Fertility Blog

Archive for tag 'IVF'. Page 1 of 5

  • 27th
    Jan
    2012

    Lean on me - why our support is crucial when you go through IVF

    We’ve had some fantastic news here at Manchester Fertility Services. One of our fertility nurses – Sharon Bannatyne – has made it through to the national finals of the Claire Rayner Patient’s Choice Awards.

    Sharon was nominated by one of our patients for the award, which is designed to recognise healthcare professionals who go the ‘extra mile’.

    Her nomination is a great testament to Sharon and indeed the entire team here, because at this clinic we put a lot ...

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  • 30th
    Sep
    2011

    MFS at Alternative Families Show 2011

    For over 25 years we’ve been helping same-sex couples become parents, and this year we got the chance to meet more would-be mums and dads at the Alternative Families Show in London.

    The event in Covent Garden was designed to demystify the process of starting a family and it attracted hundreds of same-sex couples from across the UK who wanted to make informed choices on parenthood.

    Our years of experience means we have insight, knowledge and understanding into the unique needs of same-sex...

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  • 15th
    Sep
    2011

    Had a Vasectomy but want a family?

    If you’ve had a vasectomy in the past but want to have a family, it’s not impossible. Through a technique called Surgical Sperm Retrieval (SSR), our team of experts may still be able to find sufficient sperm which can be used to fertilise an egg.

    SSR is a procedure where sperm is retrieved directly from the testes, as once you’ve had a vasectomy, there isn’t any sperm in your semen sample anymore – when this happens, it’s called azoospermia. However, it doesn...

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  • 6th
    Sep
    2011

    IVF and Obesity - a weighty issue

    Does being significantly overweight affect the success of IVF? A new US study shows that obesity is linked to the outcome of IVF.

    In the study of over 150,000 fertility treatment cycles, women who were overweight or obese were less likely to become pregnant through fertility treatment than normal weight women, and in the heaviest cases were twice as likely to lose a baby if they did become pregnant.

    But more research is needed to pinpoint exactly why being heavier affects the success or failur...

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  • 30th
    Mar
    2011

    NHS IVF cut for couples in Yorkshire - egg sharing offers hope

    North Yorkshire and York has become the latest primary care trust to restrict funding for NHS IVF treatment.

    Couples in the region were hoping that the trust would plough funds into IVF treatment at the start of the new financial year in April. But health chiefs have dealt them a blow by maintaining the policy of restricting IVF, deciding not to routinely commission assisted conception services for 2011/12.

    Now couples will have to meet two ‘exceptions’ criteria to even be consider...

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  • 21st
    Mar
    2011

    New IVF technique could mean the end for mitochondrial disease

    The HFEA is planning to review a new IVF technique which could mean the end of mitochondrial disease.

    Mitochondrial disease is incurable and causes a range of conditions including fatal heart problems and brain disorders. The disease – which can only be inherited from the mother – is caused by faulty mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondria is found in every cell in the body and provides the energy cells need to function.

    The new technique involves implanting the fertilised egg’s nucl...

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  • 7th
    Mar
    2011

    Stress 'doesn't affect' chances of IVF success

    Whilst stress is thought affect whether you conceive naturally, according to new research it doesn’t affect the outcome of IVF. Researchers from Cardiff University assessed over 3,500 women for stress and anxiety before they underwent fertility treatment, comparing data on women who did become pregnant and those who did not...

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  • 21st
    Feb
    2011

    IVF and Family Balancing

    There has been one main infertility and IVF story dominating the headlines this weekend – and it has once again sparked debate about whether it’s right to use infertility treatment such as IVF to select the gender of your baby.

    Regardless of the facts behind the media story on Liverpool-based fertility doctor Charles Kingsland, the ability to choose the sex of your baby through IVF is illegal in the UK.
    The only time such a process is considered by medical and infertility experts, is whe...

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  • 9th
    Feb
    2011

    Health trusts warned against cutting NHS IVF treatment

    All 152 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) across the UK have received a timely slap-on-the-wrist reminder of their duties to provide free cycles of IVF for couples on the NHS.

    David Flory, the deputy chief executive of the NHS, has written to health chiefs who commission fertility treatments to remind them that they should heed the current NICE guidelines of three cycles of IVF for eligible couples where the woman is aged between 23 and 39.

    The move comes after several PCTs in the UK, including St...

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  • 21st
    Jan
    2011

    Endometriosis and infertility

    Endometriosis is thought to affect up to two million women in the UK. If you’re one of them, you may be concerned about how the condition can affect your fertility.

    What is endometriosis?

    Endometriosis is where cells similar to those in the lining of your uterus grow elsewhere in the body. These cells react every month as those in your uterus do during your period, meaning the cells grow and bleed. As the blood has no way of leaving the body, it causes inflammation and pain, and scar tiss...

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