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Seminars

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Unique access to leading fertility specialists

This is the speaker programme for the 2009 show. Details for next year will be published here in the summer of 2010.


- The basics - what i can do to help myself
- Testing and what to do if I've got a problem
- Choosing a clinic
- Getting the NHS to pay
- Treatment options
- Treating particular problems and scenarios
- Help, support and information
- When treatment isn't working

The basics - what I can do to help myself

Friday 10.30-11.15
(This is a repeat of Zita's talks on Saturday which have sold out)
 How To Get Pregnant (and to have the best possible pregnancy). Whether you've just decided to try to get pregnant, have been trying for a while, or are about to have IVF, fertility and pregnancy expert Zita West explains how to combine the latest medical thinking with practical advice on nutrition, emotional and psychological management and complementary therapies, to maximise your chances of conceiving successfully and achieving a happy and healthy pregnancy.		  
Friday 10.45-11.30
(This is being repeated on Saturday at 16.30 - see below)
Using Nutrition to boost Fertility and Prevent Miscarriage. Find out how nutrition can help you get pregnant and also prevent miscarriages. Come to this talk to discover the best diet, supplements and lifestyle factors to maximise your chances of getting, and staying, pregnant. How also to improve your chances for a successful IVF and how nutrition can help if you have been diagnosed with an immunological problem. Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD is the UK's leading nutritionist specialising in women's health, she is President of the Food and Health Forum at the Royal Society of Medicine and author of the book “Getting Pregnant Faster". More info at www.marilynglenville.com.		  
Friday 11.30-12.15
The Basics. What you need to know to get pregnant and how to prepare for pregnancy. With an overview of fertility and the biological clock, this session will go through the basics about getting pregnant, hormones and how the body works. Presented by Lisa Webber, co-author of Infertility: The Facts (Oxford University Press), Consultant Gynaecologist and Specialist in Reproductive Medicine at St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, Lisa will also cover lifestyle changes important for pregnancy such as smoking, drinking and optimizing your weight.		  
Friday 14.30-15.15
How Chinese Medicine can improve your fertility. Traditional Chinese Medicine is a unique, distinct and independent medical system that has been practised in China for more than 5,000 years. It’s still the medicine of choice in the country today and the therapeutic treatment with TCM brings impressive results to many diseases, with far fewer side effects. Dr Xiao-Ping Zhai, Principal of the Zhai Clinic explains its uses in fertility treatment.		 CLICK
FOR NOTES
Saturday 11.45-12.30
Boost your fertility with Classical Five-Element Acupuncture. Whether you want to conceive naturally, or with IVF if necessary, Classical Five-Element acupuncture can significantly increase your fertility. So says Gerad Kite, MD of leading acupuncture centre, Kite Clinic. He will tell you about this effective system of medicine that has been used to enhance fertility for over 2000 years, the body of proof now supporting this claim, the results being achieved, what to expect when undergoing treatment and how much it costs.		  
Saturday 12.30-13.15
(Zita has kindly agreed to repeat this session on Friday at 10.30 - see above)
 How To Get Pregnant (and to have the best possible pregnancy). Whether you've just decided to try to get pregnant, have been trying for a while, or are about to have IVF, fertility and pregnancy expert Zita West explains how to combine the latest medical thinking with practical advice on nutrition, emotional and psychological management and complementary therapies, to maximise your chances of conceiving successfully and achieving a happy and healthy pregnancy.		  
Saturday 13.30-14.15
(Zita has kindly agreed to repeat this session on Friday at 10.30 - see above)
How To Get Pregnant (and to have the best possible pregnancy). Whether you've just decided to try to get pregnant, have been trying for a while, or are about to have IVF, fertility and pregnancy expert Zita West explains how to combine the latest medical thinking with practical advice on nutrition, emotional and psychological management and complementary therapies, to maximise your chances of conceiving successfully and achieving a happy and healthy pregnancy.		  
Saturday 16.30-17.00
(This is a repeat of Marilyn's seminar from Friday which has sold out. It is slightly abreviated and presented by Helen Heap, Marilyn's senior nutritionist)
Using Nutrition to boost Fertility and Prevent Miscarriage. Find out how nutrition can help you get pregnant and also prevent miscarriages. Come to this talk to discover the best diet, supplements and lifestyle factors to maximise your chances of getting, and staying, pregnant. How also to improve your chances for a successful IVF and how nutrition can help if you have been diagnosed with an immunological problem. Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD is the UK's leading nutritionist specialising in women's health, she is President of the Food and Health Forum at the Royal Society of Medicine and author of the book “Getting Pregnant Faster". More info at www.marilynglenville.com.		  

Testing and what to do if I've got a problem

Friday 14.30-15.15
Testing your fertility and the value of your ovarian reserve. Newspapers are full of stories encouraging women to test their fertility, and specifically their ovarian reserve (the number of eggs remaining). But what can testing actually tell you about your chances of conceiving naturally and in assisted conception? Professor Richard Fleming, Honorary Professor of Reproductive Medicine at Glasgow University and a pioneer in the field, explains whilst Bryan Beattie, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at University Hospital of Wales, outlines what’s involved and how to go about it.		  
Saturday 10.30-11.15
A beginners guide to the fertility rollercoaster - what to expect. If you are about to start fertility treatment for the first time, you may have heard that emotionally and physically, you are in for a bumpy time. In this talk by Charles Kingsland, Clinical Director of the Hewitt Centre for Reproduction, he describes what’s involved, what to expect and how to prepare yourself for the journey ahead.		  
Saturday 11.30-12.15
An overview of the common causes of infertility and the main approaches to treatment. If you’ve been trying to conceive for a while without success, this session could help you decide on your next steps. Looking at some of the science behind the main reasons why couples fail to conceive, Julian Norman-Taylor, Consultant Gynaecologist who leads the Assisted Conception Unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital will cover the basic areas of testing used to identify common causes of infertility and offer an overview of the range of treatments available at specialist fertility clinics.
 
Saturday 11.30-12.15
A DIY guide to assessing your own fertility. Jacky Boivin, a Chartered Health Psychologist and Reader at Cardiff University developed a 21 item fertility awareness tool (FertiSTAT) which uses age, fertility and lifestyle factors to provide personalised information about women's chances of conceiving. The tool is based on extensive research and can discriminate with 80% accuracy pregnant from non-pregnant women. Come to this talk to asses your own fertility and find out what you can do to improve the odds.		 CLICK
FOR
NOTES
Saturday 15.30-16.15
It takes two to tango. What men need to know about their fertility and its treatment. Infertility is often thought of as a female concern, but in about a third of cases it is caused by male problems such as a low sperm count or quality. In this talk, Dr Iwan Lewis-Jones, Honorary Consultant in Reproductive Medicine at Liverpool’s Women’s Hospital and specialist in male fertility, talks about the issues, what men can do to boost their fertility, how to test for problems and how to treat them.		  

Choosing a clinic
Friday 12.30-13.15
How to choose a fertility clinic. There are many factors to consider when choosing a clinic and getting the right fit is essential - from cost to success rates, location to culture, specialisation to waiting times. Helen Richens, Policy Manager from fertility regulator HFEA will guide you through the comparative data available on the HFEA website and explain what it means to be HFEA regulated. And Kate Brian of support group Infertility Network UK, mother of two IVF children and author of The Complete Guide to IVF will guide you through some of the more practical issues.		 CLICK
FOR
HELEN'S
NOTES
Saturday 13.45-14.30
Going for treatment abroad? Things to consider. The decision to seek treatment overseas is often influenced by the availability of egg and sperm donors as well as price and waiting times. As more and more Brits head to fertility clinics in Europe, the USA and beyond, Kate Brian of I N UK and author of The Complete Guide to IVF offers advice on some of the pitfalls to look out for whilst Nicola Dawson, who has baby twins as a result of successful IVF in Spain, will talk about her positive experience and why, after three conventional IVF cycles in the UK, she opted for donor treatment at a clinic in Barcelona.		  
Saturday 15.30-16.15
Planning treatment abroad? The arguments for travelling to the USA vs Spain. There are many reasons people travel abroad for fertility treatment including price and access to donor programmes. In this talk, Michael Levy, a physician from the Shady Grove Fertility Center, based in Maryland USA, presents the case for coming to the States for treatment whilst Dr Bernabeu, Medical Director of Alicante-based clinic Instituto Bernabeu, outlines the reasons to go to Spain.		  

Getting the NHS to pay

Friday 13.30-14.15
Maximise your chance of getting fertility treatment paid for by the NHS. It is often said that NHS funding for fertility treatment is a postcode lottery. With NICE guidelines recommending 3 cycles of IVF should be funded by the NHS, implementation is another matter altogether with Primary Care Trusts varying hugely in their interpretation of guidelines. Clare Lewis-Jones MBE, Chief Executive of leading patient support group Infertility Network UK, offers a realistic view of what to expect from the NHS and suggests ways to maximise your chances of getting treatment paid for.		  
Saturday 13.30-14.15
An insiders guide to getting the most out of the NHS. Anil Gudi and Amit Shah, Consultant Gynaecologists who run the NHS fertility service at the Homerton Fertility Centre in East London, offer some helpful tips on how to fast track your fertility treatment on the NHS. Be well informed and better armed.		 CLICK
FOR
NOTES

Treatment options

Friday 10.30-11.15
Need donor treatment but no donors? What you can do to help yourself. It’s tough enough being told you need donor eggs or sperm but to make it worse there’s a shortage of donors as well. So what are you going to do? Are you considering going abroad, taking the dodgy website route, is blaming the clinic more your way? Or are you joining the growing number of patients who take charge of their own recruitment and are successful doing so? Based on successful campaigns and years of experience, Laura Witjens, Chair of the National Gamete Donation Trust, outlines the options for patients in the UK.		  
Friday 11.30-12.15
Calculate your very own chances of achieving a pregnancy through IVF. The Lister Fertility Clinic’s website features its celebrated Pregnancy Calculator which enables patients to establish their very own chances of achieving a pregnancy at the clinic (using the clinic’s own data). The Pregnancy Calculator factors in a patient’s age as well as other variables such as ovarian reserve (FSH or AMH levels), number of previous IVF attempts and blastocyst transfer among others. In this talk, the clinic’s Director, Sam Abdalla, discusses the impact of these and other variables on a patient’s chances of conception.		  
Friday 15.30-16.15
Surrogacy. What’s involved, what are the issues. Surrogacy is when another woman carries and gives birth to a baby for you. It offers hope to women who can’t give birth for themselves and even the chance to conceive their own genetic child. In this talk Sabreena Mahroof of Surrogacy UK and the delighted mother of twins through surrogacy is joined by Carol O’Reilly, a co-founder of Surrogacy UK and a surrogate mother herself, to talk through the issues, myths and realities of surrogacy while John Randle, partner at specialist fertility law firm Lester Aldridge, addresses some of the legal issues involved.		 CAROL'S
NOTES
Friday 15.45-16.30
Fertility surgery: an alternative or addition to IVF. Advances in technology and shorter recovery periods have made fertility surgery an effective alternative or additional form of treatment to IVF. And it can be easier to get NHS funding. Stuart Lavery, Consultant Gynaecologist and Director of IVF Hammersmith outlines the available treatments.		  
Saturday 10.30-11.15
Donor Conception - how do you tell the kids? If you are using donated eggs, sperm or embryos to start your family then the issues of what, when and how to tell a child about their genetic origin becomes crucial. Olivia Montuschi who runs DC Network, an organisation of 1,500 families who have faced this experience, talks about how to go about being open with donor-conceived children. 		CLICK
FOR
NOTES
Saturday 12.30-13.15
Maximise your chances of conception through IVF - without the risk of a multiple birth. Transferring 2 or 3 embryos can lead to a multiple pregnancy and in the UK, one in four IVF pregnancies is a twin or a triplet pregnancy. Whereas some may consider this a blessing, multiple births actually present grave health and social risks to both mother and child. In this talk, Sam Abdalla, Director of the Lister Fertility Clinic, talks about how pregnancy rates can be considerably improved by transferring one single blastocyst (a 5-day old embryo), whilst significantly reducing the risks associated with multiple birth.		  
Saturday 12.45-13.30
Egg donation in the UK. Many patients and doctors seem resigned to the idea that egg donation is not possible in the UK. This presentation by Robert Forman, Medical Director, CRM London, offers a behind the scenes look at one of the largest and most successful egg donation programmes in the country and dispels some of the myths about difficult access to treatment in the security of an HFEA regulated clinic.		  
Saturday 14.30-15.15
Creating additional chances of pregnancy through embryo freezing. Freezing surplus embryos after IVF gives you the option of using those embryos in future cycles without the risks, expense and discomfort of going through egg collection again. Yacoub Khalaf, Consultant Gynaecologist and Medical Director of the Assisted Conception Unit at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS, addresses patient concerns around the safety of this technique as well as looking at the success rates now being achieved. 		 

Treating particular problems and scenarios

Friday 11.45-12.30
Using IVF and Embryo Screening to avoid passing on inherited diseases to your children. It is now possible to screen for a very wide range of inherited diseases such as Huntington’s Disease, Cystic Fibrosis and Thalassaemia. Following IVF, embryos are tested for specific genetic disease using Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis [PGD]. Dr Simon Fishel, Managing Director of CARE Fertility and one of the world's most eminent specialists in the field of fertility treatment, explains how PGD works.		  
Friday 12.30-13.15
Single women and lesbian couples – legal issues surrounding conception. Parental rights surrounding sperm donors, the legal status of non-birth mothers in a lesbian couple, the rights of former husbands or partners in relationships not yet dissolved and the implications on conception of The Civil Partnership Act and The Equality Act are all tackled in this talk by John Randle and the specialist fertility team at Lester Aldridge, the law firm who secured a British lesbian couple IVF treatment with NHS funding. (see also Friday 13.45)		  
Friday 12.45-13.30
Dealing with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is a common cause of infertility in women and particularly common among women with ovulation problems. Professor Stephen Franks, Clinical Professor of Surgery, Oncology, Reproductive Biology and Anaesthetics at Imperial College London and a leading expert on the subject, talks about what is known about PCOS and the most effective ways of investigating and treating it.		  
Friday 13.30-14.15
Dealing with Secondary Infertility. Being unable to conceive when you’ve already given birth to at least one baby is called secondary infertility, can cover a host of conditions and is becoming more and more common as women delay motherhood. Enda McVeigh, Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, John Radcliffe Hospital Oxford, talks about the causes of secondary infertility and what can be done to treat it. 		 
Friday 13.45-14.30
Single women and lesbian couples - options for conceiving. What are the routes open to women who want to conceive without having sex with a man? Dr Carole Gilling-Smith, Medical Director of the Agora Fertility Clinic, explains the practical issues around getting pregnant with donor sperm, including IUI and IVF, whilst Natalie Woods, a lesbian patient of Carole’s who has just conceived on treatment and is also a fertility counsellor, goes into some of the issues discussed in counselling as well as providing a patient’s perspective. (see also Friday 12.30) 		NATALIE'S
NOTES
Friday 14.45-15.30
The hope and hype of egg freezing: 5 things you really need to know. There’s a lot of media coverage about how “social” egg freezing offers women the option to delay starting a family until convenient. For some women with specific diseases or undergoing certain types of treatment, egg freezing may offer the only chance of genetic motherhood for the future. With new techniques claiming higher success rates Alan Thornhill, Scientific Director of The Bridge Centre, attempts to separate hype from reality by explaining the process of egg freezing, who it’s suitable for, and the likely outcomes.		  
Friday 16.30-17.15
Fertility treatment for older women. A woman’s ability to conceive reduces with age and in particular, after the age of 40. In this talk Dimitrios Nikolaou, Consultant Gynaecologist and Fertility Specialist at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and specialist in fertility treatment for older women, outlines the issues relating to compromised ovarian reserve and discusses the options available for women over 40.		  
Friday 17.30-18.00
Fertility and Cancer. Options for treatment. The ability to conceive for both men and women can be affected by many of the treatments for cancer, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy and surgery. In this talk, Heidi Birch, director of nursing services at Midland Fertility Services, a fertility clinic with much experience of sperm and egg freezing, outlines the fertility preservation services that offer the possibility of future genetic parenthood for young adults diagnosed with cancer.		  
Saturday 14.30-15.15
Dealing with Recurrent Miscarriage. Recurrent miscarriage (ie when miscarriage occurs 3 or more times) is highly distressing and affects 1 in every 100 women. And yet most couples who have faced it still have a good chance of a successful birth in the future. Professor Lesley Regan, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Imperial College London, St Mary's Hospital, and Britain’s foremost expert on the subject, talks about what we know about the reasons behind recurrent miscarriages and the most effective ways of investigating and treating it.		  
Saturday 14.45-15.30
Endometriosis - enhancing your fertility - a nutritional path to support reproduction. Dian Shepperson Mills is a Governor of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, Trustee of Endometriosis SHE Trust UK, works as a nutritional therapy consultant at the Hale Clinic in London as well as runing The Endometriosis and Fertility Clinic. In this talk she outlines how nutrition can help women with endometriosis overcome the pain, suffering and other symptoms associated with this disease and how it can also help couples achieve a better chance of natural conception or improve the chances of assisted pregnancies.		  

Help, support and information

Friday 15.30-16.15
The Top Ten ways to cope with infertility. Anya Sizer coaches people professionally on dealing with the stress and worry that surrounds infertility. In this practical workshop, Anya will go through her top ten techniques for maintaining a positive and constructive approach at such a difficult time. 		CLICK
FOR
NOTES
Friday 16.30-17.15
10 good reasons why you MUST join a support group. Fertility treatment is a very private and personal thing, and something that some people don’t want to share with anyone. However, speaking to others who have been, or are going through the same things is invaluable. There are many ways of getting support - not all are right for everyone – and in this talk Helene Torr of Infertility Network UK, Britain’s leading support group, explains where to go for help and what to expect.		  
Saturday 15.45-16.30
Coping strategies before, during and after treatment. Anger, shock, disbelief, shame, envy, loss of control, loneliness and isolation are some of the emotions patients can experience undertaking fertility treatment. In this talk Jill Belcher, an experienced Fertility Counsellor, draws on the experience of others to offers some coping techniques and ways of handling situations such as when friends and family get pregnant.		  
Saturday 16.30-17.00
A beginner’s guide to the best fertility resources online. Whether you are looking for medical advice, support, fact sheets, legal advice or trying to choose a fertility clinic abroad, with so much information out there Tracey Sainsbury MBACP, Online Community Organiser for I N UK, offers this guide to the best that the internet has to offer.		  

When treatment isn't working

Friday 16.45-17.30
Fertility treatment in the future. Developments and innovations are ongoing in the science behind fertility treatment with the aim of improving outcomes for patients in the future. In this talk, Professor Alison Murdoch, Head of the Newcastle Fertility Centre, paints a picture of where progress is likely to come during the next few years and what hope that’s likely to offer. 		 
Friday 17.30-18.00
Adoption and fostering. What’s involved. For many people who can’t conceive, adoption or fostering offers an alternative and hugely rewarding way to start or add to their family. In this talk by David Holmes, Chief Executive of The British Association for Adoption & Fostering, he gives an outline of adopting and fostering in the UK, looks at the things potential adopters or foster carers should consider and offers a few pointers on what to do to start the process.		  
Saturday 10.45-11.30
Why should I give it another go? If you’ve been through several cycles of fertility treatment without success, you may well be thinking carefully about whether you are prepared to undergo another round of emotional, physical and financial hardship. In this talk Dr Luciano Nardo, Consultant in Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine at Saint Mary's Hospital, Manchester, goes through some of the science and the statistics to offer encouragement and support and to give you a few reasons why you might.