Pride Angel

A new fertility product to help you conceive naturally

How the DuoFertility programme can help you overcome the fertility challenge and take control of an emotional journey.

Lara’s story
Lara heard about DuoFertility from her mum, after she read about it in the paper. ‘DuoFertility was just what I needed. I wanted to be reassured that I was actually ovulating and if possible avoid, or even just identify whether I might need fertility treatment. DuoFertility helped us do this effectively and in the shortest amount of time possible so we didn’t delay.’

DuoFertility kept a close eye on Lara’s cycles and the DuoFertility reports gave her the information she was looking for. ‘It was great to see that I was ovulating every month and this really put my mind at rest, especially because I knew age was a big factor in fertility.’

‘I really liked being able to ring up and speak to someone about my charts too for that extra detail about my cycles. Although I thought I was reading the graphs properly, it was reassuring to talk things through with a fertility advisor to make sure I didn’t come to the wrong conclusions.’ ‘In the end, we didn’t need any treatments because DuoFertility had helped us conceive after only five months into the monitoring programme’

After receiving her kit, Lara quickly found DuoFertility was really simple to use. ‘I do lots of swimming and exercise so at first I was unsure how I would get on with attaching the sensor every day. My bra strap secured the sensor in place and so I felt comfortable wearing it. I soon forgot I was wearing the sensor at all.’

Lara wanted to share her experiences with others to encourage them to consider what DuoFertility can offer. ‘I have talked to colleagues about DuoFertility. They confided in me about their infertility issues after I opened up about my own journey. I knew they could also benefit from the support DuoFertility gave me.’

DuoFertility is an extremely accurate yet simple to use fertility monitoring service. Get the convenience of fertility predictions up to six days in advance of your fertile window, giving you plenty of time to plan ahead.

As well as the fertility predictions, the monitor confirms ovulation actually occurred which is that extra reassurance your cycle is working as it should be. From the comfort of your own home, your plug-in device connects to the DuoFertility Centre via your computer. The team of fertility experts will review any unusual patterns in the menstrual cycle in case there are reasons to follow up on testing or treatment with your doctor – which can help avoid any further delays in conceiving.

The DuoFertility Money back guarantee
Qualifying couples can apply to use DuoFertility on a 12 month programme with the promise of their money back if they don’t manage to conceive naturally

The reassuring element to DuoFertility is that all couples can seek advice from the expert team whenever they have questions. This includes being able to ask the team of advisers whether DuoFertility is suitable in exactly your own situation. Find out if DuoFertility is right for you by using the online tool

Article: 18th August 2012 www.duofertility.com

Buy your Duofertility monitor here

A recent report states that there is a higher risk of complications and multiple births in pregnancies that result from IVF techniques.

A report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said there were increased risks of premature births, low birth weight and congenital abnormalities. However, it said the vast majority of IVF children were as healthy as other children. IVF accounts for over 1% of UK births. Advances in fertility research have allowed more infertile couples to have children and at an older age.

Risks

The Royal College's Scientific Advisory Committee reviewed the risks of IVF, which it said were directly related to the number of foetuses and that IVF techniques appeared to double the risk of twins.

It said: "About one in four of all IVF pregnancies result in a multiple birth in the UK owing to the common practice of replacing two or three embryos."

It also said there was a 23% increased risk of a premature birth, but the risk remained low. "IVF pregnancies still demonstrate an increased risk of low birth weight," it said. Heart defects, cleft lips and other congenital anomalies are also more common. It said around 5% of all babies were diagnosed with an abnormality, but IVF babies were around a third more likely to have a problem.

Long term

Later in life, the report said there were no differences in brain, language or behavioural development and there "appears to be little impact at age 12".

Prof Jenny Kurinczuk, director of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, said: "IVF pregnancies carry an increased risk of poor birth outcomes and complications. Nevertheless the majority of the children born following IVF will have a good outcome just like any other children.

"The poor birth outcomes and complications may be a combination of treatment and underlying features of the couple such as older maternal age. However, treatment strategies can be altered to improve outcomes such as the adoption of elective single embryo transfer."

Read more about alternatives to IVF such as home insemination and the Duo-fertility monitor which is as effective as one cycle of IVF after 6 months of use.

Article: 6th June www.bbc.co.uk

Couple finally conceived twins after they went through five cycles of IVF and spent £25,000 over five years - after she was prescribed a diet of egg and soya oil. The rich fatty solution was found to boost IVF success rates by six times in a recent study.

Sara Conyers, 33, was drip-fed the Intralipid infusion at a fertility clinic in Nottingham to try and stop her own body destroying embryos. The technique was successful and now she and her husband Matthew, 40, from Solihull, are now parents of twin boys William and Ben.

'It's been a long and difficult journey but it's been worth it,' said Mrs Conyers. 'This whole experience has made us even stronger. I've been prodded and poked by a lot of doctors and, hormonally, I've been up and down. But we never gave up hope and always remained positive.' The teacher and 40-year-old Matthew, who works in finance, started trying for a baby immediately after they wed in August 2007.

But after six months, the pair became worried that nothing had happened so went to see their GP. Various tests found there was nothing wrong with the couple, yet more than two years later they were still unsuccessful in conceiving. They decided to go private and began IVF at CARE Fertility, in Nottingham, in January 2010.

Mrs Conyers explained: 'The first time the IVF didn't work and we were devastated. However, I'd produced 18 eggs and they were frozen so they could be used for the next two rounds I had. But still nothing happened.' That's when Sara decided to take an immunology test to find out if the real reason she wasn't getting pregnant was because her own body attacking the embryos. 'The result said I was slightly immune,' she added. 'So on the fourth IVF attempt I was given the soya oil and egg yolk. It didn't work on the first occasion - but the second time round I was so happy to find out I was pregnant.'

Intralipid infusion emerged in 2009 in the U.S as an experimental fertility treatment. It is a brand name for a fat emulsion, made partly from eggs and soya oil usually used when tube-feeding very sick patients. However, it has also been shown to lower the activity of the natural killer cells component of our immune systems.

This was found to have a beneficial effect on women whose bodies were attacking their own eggs. A 2011 study found it increased the odds of an IVF pregnancy up to six times while also inhibiting chemicals which causes miscarriages. Mrs Conyers was drip fed the solution for two hours on three separate occasions: the day her eggs were collected, the day two fertilised embryos were put back inside her body and on the afternoon she found she was pregnant. Despite being born eight weeks prematureon April 4 the twins are healthy babies and finally came home last week.

Philip Lowe, Medical Director at CARE Fertility, said: 'Our reproductive immunology programme has provided essential support for Matthew and Sara and we're pleased to have helped them achieve their dream of having a family.'

Article: 17th May 2012 www.dailymail.co.uk

Read more about how nutrition and vitamins can aid fertility, at www.prideangel.com

The number of people accessing fertility treatments such as IVF and ICSI has risen in the UK by almost six percent in the past year.

Statistics released by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HEFA) revealed the number of fertility cycles carried out in 2010 stood at 57,652 – a 5.9 percent increase on treatments in 2009. It was also found that the age of women having such treatments is rising; within the last 20 years it has increased by 18 months.

The average age now stands at 35.1 years, compared to 33.6 years in 1991. Additionally, 19 percent of women having fertility treatments were found to be aged 40 plus, equating to one in five treatments. This figure has increased by nearly 10 percent since 1998.

Health experts believe the overall increase in fertility treatments and cycles is due to budget cuts that have affected the NHS. As a result, the National Health Service in the UK has tightened treatment eligibility regulations, meaning it is more difficult for to people to qualify for NHS funded fertility procedures.

However, in spite of this and the fact that most of fertility treatments are carried out and funded privately, the HEFA figures revealed the number of NHS treatments increased last year.

The proportion of fertility cycles that were funded by the NHS reached 40.6 percent in 2010 compared to 38.5 percent in 2009.

The Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK, Clare Lewis-Jones, commented on the findings. She said: “The fact that only a minority of treatment cycles in 2010 were funded by the NHS continues to highlight the difficulties faced by many patients in trying to access NHS treatment.

“The recent suspension of funding by many PCTs means that the number of NHS-funded cycles will no doubt decrease in 2011 and we are also concerned that, if responsibility for commissioning of fertility services is passed to GPs, there will be even more variations in access to treatment.”

Article: 17th November 2011 www.healthcareglobal.com

For more information on fertility treatments and alternatives to IVF such as home insemination visit Pride Angel