This year the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HEFA) reported a dramatic rise in the number of women freezing their eggs. It’s becoming one of the fastest growing fertility treatments across the UK. Some experts are attributing the rise to the pandemic, with Sarah Norcross, the director of the Progress Educational Trust, suggesting that “restrictions on socialising may have prompted some women to think more about their fertile window and decide to try to increase their reproductive choices.”

This month the HFEA (the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority) set out proposals to modernise the regulation of fertility treatment and research involving human embryos.

The range of recommendations aims to update the UK’s 33-year-old fertility law, in a bid to ‘future-proof’ the industry and better reflect the significant changes in the fertility sector.

Male fertility is important. That’s a fact. Men make up 50% of all fertility problems, and so it is important to know what checks to do and how to move forward in the best way. So this week on “Let’s all Talk Fertility” I spoke to Consultant Urologist and Lead Andrologist Professor Suks Minhas from Imperial College.

A lot of Suk’s work focuses on the causes and treatments for male infertility. Perfect for this webinar! Suks started by explaining just how much male fertility had declined over the last 50 years. The reason? We’re not entirely sure; “It maybe due to industrialisation, exposure to chemicals called endocrine disrupting chemicals” Professor Minhas told us.

Marta told us that what we should really be focussing on is the age and quality of the eggs; “The quality is related to the age of the woman” Marta said. “If we have ten patients, all aged 36, and two of them have low ovarian reserve with an AMH level under one. We know those patients are more likely to have problems to get pregnant, but we cannot say the woman is infertile because we have reported natural pregnancies, even with a low AMH level.” In terms of quantity verses quality, Marta said she would prefer to get three eggs from a woman under 35 than nine eggs from a woman aged 42, because the age and quality of the eggs. Her advice being that, if you have a partner and know your reserve is low, to start trying to get pregnant naturally as soon as you can, to avoid fertility treatment.

Unexplained infertility is when no cause can be identified in either partner as to why a natural pregnancy hasn’t occurred. So a woman is ovulating regularly, has open fallopian tubes, and things look clear - so no adhesions, fibrous growths or endometriosis - and the man has normal sperm.

Sadly in the UK, unexplained infertility still accounts for around 1 in 4 cases - the highest reason for not getting pregnant.

So when do we get help? Well, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that women with unexplained infertility, who have not conceived after 2 years of having regular unprotected sex, should be offered IVF treatment.

Anya told us to think about the important factors to us, such as cost, success rates, distance from home, and the support they offer at the clinic. She was also quick to shout about The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) as a very important tool. Their website has a list of all clinics licensed to offer IVF and ICSI in the UK, which in and of itself is a good place to start if you are trying to find out which clinics may be suitable for you.

I was interested to hear from Prof Geeta Nargund that mild or natural IVF would, in her opinion, be a viable option for women with low ovarian reserve. Being that I have POI myself, I was always advised not to go for this option because I would produce so few eggs. Prof Nargund is indeed a pioneer in the field of Natural and Mild IVF.