16/11/2009 by amymarner.

Hypnosis is a natural state that we all enter daily. It’s those times when your imagination is active, so watching a film or reading a book. If you are immersed in the story and your imagination is involved that is hypnosis. You are completely in control and free to leave it at anytime. Our subconscious does not know the difference between our imagination and reality so we can use our imagination to access the subconscious and create what we want in our lives.

Using hypnosis is a great way to address fertility, because we can access our imagination and address what is going on in our subconscious. For example we may have spent years trying not to get pregnant, our subconscious may not have caught up with our new plans to start a family so using the imagination we can show the subconscious what we really want and it can catch up. This then supports our body to conceive.      

We may often have negative thoughts running through our minds, worry creating more worry and affecting our well-being. Our negative thoughts can affect our hormonal balance but with hypnosis it is possible to bring them back to a healthy equilibrium therefore supporting conception.

Fertility Solutions hypnosis CDs have been developed by Tracy Holloway (a qualified hypnotherapist and renowned fertility specialist) in order to prepare the subconscious mind for conception. The powerful CDs begin with deep relaxation; this prepares your mind for suggestion and supports you to release stress. Once you have listened for at least a week to the first CD you can move on to the next. Each one brings you relaxation and prepares the body for conception. Some are designed specifically for those who are planning to conceive naturally, others support assisted conception and there are also CDs for those who have experienced miscarriage and fear their body cannot support a healthy baby.

These powerful CDs go hand in hand with the Fertility Solutions Programme but can also be very effective in their own right. For more details and to buy online click here.

Posted in Guest blogger, Alternative medicine, Running on empty, Assisted reproduction, Hypnotherapy, Fertility & stress, Fertility Blogger, Infertility & Stress, Fertility Blog, doing things differently, Stress relief, Fertility, Infertility, Recurrent Miscarriage, Alternative Therapies & Fertility, Stress, female fertility, Miscarriage, Womens Health, Natural Fertility Methods | No Comments »

28/07/2009 by yourgreatlife.

So, you’re pregnant again after a miscarriage.  You may have let nature take its course, or gone through another cycle of assisted conception.  Either way, you have achieved your goal, and it was supposed to feel like a triumph, worthy of celebration.  But, now that you are there, how do you really feel about it?

 Start at the beginning - Women, who are trying to become pregnant after having experienced one or more miscarriages, often express desperation to become pregnant again and then experience a huge range of emotions about this next pregnancy, including everything from hopeful but mildly worried, to terrified. Because I often work with women who are still feeling the emotional, and even the physical, effects of their loss, we tend to focus on making sense of facts and recognizing feelings: shock, grief, guilt, blame, loss of hope and confidence. I like to go back and work through her expectations around that previous pregnancy. Then, it is easier to understand the reason for, and the depth of, her feelings about her miscarriage and gain some degree of closure. 

 Shattered dreams, plans and self-esteem - For example, especially if it was a woman’s first pregnancy, the pictures in her mind of how that pregnancy would unfold will have shattered.  She may have spent considerable time, even in the short period of a first trimester pregnancy, falling in love with her baby.  If it was an unexpected pregnancy, she may have had to come around to the idea and begun making mental adjustments to the unfamiliar territory of motherhood. Perhaps she focused on romantic daydreams of herself and her partner experiencing a new, intimate connection with each other over her swelling, pregnant belly.  So, on top of her grief over the baby she will never know, she could also be missing the specialness of that imagined, future time in her relationship.  He may or may not be aware of that aspect of her emotional response to the miscarriage. She may also have expected the pregnancy and her child’s birth to transform her in some way: to give her more significance: mother, mother of his baby, mother of someone’s grandchild, part of the “club” of friends who are mothers, or on the same level as her sisters who have children. Not only could miscarriage mean she had failed in her own eyes, she could perceive that she is a failure in the eyes of others, even when it isn’t true.

Walking on Eggshells - What happens to this couple when they are fortunate to conceive again? In my experience, no matter how often a woman reads or hears that many couples go on to have a healthy, full-term baby after experiencing miscarriage, there is a lot of walking on eggshells in a subsequent pregnancy.  If she excitedly discussed her previous pregnancy with family, friends and colleagues, she may not even tell anyone she is pregnant again. To some extent, it is impossible to suspend fear entirely because we have the negative memories of having placed our trust in God, medicine or both and it resulting in enormous pain.  In the new pregnancy, that trust is somewhat reduced in all except those who have absolute, blind faith that a Higher Power will deliver what is meant to be. The need to exert control over something that is largely out of our control is all so understandable, and at the same time, such a shame because it means that she will experience less unreserved joy.

Achieving a Deeper Level of Understanding - In trying to support a woman through this next pregnancy, I believe that the best route is to go back to the basics: her identity, her values, what she wants out of life, her level of satisfaction with all aspects of herself and her lifestyle, sorting out her wants from her needs, and measuring her competing interests. To each of these areas, I would ask her to reflect upon how any of them was changed by her experience of miscarriage and finally, to anticipate how they will be changed by having the child she now carries.  The progression of the coaching process will reveal, layer by layer, how deeply she believes in herself, where her strength lies and how she will use it, no matter what lies ahead.  Those are the qualities that will make her a good mother and provide them both with a great life. 

Self-Coaching - If you want to do this for yourself, I suggest that you buy a journal with lined paper and set it up for a self-coaching process by putting each of the categories (previous pregnancy, miscarriage, subsequent pregnancy) above at the top of separate pages, with several pages in between each, headed by the sub-categories (ex. Who am I? My values, my aspirations, what I need to be happy, my satisfaction level at the particular time, my strengths, my frustrations, my expectations, how any of this has changed, etc…) Then, write on them at your own pace; whenever a flash of insight occurs, or in purposeful sessions. Don’t worry about your language or whether you are “making sense.” This is just for you. It is not about gaining an explanation for your miscarriage; it is about understanding yourself and what you want, accepting that there are no guarantees in life and opening the door to what is to come.

Supporting Her – This way of going back to the beginning, before the trauma of the loss, can, work for those closest to her as well; encouraging her to talk about her first pregnancy, this one and what makes her to want to become a mother. It is important to pay attention to her signals of being willing, ready and able to talk.  However, you can communicate a state of openness, verbally or through body language.  Looking directly into her eyes will show emotional availability and not expressing any criticism about how she is acting will go a long way toward building trust. Please, don’t ever try to stifle her by saying “Forget about it. Surely it won’t happen again.” You can’t give her any guarantees and may provoke resentment, anger or being misunderstood. She is not looking for you to solve her problems; she may just need you to listen and give sincere comfort.Instead of shutting off those dreams and memories that existed in her with the previous pregnancy, I would encourage them to flow. They are the reason that she is risking her body, heart and mind again.  By remembering and talking about her positive reasons for conceiving and carrying the first baby, she can reach a level of acceptance and underlying strength to move forward into the new pregnancy with renewed courage.  She deserves to embrace and enjoy carrying this child who is, at no other time, more a part of her than right now.

Lisa Marsh is a fertility coach, supporting those who are trying to conceive, experiencing loss, secondary infertility, assisted conception, alternative parenting and loss of fertility through illness, medical treatment and menopause. You can find out more about Lisa’s work by visiting her blog: http://yourgreatlife.typepad.com or contact her directly at lisa@yourgreatlife.co.uk .

Posted in Self Coaching, fertility coach, Pregnancy after miscarriage, TTc after miscarriage, Miscarriage | No Comments »

10/07/2009 by yourgreatlife.

Hi, I am Lisa Marsh, of Your Great Life, saying my own hello as a guest blogger. I will be writing from the perspective of someone who has experienced both recurrent miscarriage and secondary infertility in the past. I have been incredibly fortunate to have two healthy children within the seven years of TTC and am not planning to have any more children. I hope that my experience will be inspiring to some of you.

As a direct result of my personal experiences in this area, I went on to train as a life coach and as a miscarriage helpline volunteer. I run a miscarriage support group and find that issues of infertility are entwined with miscarriage, such as PCOS, in the members’ reproductive health. I am now devoting my entire professional practice to fertility clients, starting with TTC and continuing into the loss of fertility due to ageing (menopause), disease and chemotherapy.

I am really looking forward to being a part of this forum. Please give me some feedback on my blogs and let me know what you want to hear about.

Posted in Guest blogger, Self care, Stress relief, Positive Living, Miscarriage | No Comments »

16/03/2009 by admin.

I was thinking today about my friend who had the recent miscarriage and wondering how long her pregnancy test will stay positive for after the miscarriage.

 As she is 40 this year, she wants to start trying for a  baby again as soon as possible. Problem may be if she does not have a period before she conceives.  This may cause two problems, dating the pregnancy as she will not know when she ovulated, and also knowing how to interpret a positive pregnancy test.

The pregnancy test can stay positive for some time after the miscarriage due to hcg levels still being elevated in the body. As pregnancy tests these days are more sensitive than they used to be, they can detect even lower hcg levels after miscarriage.  

Many hospitals advise to do a home pregnancy test about 2 weeks after the miscarriage. If the home pregnancy test is negative then it means the hcg levels have dropped and so a positve test after a negative one should mean a pregnancy as long as the same sensitivity of pregnancy test is used at the same time of day (1st morning void).  

I was not able to find an absolute answer on this. It depends on the levels of hcg at the time of the miscarraige and this varies enormously. General advice seems to be to give it at least 2 weeks after the miscarriage for the home pregnancy test to become negative. By then most home pregnancy tests will be negative.

Click here to see home pregnancy tests

Just a thought-if you get pregnant again before you have a period you could use a Clearblue Digital with Conception Indicator to date the pregnancy. If you do get pregnant before you have a period do not worry-the dating scans at the hospital are now very good

Posted in hcg levels, Miscarriage, Recurrent Miscarriage, Pregnancy Tests | 1 Comment »

11/03/2009 by admin.

Just also found this article from September 2007 while researching miscarriage on the NHS.uk/news website (a very useful site for information on health issues inthe news)

Pregnant women who do strenuous exercise, such as jogging or playing racket sports and ball games, more than treble their risk of miscarriage, newspapers reported.

The newspapers said vigorous high-impact exercise within the first few months of pregnancy was associated with the highest risk of miscarriage. Exercise in the later stages of pregnancy did not affect the risk.

The reports are based on a study on more than 92,000 women in Denmark that looked for a relationship between exercise and miscarriage. The study performed different analyses on the results, which resulted in conflicting findings. As a result, the researchers are themselves cautious about suggesting a link between exercise and miscarriage.

The relationship between exercise and miscarriage has not been proven beyond reasonable doubt by this study.

Click here to read the full article

Posted in Miscarriage, Pregnancy | No Comments »

11/03/2009 by admin.

While I was researching miscarraige on the net I found this article from 22 January 2008 on NHS.uk/news which i thought may be useful to some of you. This may be why so many pregnant women go off coffee & tea

Drinking coffee can double the risk of miscarriage reported The Guardian and many other news sources yesterday. “Pregnant women who consumed two or more mugs of coffee a day were twice as likely to miscarry than those who abstained from caffeine,” The Guardian said. The media coverage suggested that pregnant women may wish to reduce or stop drinking drinks containing caffeine, including coffee and tea.

The newspaper story is based on a study in 1,063 pregnant women in San Francisco. The study found that women who drank more than 200mg or more of caffeine a day – the amount contained in two or more regular cups of coffee or five 12oz (330 ml) cans of caffeinated drink – doubled their risk of miscarriage compared with women who drank no caffeine. However, this study has some limitations, including difficulty in making sure that the results are not affected by other factors that are known to increase the risk of a miscarriage.

Overall, the advice that pregnant women should avoid drinking too many drinks containing high levels of caffeine while they are pregnant seems sensible. Currently in the UK, the Food Standards Agency recommends that women limit their caffeine intake during pregnancy to 300mg a day.

Click here to read the full article

Posted in Miscarriage, Pregnancy | No Comments »

11/03/2009 by admin.

I have just googled miscarriage and found a very useful website from the Miscarriage Association with lots of information and support-link below. 

It seems miscarriage occurs in about 1 in 4 pregnancies. In the UK there are approximately 250,000 miscarraiges a year.

Another 1% of pregnancies are ectopic ie the pregnancy occurs in the wrong place-outside the uterus usually in the fallopian tube-we will talk about this another time as that is a whole other subject in itself

Considering how common miscarriage is women do not talk about it that much, so where do you go for information and support. I will put some information below, for more info and support visit the miscarriage association website

When do most miscarriages occur ?

 Miscarriage usually occurs in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and miscarriages later than this are thankfully uncommon, although they can occur up to 24 weeks. Miscarriage after 24 weeks is called stillbirth.

What causes a miscarriage ?

Usually the cause is unknown which can be very frustrating and distressing for the couple. This does not mean that it is your fault-it is extremely unlikely to be anything that you have done that has caused the miscarriage.

Here is some information I got from the miscarriage association website on the causes of miscarriage :

The main causes of miscarriage are thought to be:

Genetic: In about half of all early miscarriages, the baby does not develop normally right from the start and cannot survive.

Hormonal: Women with very irregular periods may find it harder to conceive and when they do, are more likely to miscarry.

Immunological: Problems within the blood vessels which supply the placenta can lead to miscarriage.

Infection: Minor infections like coughs and colds are not harmful, but a very high temperature and some illnesses or infections, such as German measles, may cause miscarriage.

Anatomical: If the cervix (neck of the womb) is weak, it may start to open as the uterus (womb) becomes heavier in later pregnancy and this may lead to miscarriage. An irregular-shaped uterus can mean that there is not enough room for the baby to grow. Large fibroids may cause miscarriage in later pregnancy

Click here to visit the Miscarriage Association Website

How long should we wait after a miscarriage before trying again ?

There does not seem to be a definite answer to this. Everyone reacts differently to a miscarriage and some may take longer to grieve than others. For some the urge to get pregnant again straight away is very strong.

If you wait until after your next  normal period then this makes dating your subsequent pregnancy easier for medical staff as well as giving you time to come to terms with the loss of the baby and for your body to return to its pre-pregnant state.

According to the miscarriage association there is no evidence to show that when you conceive makes any difference to the risk of miscarriage in the next pregnancy. In most cases, the couple themselves are the best judges of when to try again

The good news is that most women who have a miscarriage go on to have a successful pregnancy next time.

Posted in Miscarriage, Pregnancy | No Comments »

10/03/2009 by admin.

A friend of mine has just had a miscarriage of a much wanted pregnancy and it set me to thinking about miscarriage, and how long we need to wait before trying again.

 Miscarriage is more common than many people think. When you start to talk to friends you find out that many of them have had this sad experience.

My personal feelings are that I would need to grieve the loss of the baby & give my body  time to get back to its normal pre pregnant state, so I have always felt it is best to wait at least 3 months before trying to conceive again. However for many the urge to try again is very strong, and they start trying alsmost immediately after.

 I will research this and find out what the common consensus of opinion is, and let you know

Posted in TTc after miscarriage, Miscarriage | No Comments »

20/10/2008 by admin.

An article asking this very question was published today in The Times. It is based on the results and recommendations of an online survey produced by mumsnet (an online resource for parents)

Here are some extrcts from the article:

Insensitive health workers compound the suffering caused by miscarriage, but a Mumsnet campaign aims to change matters

In recent weeks and months Benson, and hundreds of others like her, have been logging on to the parents’ website Mumsnet to chart their experiences of what can seem like the uncaring, insensitive face of the NHS - doctors, nurses, midwives and protocols that appear to take no account of the pain, physical or emotional, involved in miscarriage.

Ten steps to a caring NHS

The Mumsnet recommendations

1 GPs, early pregnancy units (EPU) and A&E staff should be trained in communication techniques (including things not to say to women who are miscarrying).

2 Access to ultrasound scanning facilities in cases of suspected miscarriage should be easier.

3 Women undergoing miscarriage or suspected miscarriage should be separated from women having routine antenatal and postnatal care, and women terminating an unwanted pregnancy.

4 Waiting times, especially for women who need surgery, should be kept to a minimum and women should not have to wait in antenatal or labour wards.

5 The surgical procedure “evacuation of retained products of conception” (ERPC) should be renamed to be less confusing and upsetting.

6 Women having a miscarriage should have the different options explained to them: “natural” miscarriage; medication to speed up the natural process; and surgery.

7 Where miscarriage occurs in hospital, doctors should discuss with the parents what they wish to happen to the foetus (ie, it should not simply be disposed of routinely).

8 Follow-up appointments and/or counselling should be routinely offered after miscarriage.

9 Information about pregnancy and miscarriage should be held centrally so that all pregnancy-related appointments can be automatically cancelled.

10 Consideration should be given to routine blood tests for any conditions that could cause miscarriage.

Click here to read the full article

Posted in Miscarriage, Recurrent Miscarriage | No Comments »