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 | Print | 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 | Print | 4 Comments »

27/01/2009 by admin.

Just read this really interesting article online about a new procedure called Array Comparative Genomic Hybridisation (Array CGH) that has been developed by british researchers at CARE fertility in Nottingham.

It seems that the procedure involves selecting the most viable eggs for use in the fertility treatment, and  screening out eggs with genetic defects ,that would cause them to fail.

 It is hoped that the new IVF procedure will help thousands of infertile couples to start a family.

 It is hoped it will be particularly useful for older mothers where the risk of genetic defects in the eggs is higher and for those with a history of recurrent failed IVF attempts or recurrent miscarriage.

The test has also been licensed for use in younger patients.

 Click here to read the article

Posted in TTC over 35, Older Mums, IVF, Recurrent Miscarriage | Print | 5 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 | Print | 1 Comment »

03/10/2008 by admin.

This is an old article I read online last year, but a very good one well worth reading, and also a very worthy cause whose fund raising efforts have now saved the baby unit.

 Meet the Baby-Maker-The Times 3rd November 2007

‘Professor Lesley Regan who is a consultant obstetrician and the head of the Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic (RMC) at St Mary’s Hospital, in Paddington, West London.

Who is she?

Professor Lesley Regan is a consultant obstetrician and the head of the Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic (RMC) at St Mary’s Hospital, in Paddington, West London.

She is also the first woman to hold a chair in obstetrics and gynaecology in the UK.

She has written several books on pregnancy and miscarriage including Your Pregnancy Week by Week, and Miscarriage: What Every Woman Needs to Know.

The RMC is the largest clinic of its kind in the world and it deals with more than 1,000 new cases each year, with a success rate of 80 per cent.

Click here to read the full story

 Click here to read more about the Recurrent Miscarriage Units future plans

Posted in Recurrent Miscarriage, Trying to Conceive | Print | 1 Comment »