Mother’s Day was just another reminder that I couldn’t get pregnant
Bourn Hall Clinic
by Claire Lynn
2w ago
“The one thing I had always wanted was children,” says Amber, who was 21 when she and partner Josh decided to try for a baby. “When it was confirmed that I had blocked fallopian tubes and we would need IVF I was devastated; I felt as though my body had failed me. I felt bad for my partner and worried that if he was with someone else he would have had children by now.  “I was one of those naïve people who thought I would fall pregnant in the first few months of trying. We had been together since we were 18 and we had always been interested in being young parents. I had really not given ..read more
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Donating my eggs was something that I really wanted to do
Bourn Hall Clinic
by Claire Lynn
2w ago
Shona knows how fortunate she is. She had two children before she was 23, unlike her own mother who tried for nine years to have her and a sister who lost several pregnancies before successful fertility treatment. So, now Shona is giving her eggs to bring good fortune to another couple. “I would love to know if my eggs enable another woman or couple to have a family of their own. I mean that would be such an amazing thing, wouldn’t it?” says Shona, who is sharing her story to encourage more people to consider egg donation. She explains her decision: “There is ten years between me and my middl ..read more
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Amazing Grace: mum of the world’s first ‘test-tube’ boy, who paved the way for IVF treatment
Bourn Hall Clinic
by Claire Lynn
2w ago
“I didn’t know that I was expecting the world’s first IVF boy until a reporter knocked on my door and told me!” says Grace Macdonald, mother of Alastair. When Grace was told she was infertile in 1974, there was nothing that medicine could do. Determined to have a chance of a child, she signed up in secret to a pioneering research programme led by Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy.   Grace and Alastair will be speaking at a special event taking place at Westminster on 28 February 2024 celebrating 20 years of Fertility Network UK. Grace continues: “I had been sworn to s ..read more
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IVF or IUI? The dilemma for single women
Bourn Hall Clinic
by Rachel Holdsworth
3w ago
As a single woman ‘going it alone’ to have a baby you need to choose between IUI or IVF fertility treatment using donor sperm. Both have benefits and disadvantages, so Senior Consultant Dr Valentina Mauro will be discussing the options with members of Fertility Network UK’s Single Women’s Fertility Group on 7 March 2024. Dr Mauro leads the Donation, Surrogacy & Fertility Preservation Service at Bourn Hall so specialises in supporting those who require donated sperm, eggs or embryos. IUI or IVF? IUI (Intrauterine Insemination) is a form of assisted conception treatment where prepared sp ..read more
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Becoming an egg donor has changed my life – I hope it changes someone else’s
Bourn Hall Clinic
by Claire Lynn
1M ago
Lisa didn’t realise that she could donate her eggs until a friend going through IVF told her about the shortage of egg and sperm donors. “It just took 6 weeks of my time and will make a lifetime of difference to someone else. It feels so rewarding.” Lisa (33) had seen first-hand how heart-breaking infertility can be: her cousin went through it for years before she had her daughter, and a number of her friends had struggled. “I had my first child at 19 and was with my partner for ten years before we split up. I was feeling in a bit of rut and thought I would like to put something back and m ..read more
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EmbryoGlue could increase IVF birth rates by 7%, research reveals
Bourn Hall Clinic
by Claire Lynn
2M ago
IVF live birth rates could be improved by seven per cent through the addition of hyaluronic acid (HA) to the embryo transfer media, a paper in Human Reproduction has found. With this growing body of evidence, Bourn Hall is to offer ‘EmbryoGlue’ as an option to its self-funded patients and closely monitor the outcomes. Improving embryo implantation Embryo implantation into the lining of the womb is a major determining factor in the success of IVF. Bourn Hall Embryologist Lucy Reading has been studying the gathering evidence that hyaluronic acid improves implantation rates. She comments: “The ..read more
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HFEA issues guidance about ‘Add-ons’ – additional treatments of benefit to some
Bourn Hall Clinic
by Claire Lynn
2M ago
Add-ons are optional treatments that may provide benefits to some groups of patients but do not have a strong evidence-base to support their routine use. The HFEA offers guidance to ensure clinics offer best practice and provide objective information to patients. Reviewing the approach for further treatment In an ideal world everyone would achieve their dream of a baby with the first embryo transfer, but sadly for many this is not the case. However, this first cycle does provide the clinician and embryologist with lots of information – such as the response to medication, number of eggs colle ..read more
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Baby Isabella brings joy and comfort this Christmas
Bourn Hall Clinic
by Claire Lynn
3M ago
Zoe and Adam from Cambridgeshire are looking forward to enjoying their first Christmas with their rainbow baby after heart-breaking loss. Last December, Zoe could hardly bear to look at the result of the pregnancy test but to her delight, just days before Christmas, it gave a positive result, news of her rainbow baby was the best present ever. Although the couple’s first IVF treatment was successful, Zoe wouldn’t be able to relax until the baby was born. She had devastating lost her first baby, a boy, at 34 weeks following a natural conception. “After losing our son, who we named Alfie, I ..read more
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5 years of helping families – First Christmas with Freddie
Bourn Hall Clinic
by Claire Lynn
3M ago
An IVF baby for each of the years that Bourn Hall’s Essex clinic recently came to celebrate the clinic’s 5th anniversary with the world’s first test-tube baby, Louise Brown. This Christmas is going to be ‘very special’ says Amy who is looking forward to celebrating it with six month old Freddie and husband Nick. Amy and Nick had IVF at Bourn Hall in 2022 after battling with the frustration of unexplained infertility. “We were trying for a couple of years without success,” explains Amy. “Waiting every month to see if I was pregnant or not. It became a bit of a burden, making us unhappy with ..read more
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Simulators and real-world expertise on Bourn Hall’s new IVF study course
Bourn Hall Clinic
by Claire Lynn
3M ago
Practical training offered at world’s first IVF clinic Using a simulator with the support of an experienced fertility specialist is invaluable for IVF training, says Dr Sharleen Hapuarachi of Bourn Hall. She is part of a team who has developed a new IVF Study Course for health professionals specialising in reproductive medicine and says that practicing the procedures builds confidence and technique and complements the RCOG curriculum. “I think training using simulation will help people get up to speed more quickly,” she says. “The RCOG course is excellent, so the Bourn Hall study course is c ..read more
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