Planning treatment abroad? The arguments for travelling to Spain, Portugal,  India and Turkey & Cyprus

More Brits are travelling abroad for treatment, driven by availability of donors, cost, waiting times and treatment options. Doctors from four different overseas clinics (IVF Spain, Ferticentro, Nova IVI and Bahceci) set out reasons why you should consider travelling to their country for treatment.

Chaired by FNUK

The Ultimate Survivor’s Guide to IVF

So you’re about to undergo fertility treatment? Hold on tight. Whether this is your first time or you’re already an IVF veteran, you need to prepare yourself for the Roller coaster of your life. If there’s one person who knows the secret to survival, it’s Jessica Hepburn - author, fertility campaigner and host of The Fertility Show’s Let's Talk Fertility stage. Jessica will be revealing her top tips for surviving the IVF process - whatever your fertility story, however it ends.  

Travelling to the USA for egg donor treatment. A patient’s journey

In this talk Sarah Esdaile explains what happened in her earlier treatment, why that lead her to the decision to look for an egg donor, and having made that decision, the reasons and thought process behind opting to travel to the States for treatment. 

Stress and its impact on fertility

What do we know about the impact of stress on men and women’s fertility? Jacky identifies some of the lifestyle changes that can reduce the impact of stress.

Visitor Quote from London 2017: "Fantastic talk, really well presented, very clear and well explained." 

Dealing with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

Adam Balen talks about what is known about PCOS and the most effective ways of investigating and treating it. 

Nursing support & care through the cycle and how to prepare yourself.

This talk aims to look at how your nursing team can support you through your treatment and guide you through the IVF process. The emotional aspect of fertility treatment  is as important as the clinical aspect and people accessing fertility services should feel supported and informed at every step of the journey. Fertility nurses play a crucial role in this and should provide high quality, specialist, emotional and physical fertility care to our patients.

Decision-making, openness and family building

If you use donated sperm, eggs or embryos to start your family then the issues of what, when and how to tell the child about their genetic origin becomes crucial. Lucia, who is Membership Coordinator of Donor Conception Network and Gill Pearson discuss the importance of being open with children.

Fertile; how lifestyle changes may improve fertility

Holistic fertility specialist, acupuncturist and author of The Baby Making Bible and Total Fertility, Emma explains how she works with patients and the results she has achieved.

Visitor Quote from London 2017: "Really inspiring talk, very down to earth. Positivity is priceless - thank you."

Managing relationships through infertility

The stresses and strains of coping with and treating infertility puts a terrible pressure on relationships. It impacts on all aspects of a relationship. Tracey Sainsbury, a member of BICA, offers some strategies on working together.

Visitor Quote from London 2017: "Content was really good and very informative."

Reduced ovarian reserve: is anyone too difficult to treat?

Dr Raef Faris looks at what the boundaries are in reproductive medicine today?  Can anyone be treated and any problem overturned? 

IVF and cutting edge technologies - do they make a difference and the evidence for them

The need to evolve IVF is the imperative to make IVF even more efficient than it is today. Since the early days of IVF live birth rates, in the best clinics, have improved 3-fold due in part to evolved practice and technology – most of which had little or no evidence before introduction to clinical practice. We will explore some of the latest technologies already bringing changing practice in some clinics, such as Time-Lapse Imaging and Chromosome Assessment, we shall examine the opportunity for the ‘personalised medicine’ approach, the value of natural cycle IVF and is it really ‘back to the future’, and some interesting potential opportunities for the ‘Next Generation IVF’ such as ‘AI’ and ‘PIV’!    

Men matter too - how men can move on from the silent despair of infertility (and better support their partners)

Two years ago Richard attended the Fertility Show as a visitor during a particularly low point in his life.  In his presentation he opens up about the dark, emotional times he went through and how hard he found it to express his feelings.  He hopes his own experiences can help others on their journey.

Natural Cycle and Mild IVF - fertility treatment without the drugs?

Natural Cycle IVF and Mild IVF are two forms of IVF which require no, or very little, use of the ovary stimulating drugs normally associated with this form of treatment and which can add to the stress and risks of treatment. Professor Geeta Nargund, Medical Director of CREATE Fertility, explains how it works and whether it’s right for you.

Boost fertility and prevent miscarriage with nutrition

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. Also learn how to improve your chances for a successful IVF and how nutrition can help if you have been diagnosed with an immunological problem

Freeing your mind to improve fertility

Russell, a cognitive hypnotherapist and founder of The Fertile Mind, believes that the mind can be a factor in low pregnancy success rates.  He offers some techniques to help improve your chance of success.

Factors to consider when choosing a fertility clinic.

Kate talks through factors from a clinic’s location, culture, specialisations and waiting times to costs and using the data available on the HFEA website.

Visitor Quote from London 2017: "Thank you to Kate for her impartial advice."

Male Fertility: Is there a problem and what can be done

Whilst Male Fertility has traditionally been a neglected area and seen by many as a taboo subject, things are now changing. There has been much recent interest in Male Fertility problems and efforts are now being made increase public  awareness of this common, distressing, yet enigmatic problem and its associated health issues. In this talk we will discuss the facts about the reported decline in Male Fertility and what men can do to improve their own fertility. We will also talk about what the current options are for couples affected by Male Factor fertility challenges and what the future may hold.

Planning treatment abroad? The arguments for travelling to Spain, Norway and Greece

More Brits are travelling abroad for treatment, driven by availability of donors, cost, waiting times and treatment options. Doctors from three different overseas clinics (URVista Hermosa, Klinnik Hausken and Newlife) set out reasons why you should consider travelling to their country for treatment.

Treatment add-ons. Do they add up?

Cost plays a very important role when choosing treatment and can be a source of great anxiety.  Here Kate Brian explains about add-ons and what they mean.

Visitor Quote from London 2017: "Useful and interesting talk - it's a minefield of informatin which Kate helped to explain."

Practical strategies to manage emotions

At the beginning of a fertility journey, people often underestimate the emotional challenge ahead. In this seminar, Andreia Trigo (RN BSc MSc Dip NLP) talks about practical strategies to manage emotions, drawing from her experiences as a fertility nurse and researcher, NLP coach and infertility patient. 

Fertility treatment for older women

Tarek outlines the issues related to compromised ovarian reserve and discusses the options and new techniques that can boost fertility and improve success rates for women over 40.

Choosing a known donor or Co-parent to create your family - For LGBT, Single and infertile Couples

During Erika's talk she will cover the options of known/private sperm and egg donation for creating your family. In addition Erika will talk about the increasingly popular option of co-parenting.

Building Healthy Families - What you need to know about PGS

There are now a selection of genetic testing options which can be used across the whole reproductive pathway and which are specifically designed to help you build or grow a healthy family. 

In this talk Charles Kingsland will outline testing options, processes, results and their potential impact at each stage of your reproductive journey. 

Professor Kingsland will also describe the key differences between Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis and Screening.

Decision-making, openness and family building

If you use donated sperm, eggs or embryos to start your family then the issues of what, when and how to tell the child about their genetic origin becomes crucial. Nina, who is the Director of Donor Conception Network and Gill Pearson discuss the importance of being open with children.

Improving the odds of IVF working for you

Yacoub explains what is understood to influence the success or failure of an IVF cycle including some of those factors within a patient’s control.

Planning treatment abroad? The arguments for travelling to Spain and Bulgaria

More Brits are travelling abroad for treatment, driven by availability of donors, cost, waiting times and treatment options. Doctors from two different overseas clinics (Clinica Tambre, Spain and Nadezhda Women's Health Hospital, Bulgaria ) set out reasons why you should consider travelling to their country for treatment.

Complementary Medicine - Where is the Evidence

Many couples choose to use a variety of differing forms of complementary therapy and or medicine as part of their fertility journey. These can range from acupuncture, hypnotherapy, nutritional support, massage and reflexology.  But what evidence is there to support them and how effective are they, which of these are worth considering as part of a more holistic approach.  Are they a stand alone treatment ? Or can they be used to prepare for or to support assisted conception? If so, then which kinds of assisted conception are they useful for and how beneficial are they?

Barbara Scott aims to share some of the available evidence on a variety of complementary medicines so that you are able to make informed decisions about what you would like to include as part of your treatment planning.

Donor eggs in the UK - Don’t have to fly to succeed

Many Brits have the misconception that donor egg treatments are cheaper, more readily available and successful overseas. In this seminar, Mr Ogutu discusses egg donation availability, success rates as well as pros and cons of treatment in the UK .

IVF in patients beyond their 40’s

Dr. Olivares will talk about the possibility of patients over the age of 40 who want a baby using their own eggs. He will talk about IVF and how they can improve their chances of this happening.

Building Healthy Families - What you need to know about PGS

There are now a selection of genetic testing options which can be used across the whole reproductive pathway and which are specifically designed to help you build or grow a healthy family. 

In this talk Janine Elson will outline testing options, processes, results and their potential impact at each stage of your reproductive journey. 

Ms Elson will also describe the key differences between Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis and Screening.

Which way now? Your fertility options if you respond poorly to IVF

When IVF doesn’t work as expected, an important issue to consider is the response to stimulation. This talk will focus on the current evidence for IVF stimulation protocols and expected response. For those cycles where the response is suboptimal, we will consider what options and modifications are likely to help. We will also consider alternative ART treatments to IVF.

Practical strategies to manage emotions

At the beginning of a fertility journey, people often underestimate the emotional challenge ahead. In this seminar, Andreia Trigo (RN BSc MSc Dip NLP) talks about practical strategies to manage emotions, drawing from her experiences as a fertility nurse and researcher, NLP coach and infertility patient. 

The Ultimate Survivor’s Guide to IVF

So you’re about to undergo fertility treatment? Hold on tight. Whether this is your first time or you’re already an IVF veteran, you need to prepare yourself for the Roller coaster of your life. If there’s one person who knows the secret to survival, it’s Jessica Hepburn - author, fertility campaigner and host of The Fertility Show’s Let's Talk Fertility stage. Jessica will be revealing her top tips for surviving the IVF process - whatever your fertility story, however it ends.  

Visitor Quote from London 2017: "Brilliant and touching talk."

The Basics. What you need to know to get pregnant and how to prepare for pregnancy

For many people getting pregnant can be harder than they anticipate. It can be a stressful time for couples, and given the myriad of advice from friends, family, the lay and medical press, its often hard to distinguish good evidence based information from old-wives’ tales. Mr Lavery will cover the essential information you need to know about how long should it take, frequency and timing of intercourse, the impact of stress, diet, smoking and alcohol.  The role of sophisticated placebos will also be considered.

Visitor Quote from London 2017: "No nonsense, no selling. The most useful seminar so far."

IVF and cutting edge technologies - do they make a difference and the evidence for them

The need to evolve IVF is the imperative to make IVF even more efficient than it is today. Since the early days of IVF live birth rates, in the best clinics, have improved 3-fold due in part to evolved practice and technology – most of which had little or no evidence before introduction to clinical practice. We will explore some of the latest technologies already bringing changing practice in some clinics, such as Time-Lapse Imaging and Chromosome Assessment, we shall examine the opportunity for the ‘personalised medicine’ approach, the value of natural cycle IVF and is it really ‘back to the future’, and some interesting potential opportunities for the ‘Next Generation IVF’ such as ‘AI’ and ‘PIV’!    

Surrogacy Arrangements

Surrogacy is an increasingly popular way of building a family for heterosexual couples, single parents and gay dads, but knowing where to start can be a real challenge. Helen Prosser from non-profit UK surrogacy agency Brilliant Beginnings and Natalie Gamble, campaigner and founder of leading fertility law firm Natalie Gamble Associates, explain how to make surrogacy work, both in the UK and in the most popular international destinations, and give no-nonsense advice on the costs and the practical and legal issues you will need to think about.

Complications of IVF

According to an HFEA report in 2016 more than 20,000 children were born from assisted conception in 2016. The success rates of IVF improved significantly due to advancement in clinical and laboratory science. Although most IVF procedures take place without adverse events, there are still significant complications associated with IVF and therefore IVF should only be carried out when there is a strong clinical indication and benefits are likely to outweigh the risks.

As more women over the age of 40 are having medically assisted conception, The effect on long term health is also something to be mindful of and women should be judiciously counselled about the risks and benefits to empower them to assist them to make an informed choice.

Dealing with and treating, endometriosis

Haitham Hamoda talks through the issues of endometriosis and outlines what can be done to preserve or restore fertility.

What men need to know about their fertility - testing it, boosting it, treating it

It is often women who carry the shame and worry of infertility and yet men are a significant cause of problems in nearly half of all cases. A low sperm count or poor quality sperm, obstructions or mechanical difficulties can all be problems for those struggling to conceive. In this talk, Allan Pacey, Professor of Andrology at the University of Sheffield, outlines the potential problems, how to test for them and how male fertility might be boosted or treated.

Visitor Quote from London 2017: "Very informative and useful for men in the audience. Beautifully delivered and with humour. Highly recommend."

Counselling through IVF

The stresses and strains of coping with, and treating, infertility put a terrible pressure on relationships. It impacts on sex, daily life, expectations of support, overcoming difficulties and can take a lot of the joy and fun away. Tracey Sainsbury, member of the British Infertility Counselling Association and a fertility counsellor offers some strategies on working together including a counselling model that helps you to cope better by understanding more about what’s going on unconsciously and the conflicts with your conscious thinking.

Testing your fertility and the value of your ovarian reserve

James Nicopoullos explains what medical investigations there are to test a woman’s ovarian reserve and what can (and can’t) be done about their fertility.

Visitor Quote from London 2017: "Good speaker with clear slides."

Boost fertility and prevent miscarriage with nutrition

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. Also learn how to improve your chances for a successful IVF and how nutrition can help if you have been diagnosed with an immunological problem

Coping Strategies

Mum of two IVF children and an adopted son, Anya will present her top ten techniques for maintaining a positive and constructive approach during difficult times.

Visitor Quote from London 2017: " Lovely to hear from someone who has been through it. Helpful without being patronising."

What to look for when choosing a fertility clinic

Getting the right fit is just as essential as comparing success rates when deciding on a fertility clinic. In this talk Joanne Triggs, Head of Communications at the HFEA guides you through the issues from a clinic’s location, culture, specialisations and waiting times to analysing costs and using the mass of data available on the HFEA website, data that clinics are legally obliged to provide on the outcomes of their fertility treatments, in order to compare success rates. 

The Pros and Cons of Surrogacy for Intended Parents

Surrogacy is an exciting and fulfilling experience if you make the right choices and decisions.

Lots of things are involved in deciding on surrogacy, like the laws of the country, choosing the right clinic, finances and choosing your surrogate.

Surrogacy has more benefits than disadvantages but again, what good would it be without a challenge?

LGBT Parenting in the UK

The UK has seen a legal and social revolution over the past 15 years making it easier than ever before for LGBT people to start a family. Leading LGBT family lawyer Natalie is joined by 2 same sex couples to talk about their journeys and what it's really like to be an LGBT parent in 2018.

Visitor Quote from London 2017: "Fantastic. Thank you for an informative and enjoyable seminar."

Options for adoption

If you've decided to become an adoptive parent, the next step is to choose an agency who will prepare and support you on that journey. There are around 180 adoption agencies in England including voluntary agencies and local authorities. First4Adoption, the national information service for people interested in adopting a child in England, encourage you to contact as many as you like and in this talk Gemma Gordon-Johnson, who works for the service, offers this helpful guide as well as explaining the matching process, a bit of background information on children in care and a few of the steps that a few of the people who've had fertility treatment might want to consider as they go down this route.

Visitor Quote from Manchester 2017: 'Fabulous. Great information for those new to adoption.'

Improving the odds of IVF working for you

Yacoub explains what is understood to influence the success or failure of an IVF cycle including some of those factors within a patient’s control.

Picking the best sperm (through HBA analysis with PICSI)

A significant proportion of couples requiring assisted conception will be affected by male factor infertility. With sperm contributing 50% of the embryo’s genetic information, there is increasing awareness of the impact of the sperm cell on embryo quality and treatment outcome. So how can we ensure that the best sperm is selected for treatment? Laboratory Director Dr Lucy Richardson discusses novel sperm selection techniques and presents exciting evidence from Herts and Essex Fertility Centre demonstrating the benefits of such technology.

Planning Treatment Abroad? The arguments for travelling to Spain and Russia

More Brits are travelling abroad for treatment, driven by availability of donors, cost, waiting times and treatment options. Doctors from two different overseas clinics (Dexeus Mujer Spain and Next Generation Clinic from Russia) set out reasons why you should consider travelling to their country for treatment.

No donors, long wait, too expensive?  Is this really the truth about egg donation in the UK?

You may be undecided about where to have treatment.  You may not have investigated egg donation in the UK because you have assumed it is unaffordable or the wait is too long. Herts & Essex, CARE, the Lister and Altrui will discuss their egg donation recruitment, availability and other issues around UK donation to help you make an informed choice on staying in the UK or going abroad. Chaired by Donor Conception Network.