Where to get support when you are struggling to have a baby, this archive series of The Fertility Podcast discusses counselling and coaching with a wide range of interviews with experts, as well as sharing many stories of people who have set up businesses or started blogs or podcasts to help them and others deal with the struggles of not being able to have a family as expected.
BONUS: Visions of Reproductive Health from Being Human Festival
Last November, I was asked to partner with the Being Human (https://beinghumanfestival.org/) Festival curated by Queen Mary, University of London. The event was part of a series called ‘Navigating New Worlds'. This event is funded by the Wellcome Trust.
The webinar they were hosting was looking at the many ways the interior body has been revealed by a variety of visualizing techniques. This includes ultrasound scans and images of embryos that have long left the lab and are increasingly appearing in the news, in commercial advertising, in classrooms, in family photo albums, and on social media.
I hosted a panel discussion with historians, artists, and sociologists to explore the meaning, making, and circulation of biomedical and artistic representations of reproduction and discuss how images emerge from particular social, cultural, and historical contexts.
The panel included:
Tabitha Moses (artist) (http://www.tabithamoses.co.uk/)
Dr. Isabel Davies (Birkbeck University) (http://www.bbk.ac.uk/english/our-staff/full-time-academic-staff/davis)
Liv Pennington (artist) Artist and, a Ph.D. student at UCA (http://livpennington.com/works/private-view)
Professor Nick Hopwood (Cambridge University) (https://www.people.hps.cam.ac.uk/index/teaching-officers/hopwood)
Dr. Josie Hamper - Post Doctoral Researcher (/journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1357034X19898259)
During this discussion, you will hear me introduce the speakers as well as talk about questions that the audience was asked to interact with.
First up is Dr. Josie Hamper who talked through the main research findings, from how the conversations were carried out with the sample audience of 100 people discussing options on images such as an embryo on day three and time-lapse technology. The interviews aimed to gather the perspectives or uses of this technology in both professionals and patients.
Tabitha Moses discussed 'Visualisation of pregnancy’ and a very personal account of her experience of pregnancy and loss as she talked through her artwork which she created after her experience of IVF. Tabitha talked about how each image brings you one step closer to the baby. She created a series of images using light boxes representing her embryos along with embroidered gowns.
Isabell Davies discussed the issue of imagining a pregnancy and the impact of feeling like you are pregnant when you are not. She also discussed the two-week wait and the pressures during that time also being between ovulation and finding out if you are pregnant naturally as well as after embryo transfer and doing a pregnancy test.
I have spoken with Isabella before on her work around people's past experience, before pregnancy testing which you can have a listen to here (https://www.thefertilitypodcast.com/history/)
Artist Liv Pennington discussed her work a ‘Private View’ explaining the two parts of her show which are all focused around pregnancy tests and Liv talks through the amazing insights she gained from creating her work in different settings, at different points in time. She also discussed her own realizations of the impacts of these tests.
Professor. Nick Hopwood from the University of Cambridge is going to be outlining how since the 18th Century, the images we see, that are associated with pregnancy have progressed.
Do let us know what you think of this conversation and whether you would like us to share more of the webinars we are involved in hosting. Email <a href="mailto:info@thefertilitypodcast.com"...
8 Mar 2022
What is Reproductive Immunology?
In this week’s episode, we welcome Naava Carmen, fertility acupuncturist and founder of The Fertility Support Company, who is on a mission is to tackle the underlining causes of infertility both in natural fertility and assisted conception. We're also going to be speaking with Dr. Yau Thum Fertility Specialist at The Lister and the pair have found an interesting working relationship we wanted to discuss. Dr. Thum has done loads of research into reproductive immunology, Natural Killer Cells, recurrent miscarriage, and failed implantation.
Dr. Thum starts off with a bit of a science lesson for us, explaining the ins and outs of the immune system, why it’s so important, and its role with regards to implantation and miscarriage.
Naava shares with us her insights into how Chinese medicine can assist in the medical treatment of immune issues and with Dr. Thum the way in which their two approaches complement one another. Whilst complementary therapies are becoming more and more accepted within westernized medicine, there is still unfortunately a lack of research to support their use. Dr. Thum explains how in China, IVF is a blend of westernized and Chinese medicine which achieves very good outcomes. Next, we delve into the fascinating and controversial area of natural killer cells. Dr. Thum discusses the difference between the NK cells in the blood and the uterus. From his research and the research of others, he believes that there is no difference with regards to using choosing peripheral blood or uterine cells when investigating the immune system. It is worth noting that at present the HFEA considers immunology testing an add-on where there is no robust evidence to show that it can improve the live birth rate and that there is evidence to show that the add-on is unsafe. Dr. Thum recommends that patients considering this treatment discuss this in-depth with their doctor to understand any benefits and side effects. Naava shares with us the importance of patients asking the right questions of their doctors and finding out why their clinician may have decided on a particular treatment. Particularly making sure that your doctor has a good rationale for why they have chosen a specific drug for you. Naava recommends that if you are considering Chinese medicine that you start working on this 3 months before treatment. Naava also trains fertility acupuncturists and Chinese medicine practitioners. You can find a Fertility Support trained acupuncturist via Naava’s website (https://www.fertilitysupport.co.uk) and you can get in touch with Dr. Thum here (https://listerfertility.co.uk/about/meet-the-team/doctors/)SOCIAL MEDIA Naava Carmen (https://www.instagram.com/fertilitysupport/)The Fertility Podcast (https://instagram.com/fertilitypoddy)Kate Davies (https://www.instagram.com/your_fertility_journey/)Disclaimer: The views expressed in the podcast episode are those of the guest experts and not necessarily those of the podcast hosts. When making decisions about using Chinesemedicine in conjunction with IVF treatments, please seek advice from your clinician before commencing treatment.
8 Mar 2022
The Early Years: How to Preserve Your Fertility Before You Transition
Imagine not feeling comfortable in your skin and feeling totally overwhelmed about where becoming a parent might fit in with your plans?
Natalie spent some at The Agora Clinic in Brighton, to capture the stories of its diverse community, and created a podcast series called The Agora Journals which you can listen to here (https://agoraclinic.co.uk/agora-stories/agora-journals/)
Here you can hear one of the episodes as we're sharing it here. Meet Satch, a Brighton-based musician who spoke to Natalie about the hurdles he had to overcome in order to preserve his fertility before transitioning. Satch talked about his experience of treatment and how he now feels about having 12 embryos to use with his fiancee Lisa when they are ready to start their family.
Satch was so open and honest, describing the 'wild femininity of what it is for a man to go through and talk through. What it was like overcoming the challenges of the invasive treatment. From having the examinations to choosing a sperm donor and the triggers along the way.
He spoke about how before he went onto testosterone he had signed up to the Gender Identity Clinic (GIC). How the side effect of testosterone is that you will likely lose fertility. Therefore knowing your options in terms of treatment available, is key. Satch made the decision to have the treatment before this stage.
He talked about the struggle to find out this information, how most transgender health information online isn't reliable, that is is mainly for Cisgender and heteronormative couples with some for gay and lesbian families.
He also talked about how the painful paperwork. How the forms they were filling in had the wrong pronouns and how that can be very triggering. Since his treatment, Satch has been working with The Agora on their paperwork.
To get even more support and access to our archive plus we have live events coming up, Become a Patreon of The Fertility Podcast (https://www.patreon.com/thefertilitypodcast)
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