Couple reveal their heartbreak after struggling to get IVF on the NHS
‘To get to a certain point in your life where you’re ready to be a parent and come up against more doors being closed in your face… leaves you feeling quite defeated.’
‘I gave birth to someone else’s baby’: What it’s really like to be a surrogate
The clock had just struck 1am at Dorset County Hospital when Rosie Mead gave one final huge push and brought a beautiful little girl into the world. But instead of picking her up for some skin-to-skin contact, another couple bundled the baby away into a separate room for this all-important bonding ritual, leaving Rosie to deliver her placenta before being stitched up, the gas and air barely taking the edge off the pain.
It cost me £7,500 to freeze my eggs – and I pay over £300 a year to keep them
I lay in the operating theatre, half-dressed and nervous. I was in a fertility clinic about to have an egg retrieval procedure, and I felt vulnerable and exposed. The anaesthetist strode in and looked down at me. As he opened his mouth I thought he might say something reassuring, so his question came as a shock.
Woman discovers she was born without a developed womb
A woman who was born without a developed womb is raising awareness of her condition and says ‘womanhood isn’t defined by fertility.’ Vics Lane, 20, was diagnosed three years ago with a condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser Syndrome. The English student is calling for awareness around fertility conditions, as she says she’s been called ‘broken’ and told she is ‘damaged goods’.
Why does medical language shame women?
Imagine the scene: after many months of pregnancy, you’ve been in labour for days. You’re shattered. You’re concerned about your as-yet-unborn child and trying to muster energy for the next contraction – when you hear the midwife or doctor mutter something about ‘poor maternal effort’.
World’s first ‘artificial womb facility’ is glimpse of pregnancy in the future
This is the world’s first artificial womb facility – and it lets you choose baby’s characteristics from a menu. EctoLife, able to grow 30,000 babies a year, is said to be based on over fifty years of groundbreaking scientific research. The concept is the brainchild of Berlin-based Hashem Al-Ghaili, a biotechnologist and science communicator.
Social anxiety prevented me from seeking fertility support for a decade
‘Don’t worry, you’re still in the very early stages of trying, there’s nothing to say you can’t have a baby.’ That first initial call to the doctor was the hardest. In fact, it took me days to build up the courage to even dial the number.
How to look after your relationship when experiencing fertility struggles
Why us? A question familiar to the never-ending plaguing thoughts of those struggling with fertility. Couples will always face – and defeat – an onslaught of battles together. When it comes to trying for a family, these will come with intense strains that can push even the most stable of relationships into choppy waters and uncertainty.
‘Freezing my eggs makes my endometriosis worse – it’s a double-edged sword’
On average, it takes eight years to be diagnosed with endometriosis. That is eight years of pain, stress and discomfort. Eight years of searching for answers and not knowing what’s wrong. Eight years of fearing for your health and your future. It’s a journey that broadcaster and sports presenter Anita Nneka Jones knows all too well.
Women who have multiple miscarriages to get support earlier says new guidance
‘I had a miscarriage at five weeks after my first IVF cycle in 2016,’ infertility blogger Vanessa Haye tells Metro.co.uk. Vanessa has been through numerous heartbreaking experiences with pregnancy loss and fertility issues, and she believes she wasn’t given the support she needed.