 

Jessica makes it work effortlessly as we follow her 

through her training and her discussions about 

motherhood. Perhaps it works because these 

are in essence the two parts of her story and the 

interviews help to give context to the experience 

that has driven her to the swim. 

Jessica calls that driver “the pain of never”, and if 

you have ever experienced fertility problems, her 

list of symptoms will be all too familiar (such as 

“Never being able to feel happy for someone when 

they announce they’re pregnant without feeling 

sad for yourself at the same time” followed by 

“Never being able to admit that you’ve been in the 

loo crying about it because you don’t want people 

to pity you”). She describes it as a hole in her life, 

the pain of losing something you never had, a pain 

no one can entirely understand unless they’ve 

been there themselves. 

Meanwhile, we learn that swimming the Channel is 

a complex business; you don’t just get into the sea 

and set off. There are training camps, hours in the 

water that have to be ticked off, the strict regimes 

of the weekends swimming off Dover beach, the 



FERTILITY 360 

TV Presenter Janet Ellis interviews 

Jessica and some of the women from 

her book at the 21 Miles book launch. 

pilots and boats to be booked to accompany you, 

the tides and weather which dictate whether you 

can swim and the cold of the water and the jellyfish 

to contend with. It is a huge commitment and you 

need patience, grit and determination. Jessica had 

certainly found her “something big” to do instead. 

The interspersed interviews raise all kinds of 

questions around motherhood and our attitudes 

towards having children. There’s Justine Roberts, 

the founder of the website Mumsnet, who despite 

her day job and four children, is adamant that 

you don’t need children to live a happy life, 

there’s Jody Day, founder of Gateway Women, 

whose own experiences of coming to terms with 

childlessness led her to set up her support network, 

there’s politician Fiona Mactaggart who had six 

unsuccessful rounds of IVF before being diagnosed 

with multiple sclerosis and former Chief Constable 

Julie Spence who illustrates how full life can be 

without children. These are just some of the women 

Jessica meets on her quest to discover more about 

women’s relationships to motherhood. 

partner, and the toll that 

the infertility and the 

treatment seem to have 

taken there. 

‘21 Miles – swimming 

in search of the meaning 

of motherhood’ is a thoughtprovoking 

read. If you’ve had personal 

experience of fertility problems, there is a lot that 

will resonate, but this is not just a book about 

infertility, or about swimming the Channel. 

It’s a book which aims to make us think about 

If you’ve had 

personal experience 

of fertility problems, 

there is a lot that will 

resonate, but this is not just 

a book about infertility, or 

about swimming the 

Channel. 

motherhood and 

society’s attitudes to 

mothers, about our own 

thoughts on the subject 

and about what lies behind 

them. Jessica has an engaging 

style and a light touch, making 

’21 Miles’ an enjoyable read. Of 

course, the question you really want 

answered is whether Jessica ever completed her 

swim across the Channel, and finding out is just 

one of the many reasons you should go and buy 

this highly recommended book right away! 

There are some interesting insights in these 

vignettes about being a mother or living without 

children and what that means to different 

women, but it’s Jessica’s own story that is at the 

heart of the narrative as she recognises that 

she is “swimming my way out of grief”. She has 

moments of enlightenment along the way as 

she questions her own desire to be a mother, 

and there’s also a subtext in the shadows of the 

story which is Jessica’s own relationship with her 



FERTILITY 360 

MORE WAYS TO ENJOY 

YOUR FAVOURITE 

FERTILITY MAGAZINE 

fertilityroadsubscribe.co.uk 


fertilityroadom |

FERTILITY 360 

TOP 

5 

Emily Mounts, MS, CGC, genetic 

counselor and Director of Genomic 

Services at Oregon Reproductive 

Medicine (ORM), leads the largest 

clinical genomics program of any US 

IVF clinic and helps dispel some of the 

most common misconceptions about 

preimplantation genetic screening. 

MYTHS ABOUT PREIMPLANTATION 

GENETIC SCREENING 

reimplantation genetic screening S, or also referred to as Comprehensive Chromosome Screening, CCS is now widely 

used in the in vitro fertilization F field to identify and transfer embryos free from maor chromosome abnormalities. s 

a genetic counselor, one of the most important aspects of my role is arming patients and providers with accurate information 

about the risks, benefits, and limitations of S. ere are five of the most common myths about S, dispelled. 

Myth1 

I have a healthy family 

history and normal genetic 

carrier screening, so PGS is 

not necessary for me 

tests for te umer of romosomes reset 

i te ells of te emryo similar to looig at 

te umer of oos o te self of te uma 

geome e romosome aormalities deteted 

y su as etra or missig romosomes 

our radomly e ast maority of te time 

tese ages are ot ierited from te serm 

or egg roider wi is wy a ealty family 

istory ufortuately does ot redue te ris for 

romosome rolems i emryos toug family 

istory is imortat for may oter reasos 

additio romosome ages differ from gee 

mutatios ages i te letters or words of te 

su as tose deteted y arrier sreeig 

ysti firosis or ayas disease for eamle 

e if you are at low ris for aig a ild wit a 

reessie geeti disease ased o your geeti arrier 

sreeig results tere is still a relatiely ig ae 

for romosome rolems to our i your emryos 

is is te ase eause romosome aormalities 

are surrisigly ommo i early emryo 

deelomet as a matter of uma rerodutie 

iology weter tat ours troug atural 

oetio or i itro fertiliatio i te laoratory 

e oly sigifiat ris fator tat aears to 

ifluee te rate of romosome aormalities 

i emryos is materal age ut ee for wome 

i teir s a aerage of of emryos ae 

aormal romosome results we tey are 

tested wit te ast maority of ases 

tese emryos wit aormal romosome 

results would ot deelo ito a regay ad a 

ealty ay if trasferred 



FERTILITY 360 

2Myth 

Embryo biopsy is harmful 

to the embryo or baby 

order for your emryos to udergo tey 

must first ae a small umer of ells remoed 

y a emryologist te most udated form 

of o te t or t day of te emryos 

deelomet te emryologist uses a laser 

to iosy etwee ells from te future 

laetal ells of te emryo eerieed 

ads te oerwelmig maority of emryos 

surie te iosy 

t we ae iosied oer emryos 

sie ad fewer ta of tese did 

ot surie te iosy roedure fortuately 

to date o omreesie studies ae ee 

omleted o te ealt of te regaies or 

aies tat ae resulted from iosied emryos 

terefore we ousel our atiets tat tere is a 

ossiility tat tis data ould eetually reeal 

some id of oer 

t te urret time oweer tere are o studies 

suggestig tat tere is a detrimetal effet of day 

iosy o te aility of emryos to imlat 

o te deelomet of te fetus or te laeta or 

o te ealt of te ay tat results 


fertilityroadom |

FERTILITY 360 

3Myth 

PGS will make sure that my 

baby is genetically healthy 

e a emryo is deemed ormal y 

it meas tat te laoratory as oluded 

tat te iosied ells from te emryo most 

liely ae romosomes erefore tese 

emryos are elieed to ae te igest 

ae of deeloig ito a ealty regay 

urtermore te aies tat result are ery 

uliely to ae a maor romosome age 

su tose assoiated wit ow sydrome or 

oter romosomal sydromes aused y etra 

missig wole romosomes 

e fat is oweer tat te maority of geeti 

diseases ogeital irt defets ad learig 

issues tat a our i aies are ot uoered 

y routie ere are a umer of reasos 

for tis tese disorders may e aused y geeti 

ages tat are too small or sutle for to 

idetify we may eed to ae rior owledge of 

a ris fator i order to offer aroriate emryo 

testig for a disease or we may ot ee ae a 

uderstadig of te ause of tese oditios 

our geeti arrier sreeig ad family istory 

ealuatio are imortat aduts to tese 

tools a el geeti ouselors idetify ay 

additioal seifi fators tat irease your 

ae to ae a ild wit a disorder tat is ot 

detetale y routie 

or eamle if you ae a family istory 

of a oditio tat is ossily ierited 

or if you ad your arter are disoered 

to ae a iger ris for a reessie disease 

troug arrier sreeig your otios for 

reduig tese riss i your ildre a e 

elaied e otio for reetig geeti 

disorders from eig assed o to offsrig 

is to use ustomied reimlatatio geeti 

diagosis testig 



FERTILITY 360 

Myth4 

PGS is not helpful if there is 

a low number of embryos 

5Myth 

PGS 

negates the need for 

prenatal screening 

e ast maority of emryos tat test ormal 

wit ad imlat will go o to mae aies 

tat ae a ormal umer of romosomes 

ery rare ases oweer gies false 

egatie results ad te ay as a etra or 

missig romosome desite te results 

aig ee ormal 

is a ae due to teial limitatios of 

te testig or due to iologial differees witi 

te ells of te emryo su as we te ells 

from te laeta test ormal ee toug te 

ells tat go o to mae te ay may ae a 

aormal umer of romosomes mosaiism 

eause of tese limitatios you may wis 

to ae a reatal sreeig test su as 

oiasie reatal sreeig or ultrasoud or 

a reatal diagosti test su as orioi illus 

samlig or amioetesis for fetal romosome 

aormalities i te regay 

f youe ad you sould tal wit your 

dotor ador a reatal geeti ouselor to 

determie wi reatal test if ay is rigt for 

you e sure your roider uderstads tat you 

ad o your emryos te auray of te test 

ad te seifi teology tat was used so tey 

a ousel you aroriately o your otios 

f your yle results i a low umer of emryos you may woder weter 

is elful fter all if tere are oly oe or two emryos tere may e o 

oie to e made regardig wi emryos to trasfer t is imortat to 

uderstad toug tat erformig rior to emryo trasfer may still 

roide useful iformatio for you 

irstly it a el aoid trasferrig a emryo tat will ot imlat due 

to ertai aormal romosome rolems ie ea trasfer a ae a 

ysial ad emotioal imat as well as a fiaial ost you may areiate 

te oortuity to reogie tese emryos 

eodly a reet some ases of misarriage out of all 

misarriages regardless of age ad ow a woma oeied are aused y 

radomlyourrig romosome aormalities ie idetifies most of 

tese emryos it will derease te ris of misarriage for some atiets 

astly some atiets areiate tat a e used to reogie emryos 

tat if trasferred ould ae resulted i te irt of a ay wit a 

romosomal sydrome oidig trasfer of su emryos dereases te 

ae of oeiig a regay wit ertai ysial ador metal 

alleges tat may or may ot ae ee reogied y reatal sreeig 

Learn ore 

rego erodutie ediie as te largest liial geomis 

rogram of ay lii wit fie fulltime iouse oard 

ertified geeti ouselors e itegratio of te latest adaes i 

geomi are is a distiguisig feature of eery yle at 

or more iformatio isit te ad eomis wesites 

oregonreproductivemedicine.com ad ormgenomics.com s 

geeti ouselors a e reaed at geneticcounselor@portlandivf.net 


fertilityroadom |

FERTILITY 360 

EXPERT: Michelle Mulliss 

ICE ICE BABY 

Our Harley Street clinic is seeing an increased 

number of professional women wanting to 

do as much as they can in the race to help 

preserve and improve their egg quality or 

postpone their chances of having a family at 

a later stage in life, especially those who have 

yet to find the right partner to settle down. 

It’s a fact that women’s eggs naturally decline 

with age. Although it can be said that lifestyle 

can help promote and maintain the health of our 

reproductive health cells, we can’t get away from 

the fact that eggs continue to decline in women. 

23 is considered the optimal 

age to start a family 

Experts continue to highlight the optimal 

reproductive age for women and the optimal 

fertility health to start a family is just 23 with 

an average age for the first-time mom being 30. 

For most professional women this is an age when 

their careers are taking hold and starting a family 

is not a consideration. 

Fertility issues rise with age and the likelihood 

of chromosomal abnormalities climbs. The risk 

of miscarriage, birth defects or disorders makes 

conceiving even more difficult when postponing 

a family to later in life. 

What options are out there? 

Women who have started on the fertility road in 

their thirties are finding their options with low 

egg numbers or poor egg quality very limited. 

Choices include egg donor or adoption which for 

some is not an option as most want to use their 

own eggs when they have a family. 

Egg Freezing has become an 

increasingly attractive option 

to many 

Egg freezing has become an increasingly attractive 

option and considered by some as a way to pause 

the biological clock, preserve the younger or 

possibly healthier eggs, and for some women 

looking to extend their childbearing years. 



FERTILITY 360 

The need to preserve and postpone our fertility 

options is becoming popular with many 

celebrities being open with their own fertility 

stories. Egg freezing has recently been seen in the 

media with celebrities like Rita Ora announcing 

she had her eggs frozen in her twenties on the 

back of her doctor’s recommendation. This 

media coverage saw a flock of young women 

wanting to explore how to have their eggs frozen. 

What is Egg Freezing? 

Egg freezing or oocyte cryopreservation 

is a relatively new assisted process. Once 

considered to be an option for those suffering 

from cancer, or for the rich and famous as 

their way to bank and preserve eggs like an 

insurance policy. It is now becoming an option 

to many career and professional women as 

their awareness increases of the time limits of 

reproductive health for women. 

Egg Freeze is an option for 

those on a career path and not 

just those with serious medical 

conditions 

Egg freezing is a relatively a new concept for 

women to enhance their egg preservation, 

and in 2013 the American Society 

of Reproductive Medicine 

(ASRM) announced that egg 

freezing was no longer an 

experiment due to medical 

advances overcoming the 

thawing issues which 

previously resulted in 

lower success rates than 

that of fertilised embryos. 

Science is moving in ways 

that make it possible to 

address the growing fertility 

issues for many who put the 

family on hold in pursuit of careers 

and economic growth. 

It is no surprise with such media and science 

reports that there is an increased fear in women 

of being 'too old' at 35 and above trying to 

conceive. This is supported with the research 

evidence of the increase in single women who 

are thinking about their future fertility and 

looking into the possibilities of freezing their 

eggs whilst they wait for the right partner or 

saving to get onto the housing ladder. 

But where do you start and what is 

the process? 

The process of egg freezing, or in medical terms, 

oocyte cryopreservation, involves stimulating 

The average age 

at which a woman 

freezes her eggs is now 

considered to be at 35 but this 

age is reducing as more and 

more women are freezing 

their eggs younger and 

younger. 

the ovaries with hormones 

to produce multiple eggs. 

The eggs are retrieved 

from the ovaries and 

sent to the lab. They are 

preserved at sub-zero 

temperatures to be 

thawed at a later date to 

undergo IVF treatment. 

Why should a woman 

consider freezing their 

eggs? 

Some women choose to freeze their eggs for medical 

reasons. Cancer treatment, for example, can be toxic 

to the ovaries and cause premature menopause. 

There is an increase in women opting to freeze 

their eggs who are not in a relationship or not in a 

position to think about starting a family. 

Average age for egg freeze is 35 

The average age at which a woman freezes her 

eggs is now considered to be at 35 but this age is 

reducing as more and more women are freezing 

their eggs younger and younger. Women are now 

freezing their eggs for their career, which is very 

different from the initial reasons for freezing. 

Is the procedure invasive? 

The process of retrieving eggs is identical to the 

first phase of in vitro fertilization, or IVF. 

Anaesthetic is used to carry out the procedure 

of collecting your eggs which is invasive and 

has a risk for infection, but as far as surgical 

procedures go this risk is low, which is why 

antibiotics can be prescribed by some clinics 

during this stage. 

During the procedure, a woman receives a round 

of hormone injections that stimulate the ovaries 

to produce multiple eggs. This stage usually 

involves frequent visits to the fertility clinic, to 

monitor the ovaries by vaginal ultrasound. Your 

drug prescriptions can be altered during this 

depending on your response to the hormones. 

After about a week or two of hormone 

treatments, the eggs are retrieved. 

The egg retrieval process takes about 15 -30 

minutes and is done under mild anaesthesia 

or sedation. Using an ultrasound, the clinician 

guides a needle through the vagina to the ovarian 

follicle that hopefully contains a mature egg. A 

suction device at the end of the needle removes 

the eggs from the follicles. 



FERTILITY 360 

Retrieving eggs is technically like getting blood 

drawn or any other type of medical aspirating 

procedures, however clinical expertise, training 

and knowledge are important like any other 

medical procedure carried out. However, in the 

case of egg retrieval, a needle goes into the ovary 

and the eggs get gently aspirated out and exactly 

the same as a routine IVF retrieval. 

While the egg retrieval surgical 

procedure is mostly safe, 

the hormones can 

carry a risk of ovarian 

hyperstimulation 

syndrome or OHSS, 

which can make some 

women unwell and on 

the rare occasion very ill. 

OHSS occurs when 

a woman responds too 

aggressively to the hormones 

and the ovaries become swollen and 

painful. It can be accompanied by nausea, 

vomiting and abdominal pain. 

When over or hyperstimulated, the ovaries produce 

a lot of fluid, which has to be drained from the 

abdomen. OHSS tends to happen in younger 

The egg retrieval 

process takes about 

15 -30 minutes and 

is done under mild 

anaesthesia or 

sedation. 

women in their twenties and thirties, or those with 

a high number of eggs which can be indicated 

with the Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) blood 

screening. However, it must be said that in most 

cases it is a small percentage of women who 

suffer. It is also true that on occasions OHSS can 

increase the risk of kidney failure and blood clots 

and on very rare instances, can be fatal. 

Usually, OHSS is managed and 

most times prevented which 

is why it is important to be 

monitored throughout your 

stimulation. However, 

OHSS can present itself 

after egg retrieval 

which is why aftercare 

observations from 

yourself are important too. 

How will the 

hormones affect me? 

Women have different experiences 

with a majority experiencing moodiness and 

bloating, but some have noticed headaches, 

nausea and tiredness. 

The hormones make the ovaries swell a little, 

mainly because they have to create space 

to accommodate the multiple expanding 

follicles that contain the maturing eggs that 

are developing within your abdomen, so it’s no 

wonder your tummy feels swollen and bloated. 

What are my chances of having a 

baby later if I freeze my eggs now? 

According to the American Society for 

Reproductive Medicine, the chance that a 

single frozen egg will lead to a live birth is 

about 2 to 12 percent. This would appear to be 

a low figure, but in the wider scheme, it could 

be higher than your natural ability especially 

as women are leaving planning a family later 

in life. That’s why it is often recommended 

having as many eggs frozen as possible and in 

multiple numbers to maximize the success. 

Here in the UK, you can only have your 

frozen eggs stored for a maximum of 10 years, 

which should be considered at the time when 

freezing, although there are no time limits in 

some other countries. 

How much does it cost? 

The cost varies from clinic to clinic and is a 

similar cost to the stimulation phase of an IVF 

procedure. You will need to take into account the 

ongoing costs of storing your eggs on constant 



FERTILITY 360 

freeze until you are ready to go ahead and go 

through the next stage to thaw and fertilize your 

eggs and then transfer. 

As a scientist and currently the only doctor of 

Chinese medicine in the UK to have studied 

reproductive medicine to Masters level, I embrace 

the developments of reproductive health which 

are forward thinking that makes the impossible 

possible, but even with the latest egg preservation 

techniques, it doesn’t guarantee egg quality for 

those preserving eggs. 

Research shows that as women get older 

their egg numbers (ovarian reserve) decline, 

coupled with the naturally led infertility 

process in the form of menopause. However, 

I do believe that we need to do more in the 

way of awareness and promoting reproductive 

health as science has come a long way over 

the last 40 years from the first IVF baby, but 

I am certainly seeing more and more women 

in their mid-twenties and early thirties with 

fewer eggs with poor quality eggs and embryos 

during an IVF process. 

Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) is present 

in the body and through blood tests gives an 

idea of how many eggs a woman has in reserve. 

Low egg numbers along with egg quality issues 

become dominant reasons for infertility for 

older women but can happen at any age and not 

just those over the age of 35. 

What is the cause for low egg numbers? 

Is having low egg numbers and poor-quality 

down to genetics, living in the fast lane, poor 

lifestyle or age? Perhaps it’s all of these or maybe 

an evolution shift is fast taking place, but there 

is still much we have to learn about the life of an 

egg cell as research is limited. 

What can be done to help egg 

numbers and quality? 

There is little research out there that shows 

concrete evidence that promotes egg quality. 

There is a growing trend of research being 

conducted identifying the benefits of nutrition 

and therapies that reduce the stress effects on 

the body and reproductive cells such as eggs in 

women and sperm in men. 

Many treated in our clinic have seen 

improvements of AMH and sperm levels, even 

with repeated blood screening which in turn 

have led to successful results of pregnancies and 

live births. 

This program is currently being used for 

research purposes to understand the life 

of a woman's egg and how an integrated 

approach using science and the knowledge of 

natural treatments that appear to influence 

reproductive cellular function. 

When you are faced with the prospect that egg 

numbers are on the decline it makes sense for 

you to consider all options available. 

After all, when eggs are frozen for a long period 

of time, it makes sense to help prepare your egg 

quality to aid egg freezing. 

Should you wish to contact Michelle or 

further discuss how she can help, view her 

website michellemulliss.com or contact her 

at 10 Harley Street, London 0207 467 8467, 

email info@michellemulliss.com 



BACK 

FERTILITY 360 

EXPERT: Helen Davies 

TO 

FRONT AND 

INSIDE OUT 

Turning Secondary Infertility on it’s 

head and looking at it in a different way 

Those who are struggling to conceive will recognise that unique pain of 

preparing a place in your home and heart for a child that is yet to come. 

The incredibly sad thing about infertility is the invisible pain, the 

misunderstood triggers that bring immense hurt and the fact that we could 

all be standing next to someone who is completely broken by the frustration 

of it all, but we wouldn’t even know it. 

If you are in this position you too will recognise the pain that person feels; 

the emptiness in their heart that they feel all around them; the anger 

they can’t contain, the jealousy they hate themselves for having, the bitter 

thoughts they can’t shake off and the hope they hold onto everyday that 

someday soon, their pain will be a distant memory. 

All of this will no doubt resonate with any couple struggling to conceive, or 

who is unable to conceive. They will feel empathy, want to reach out and 

want to comfort anyone in a similar situation. 

How many times could you say to someone in a similar situation? “I can’t 

do anything to help you but I do understand how you feel. You are not 

alone, it’s OK to cry and you are allowed to grieve the time you have lost to 

infertility and be angry at your situation.” 

But, what if the person saying they felt this way already had a child? What if 

they already had a family but were struggling to have another baby, would 

you still feel that understanding and empathy? 



FERTILITY 360 



FERTILITY 360 

ould you dey tem tat soulder to ry o 

ad your symaty if tey told you tis mu 

wated for ay wast to e teir first ould 

you e ale to oe your arms to tem ad gie 

tem as mu suort if you ew tey were 

strugglig wit eodary fertility 

eodary fertility is we a oule is strugglig 

to oeie we togeter or eiter oe of tem 

already as a ild e ild doest eed to e 

oeied witi tat relatiosi it may e from 

a reious relatiosi wit aoter arter 

altoug eodary fertility is ust as ommo 

were te oule as ee ale to ae ildre 

ut suddely ofte witout elaatio tey are 

uale to oeie agai 

eodary fertility is still fertility 

d yet tere is little uderstadig or suort 

for ayoe strugglig wit ifertility if tey do 

already ae ildre 

oeied my first ild after four 

mots of lomid our years later 

after mots of lomid ad 

tree rouds of was 

seemigly uale to gie 

my so te roter or 

sister we all loged for 

im y ai was itese 

ad all osumig 

or tose wo 

do uderstad o 

elaatio is eeded or 

tose wo dot uderstad 

o elaatio is ossile 

grieed eery t day we my eriod ame 

it ea assig mot wated my little oy 

grow from a ay to a toddler ad eetually start 

sool ilestoe after milestoe assed ad wit 

ea day felt lie was lettig im dow ot 

giig im te silig e loged to lay wit te 

relatiosi tat erised wit my ow roter 

or te oortuity for iees ad eews tat 

was ow eoyig wit my ow 

wated im lay aloe i te garde e ased 

uestios ostatly ot uderstadig wy all 

is frieds ad ay roters or sisters e grew 

out of is ay lotes ad ouldt ear to art 

wit tem eause always tougt teyd e 

aded dow to someoe else e moed ito 

a ig oy edroom ad left te ursery emty 

witout a ew residet 

y eart was eay my ead aed my arms 

loged to old te ay rayed for t was o 

differet to ow felt some see years efore 

we was deserate to eome a ummy e 

I grieved every 28th 

day hen my eriod 

ame ith eah assin 

month I athed my little 

oy ro from a ay to a 

toddler and eventually 

start shool 



FERTILITY 360 

ad tried for tree years ad tried differet fertility 

drugs all to o aail rieds wo ad met ad 

married aroud te same time were ow layig 

ay families some ow ad two ildre ad 

we still ouldt oeie our first t was a logig 

a irreressile urt ad a grief for a life always 

tougt would ae ut was yet to egi 

eod time roud it was te same agai ad 

doe it oe wy ouldt do it agai at was 

wrog wit me y was my ody roe e 

added omliatio was te mirale ad oy tat 

was my so e was eerytig ad eer wated 

ad rayed for ut we e tured two oter 

ature ame oig agai ad gae me te desire 

to ae aoter ild e gae me te desire ut 

didt follow troug wit a regay a was 

a ostat remider ot oly of wat ould e 

ossile ut also of my aaret iaility to do 

wat was meat to e ale to do as a woma 

ouldt esae remiders of my urret 

ifertility reiously aso ad would ae 

esaed o a weeed away togeter or et 

ourseles to ourseles ow ad to atted ids 

arties wit aies eerywere do ursery dro 

offs ad see oter ummies wit swolle ay 

filled ellies ad meet u wit my uddies 

wo y ow ad all oed aoter oe out 

d eause frieds ad family ould see ad 

a y te time e was toddlig roud tey 

ega to as we te et oe would arrie 

ome told me sould gie im a roter or 

sister tragers would ommet tat d e ready 

to ae aoter oe soo e iterrogatio was 

far more itese ad ersoal ta we didt 

ae ay ildre t was almost lie d roed 

ould do it so tat gae te gree ligt to assume 

d ae o rolems aig aoter 

ut was aig rolems elaied ufair 

ad misuderstood e tose aroud me foud 

out was ersoally fudig treatmets 

wi were maig me etremely oorly te 

ame te ritiism tat was taig uality time 

ad moey away from te ild ad already ad 

maye ad got my riorities wrog 

sould e ay wit te ild ad sould 

oetrate o te so ad ee fortuate to 

oeie ad a ad eerytig ad rayed 

for ad wat may were still oig ad 

rayig for sould osider myself luy 

was te first to aowledge ow luy ad 

ow lessed was at was eer i dout ut 

ouldt sae off te ai ad logig at 

watig aoter ild a silig a larger family 

t wast sometig ould tur off altoug at 

times would ae if ould 

e ritiism aused me to tae oer stoed 

talig aout my ifertility ad my logig for 

aoter ild as te feeda simly eame 

too aiful eole ust ouldt uderstad wy 

oe ay wast eoug ad told me was eig 

selfis ad i oe ase disresetful to tose wo 

ouldt ae ay ildre 

ayig someoe at e sad eause someoe else 

may ae it worse is lie sayig someoe at e 

ay eause someoe else migt ae it etter 

as ot etitled to feel ai ertaily didt 

wat to offed or uset ayoe wit rimary 

fertility ad tat was eer my itetio ut did 

teir situatio mea my grief sould ae felt ay 

less or sould ae ee less aiful ere were 

oules wo ad yet to start a family ut did tat 

really mea tat my situatio was ay less worty 

or deserig of suort as tat fair fterall 

my gettig regat wouldt affet teir fertility 

ad mea tey wouldt oeie ere wast a 

ay uota 

otig aoys me more tat we someoe 

eets you to e wit sometig you ow 

tey wouldt e wit if it aeed to tem 

ell eras aart from we someoe says you 

souldt feel a ertai way we tey ae ero 

omreesio of wat you are goig troug 

ts ot lie teres a off utto 

y eodary fertility sufferer will tell you 

tat tey are ofte met wit aggressio ad ager 

at teir desire to ead teir family f you 

ow someoe or suset someoe is strugglig 

wit tae a momet ad as yourself 

re tey ay less etitled to wat a seod ild 

ta oules wo oeie teir family aturally 

first time 

ould you suggest to a fried wo oeied 

teir first ild witout tryig tat tey 

souldt try for aoter ild eause tey 

already ad oe 

ae you really tried to uderstad teir 

ourey ae you listeed to wat teye 

ee troug 

doig so e id to yourself eause you 

a eer really uderstad sometig util 

it aes to you ou dot ae to wal a 

mile i teir soes to see wat tey see ad feel 

wat tey feel ut for a momet ust try a day 

tiig i teir ead 

ele is te utor of ore oe o ie 

aailale o mao e rus te wesite 

secondaryinfertilitymatters.com ad 

aeoo suort grou 


fertilityroadom |

MEN ONLY 

LOSE THE 

BEER GUT! 

r ustie utler eior esearer riter ia 



MEN ONLY 

any men are 

still hn on the 

idea that real men eat 

meat he idea that meat 

someho inreases 

virility couldn’t be 

more ron 

Summer's coming and it's time to shape up and 

get fit xcess weight is a growing problem for 

men. So what can you do to get in shape 

ed u of ot feelig omfortale i tose s 

oe from uyig a medium to a large sirt 

or ee a oe idig it ard to ru u te 

stairs staggerig er et of me i te 

are oerweigt or oese tats aroud two i 

eery tree me ere is a simle ad easy way 

to sift tose etra ouds witout aig to 

out alories or ru a marato o ega for a 

mot ad see for yourself 

ordig to te ood ad griulture 

rgaisatio te as eome 

te fat ma of uroe wit 

oe i four adults ow eig 

desried as oese e 

ody mass ide is 

a measure tat uses your 

eigt ad weigt to 

wor out if your weigt 

is osidered ealty 

our is alulated 

y diidig your weigt 

i ilograms y your eigt 

i metres suared or most 

adults a of to meas 

youre a ealty weigt of to 

meas youre oerweigt ad a of to 

meas youre oese 

ese me are fie times more liely to deelo 

tye diaetes tree times more liely to 

deelo owel aer ad more ta twoada 

alf times more liely to suffer from ig lood 

ressure a maor ris fator for eart disease 

esity also ireases te ris of resiratory 

rolems ad oit rolems lower a ai 

ad eretile dysfutio 

ut wats driig tis eidemi are we greedy 

or ust eatig te wrog tyes of food fat 

it ould e a omiatio of ot lates iled 

u wit meaty ies ad is or eesy ias 

wased dow wit sugary fiy dris 

art of te rolem is tat may eole dot 

ow wat is ealty ad wat ist ie 

is reseted as a ealty otio ut moder 

suermaret ies ow otai more fat ta 

rotei o forget wite meat ad relae ie 

wit i eas to el sift tat sare tyre 

ay me are still ug u o te idea tat 

real me eat meat e idea tat meat someow 

ireases irility ouldt e more wrog oods 

ig i saturated fat ad olesterol su 

as stea a log te arteries leadig to ad 

from te eart ad lo lood flow to oter 

ital orgas fat imotee a e a early 

warig of eart disease 

ormer firefigter ad triatlete i sselsty 

so of te famous eart surgeo r aldwell 

sselsty slams te myt tat meat is good for 

se sayig te aary i te oal mie we 

it omes to eart disease is a uder erformig 

eis ou migt loe stea eese ad ao 

ut tey dot loe you a 

eat ad fullfat dairy foods ae also ee 

lied to fertility rolems i me wit tose 

eatig te most aig fewer ad slower serm 

e wo eat te most fruit ad egetales ae 

ee foud to ae iger uality serm tat 

swim faster t follows tat for me watig to 

start a family a diet ri i fruits egetales 


fertilityroadom |

MEN ONLY 

ad wole grais 

wi meas more 

atioidats itamis 

foli aid ad fire 

may e a good ad 

ieesie way to 

imroe fertility 

ood utritio is 

imortat for metal ealt 

too umer of studies suggest 

tat egas suffer less stress ad 

aiety ta meat ad dairyeaters ad tat 

reduig aimal foods a offer sigifiat 

mood eefits e feelig dow tere may 

e a temtatio to rea for ies is riss 

uddigs aes oolate sugary dris ad 

alool ut fres fruit ad eg wolegrais 

su as oats wolemeal read ad row rie 

ad ealty fats i uts ad seeds really a 

el you eat te lues it seems 

e is a oular male domai were 

sausages urgers ad ot dogs are ofte urt to 

a ris e orld ealt rgaisatio says tat 

roessed meat auses owel aer ad red meat 

roaly does too e reaso is eause ooig 

meat at ig temeratures rodues armful 

omouds lied to aer owel aer is te 

nmer of 

studies suggest that 

eans sffer less stress 

and aniety than meat 

and dairy-eaters and that 

redin animal foods 

an offer sinifiant 

mood enefits 

seod most ommo oe 

i glad ad te tird 

most ommo ause of 

aer deat after lug 

ad rostate aer i 

me e good ews 

is you dot ae to eat 

ariogei food ust 

sti a ega sausage urger 

or ortoello musroom 

o te grill it will el your 

waistlie too 

ut a you ee fit o a ega diet otrary to 

oular elief you dot uild musle y eatig 

musle meat usles deelo y eig used 

ad te est diet to fuel tis is a wolegrai 

ega oe t roides all te good stuff su as 

omle aroydrates atioidats ad fire 

wile aoidig te udesirales saturated 

aimal fats aimal rotei ad olesterol all 

lied to eart disease diaetes oesity ad 

some aers 

f youre looig for isiratio e out te 

ew wae of ega atletes ad artiularly 

te yearold ultraedurae atlete i 

oll wo es ealt magaie said may well 

e tat worlds fittest ega ast etemer 

i ra miles ad swam si miles aross 

te islads of te toolm arielago 

as art of te gruellig till wimru orld 

amiosi oe of te tougest edurae 

raes i te world o oe is asig i were 

e gets is rotei ega diet is learly well 

ale to suort te ysial reuiremets of me 

oweer atie tey are 

ust as a ega diet is te ealtiest diet for 

ifats ildre wome ad older eole it 

is also te ealtiest for me eres o magi 

ullet i meat or dairy tat eefits mes 

ealt fat te oosite is true tese are te 

foods tat arm ad ae ee lied to fertility 

rolems i me ad wome 

o yourself a faour ad try sometig so 

mu etter oe more tig eole fid 

omassio ery attratie 

f you wat el or adie o goig ega 

otat iaealt or sig u to our free 

ay ega meal la ere vivahealth.org.uk 

e out te la meal la guide 

vivahealth.org.uk/resources/v-plan-diet/ 

v-plan-diet-meal-plans-online

Fertility Road Magazine 45 July:August 2018

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?