Miranda had always known she wanted to be a mum. After reaching her thirties without having met the ‘right man’ she felt that time was ‘ticking’ and lost six stone before opting to have unmedicated IUI fertility treatment using donor sperm. “I’d always known that I wanted to be a mum,” says Miranda, aged 36. “It was my main goal in life, and I have felt ready to have a baby since I was in my twenties. I just hoped that I would meet the right man, settle down and have children but it just never happened…. “My friends started to have children and I was happy for them, but it was a bit heartbrea ..read more

It is estimated that 50 percent of women with subfertility have the medical condition endometriosis, which typically causes heavy and painful periods. Endometriosis can block the fallopian tubes and may also have implications for IVF treatment if it affects the function of, or access to, the ovaries. To help patients with this condition, Bourn Hall has established a specialist Endometriosis Fertility Service to provide tailored advice. Why does endometriosis cause painful periods? During the menstrual cycle, the body prepares for pregnancy by releasing hormones that thicken the endometrial ..read more

Carlene from Suffolk is a civil servant and for many years experienced painful symptoms caused by endometriosis.    “I had a laparoscopy which revealed that I had a hydrosalpinx (fluid) on my left fallopian tube which needed removing but the adhesions caused by the endometriosis were so bad it was clipped instead,” she says.  By that point Carlene and her husband Lewis had been trying for a baby for five years and were told they would need fertility treatment.   “Once I knew that I was going to need IVF I looked on the civil service intranet and found they had a Fer ..read more

“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

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

“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

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

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

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

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