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All in Fertility
A 44-year-old first-time mum has said how grateful she was for the chance to preserve her fertility by freezing her embryos and choose the right time to have a baby without having to worry too much about her biological clock thanks to a Bristol fertility clinic.
A new mum who works at the fertility clinic that helped her have her IVF baby says she is delighted the new role she was given on her return from maternity leave allows her to use her own experience of her journey to motherhood for the benefit of other patients.
When Kimberley and Kirsty became a couple in spring 2022, Kim already had two daughters, now aged nine and five, from a previous relationship. But Kirsty knew from the start that she also wanted to have a baby and it would have been a deal-breaker for her if Kim hadn’t felt the same way.
For many couples who have the unwelcome surprise of finding that if they want to have a baby they will need to pay for fertility treatment, the funding of that treatment can present an additional pressure at an already difficult time.
Kim Donaldson has been appointed as General Manager for Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine (BCRM) following the acquisition of the clinic by FutureLife Group, a European provider of IVF, fertility treatments, and associated genetic services last year.
An estimated 60,000 new parents will be entitled to additional time off work under new Government legislation.
Mum of two Dominique Durrant is keen to encourage people to extend kindness to expectant mothers, and to avoid jumping to conclusions about why a couple doesn’t have a family.
A Bristol man who has survived testicular cancer says he owes the joys of fatherhood to the miracle of modern medical science which allowed him to freeze his sperm before he had even met the woman who would eventually become the mother of his baby.
Bath residents struggling to have a baby are embracing the chance to be under the care of a gynaecology consultant with a specialist professional qualification rarely found in the city.
Over 40 local GPs seized the opportunity to attend a recent study day organised by Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine (BCRM) with leading experts in the field offering essential updates on developments women’s health including fertility medicine and procedures.
The availability of a new device that allows unprecedented processing of sperm for use in fertility treatment has been hailed by trainee embryologist Lucy Hill as an exciting development for would-be parents struggling to achieve their dream of having a baby.
Guests at the party held earlier this year to celebrate the milestone of 40 years of IVF babies ‘made in Bristol’ included one family whose own IVF ‘baby’ is now 23 years old.
Three years after the birth of the baby girl created from their last-but-one frozen embryo out of 12, Sky News editor Emily Deeker and husband, BBC Points West’s Will Glennon, are celebrating the arrival of their “last chance” baby, little Harry – the happy ending to their mammoth 12 year fertility journey.
In the UK, pregnant employees are legally entitled to a risk assessment in the workplace to ensure their health and safety, as well as that of their unborn child. This entitlement applies equally to employed elite sportswomen, and it is particularly critical, given the physically demanding nature of their work and the unique risks posed by high-intensity training and a demanding fixtures schedule.
As demand for fertility treatment soars across the NHS, AI-powered diagnostic solutions are rising to meet the challenge.
Weston super Mare couple Bilitis and Simon Hammond were quick to respond to an invitation to take part in celebrations of the 40 year anniversary of the first ‘Made in Bristol’ babies, and delighted to introduce three-year-old Avery, a child born as the result of fertility treatment at Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine (BCRM) straddling Covid, to the team who helped his parents have him.
Following the revelation by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) earlier this year that at least one so-called ‘three parent baby’ had been born in the UK, the debate about ‘designer babies’ rumbles on, and a specialist fertility consultant at Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine (BCRM) has said she is concerned by public perception about the difference between the contentious practice of gene editing and the relatively uncontroversial process of healthy embryo selection.
In 2019, when Bristol couple Sarah and Matthew had been trying to conceive for two years without result, they sought fertility advice from their GP and were relieved to be taken seriously, referred for initial blood tests and very pleased to discover they qualified for NHS funding for investigations and possible treatment.
Fertility nurse consultant, Paula Bot, a recent addition to the specialist fertility team at Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine (BCRM), has quoted the opportunity to train the next generation of fertility nurses as one of the highlights of her new role.
The Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine (BCRM) has expanded its team with the addition of Dr Hadeel Alkharouf as its latest Clinical Fellow in reproductive medicine.
