In the heartfelt final episode of this series—and the podcast—Kate hosts one last time, joined by fellow podcaster Kate Cocker, to explore happiness, positivity, and the emotional rollercoaster of the fertility journey. Together, they reflect on the challenges of navigating hope and disappointment. Kate shares how the ups and downs can feel overwhelming, often leaving people afraid to hope for fear of being let down. It's an emotional struggle that can be all-consuming. In response, Kate Cocker introduces The 7 Pillars of Happiness: be self-full, accept the now, practice gratitude, check your ..read more

In this episode, the penultimate episode that Kate is hosting, Kate is joined by Professor Tim Child.  Tim is Associate Professor of Reproductive Medicine at the University of Oxford. He has published more than 100 research papers, and has brought new treatments and techniques to the UK, increasing both the success and safety of fertility treatment. In 2021, he was appointed by the Secretary of State for Health to the board of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the UK’s regulator of assisted conception treatment and research. Tim Chairs its Scientific and Clinical Ad ..read more

This week's episode comes with a trigger warning as we are discussing pregnancy loss. If you are struggling right now, perhaps leave this episode for when you are feeling a little bit stronger and please do access all the support out there that is available to you. On what is Baby Loss Awareness Week, I am delighted to be joined by the lovely Tess Souray, model, actress and wellness influencer in the US. Tess shares her experiences of IVF, pregnancy loss and her decision to try genetic screening. Whilst navigating her fertility journey, Tess found out that her ovarian reserve levels were much ..read more

Welcome to another episode of The F Word at Work, in coversation with Rachel Suff, a seasoned policy and research professional with 25+ years of experience in employment and HR, has been a Senior Policy Adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development UK (CIPD) since 2014. Her role involves shaping public policy, with a focus on health, well-being, and employment relations. Rachel discussed the CIPD's Fertility Guidelines which Fertility Matters at Work consulted with them on and you'll also hear our co-founder Claire Ingle talk about that. What we discussed: The decision to de ..read more

To celebrate the release on Netflix of the new film about IVF 'Joy' this is an old episode of The Fertility Podcast, which Natalie produced in celebration of Louise Brown's 40th Birthday and the fact that at that point in time, over 300,000 babies have been born through IVF treatment with more than 1 million cycles having taken place. TheHFEA asked Natalie to make a podcast with them, so Natalie is in conversation with its chair Sally Cheshire and one of its Inspectors, a lady called Janet Kirkland MacHattie, who worked as a nurse at Bourne Hall in 1982, under Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards a ..read more

Back to The Fertility Podcast archive for this episode to celebrate the release of the Netflix movie 'Joy' - Natalie has shared a conversation she had Connie Orbach about how she started her research to curate the British Science Museum's exhibition about the story of IVF. What was discussed: Connie herself admitted how she didn't realize how much content she would find in the archives from Leslie Brown, regarding the correspondence she received from all around the world. Connie talked about Jean Purdy who I've learned all about over the last couple of weeks and she is talked about as being I ..read more

The Fertility Podcast is back with an all time favourite topic… stress! In this episode Kate is with Alice Domar to talk all about stress and how it affects your fertility. Stress and Fertility is a topic that is often asked by a lot of patients, and it is one that leaves people little answer to whether stress causes infertility.  There is no question that infertility causes stress, through all the waiting, the tests, the remembering so many different things and then sometimes, not ever finding an answer to your unexplained infertility.  So in this episode, Kate and Alice talk about ..read more

Welcome to another episode of The Fertility Podcast! This week is a special week as it is National Fertility Awareness week.  Joining Kate are two incredible women, Jane and Toni, who are here to talk all about fertility and their new book, What Every Woman Needs to Know About Fertility. This episode, Jane and Toni talk about what it is that they do. Jane, being a Fertility nurse specialist, taught Kate everything she knows about fertility awareness. And Toni, who specializes in sexual and reproductive health information. Together, they have written a book that is somewhat a guide for a w ..read more

Welcome to another episode of The F Word at Work where we're sharing one of our original zoom conversations broadcast in 2022. An enlightening conversation with Mike Johnson-Ellis one half of Two Dads UK with his partner Wes and the pair have founded My Surrogacy Journey (MSJ) and the Modern Family Show. At Fertility Matters at Work we're delighted to be working in partnership with MSJ and you can find out more about what that looks like by having a listen. What was discussed: The lack of empathy that Mike expereinced when he talked to his work about his plans. How they had no understanding of ..read more

Welcome to something a little different on The Fertility Podcast feed... introducing The F Word at Work, which is where I ( Natalie ) have been hanging out in my role as co-founder of Fertility Matters at Work The aim of The F Word at Work has been to create a very niche voice around the issue of fertility in the workplace, to educate HR / Managers / Mental Health First Aiders and all colleagues to be honest about what its like trying to cope with family building challenges whilst doing your job. Our research shows that only 1.7% of companies have policies and 36% of us have considered leaving ..read more