After reviewing 5 years worth of data regarding its egg donation programmes CRM London has revealed some interesting trends specifically in relation to egg share donors. From 2007 to 2011 CRM London found that of those egg share donors who received free IVF treatment including free drug treatment, and donated half of their eggs to an anonymous recipient and kept the other half for their own IVF treatment, 42% have either delivered a baby, or are currently over 3 months pregnant. This was their chance of pregnancy for each treatment cycle. Some had several free treatment cycles and had a higher chance of pregnancy overall. This is from a group of 449 women who donated eggs and underwent fertility treatment in the London fertility clinic over the past 5 years.

It is when these results are compared with women of the same age, who were not donating eggs and keeping all the eggs for themselves that it becomes interesting. Of 804 women who did not donate eggs, a lower percentage of 38% are currently more than 3 months pregnant, or have delivered a baby. This shows that the egg sharers who have free IVF treatment and donate half of their eggs have better pregnancy results than IVF patients who pay for their treatment and use all of their eggs in treatment.

Why? It is most likely due to the fact that women who are accepted on the egg sharing programme have been screened to have high pregnancy potential based on blood tests and scans, whereas there are no selection criteria for self funded patients.

The research has also revealed that in recipients of donated eggs, 475 women had embryos resulting from donated eggs transferred at CRM London in this 5 year period. Of which, 44% have either delivered or are more than 3 months pregnant, showing that recipients have the most successful results of all, despite usually being of an older age group than the donors.

The trend can be accounted to 2 predominant factors. Firstly, the age of the donor determines the chances of pregnancy not the age of the recipient and secondly, both egg donors and patients having IVF treatment with their own eggs receive drugs to stimulate their ovaries to produce multiple eggs.

Treatment is therefore aimed at boosting the ovary. For recipients the ovaries are not stimulated at all and attention can be focused on improving the uterine factor to help embryos implant. It is also worth pointing out that these results are only based on pregnancies from fresh embryo transfer and do not include further pregnancies arising from the transfer of frozen embryos.

With the advent of paid egg donation it will be interesting to see whether the pregnancy rates are any different, particularly when paid egg donors who are not receiving any fertility treatment are considered. The stringent screening processes for paid donors and egg sharers should however, limit the variance in success rates.

Reading about how others have coped with ups and downs on the journey of trying to conceive through a personal blog can be helpful, and writing down your experiences and thoughts in a blog can also be therapeutic.

There are some great TTC blogs out there. These are some of our favourites. this list is by no means complete, and we are happy to add to it.

Personal Trying to Conceive Blogs

IVF Blogs

http://tertia.typepad.com/so_close/2004/10/surviving_infer.html this is an old blog now but still a great one.

http://ivfgirl.com/

http://invitrofertilitygoddess.com/

TTC after miscarriage/ babyloss

http://nongeordiemum.blogspot.com/

Information & support for infertility blog

Humerous look at infertility blogs

Last updated 2010 http://www.999reasonstolaugh.com/2010/05/758-you-read-infertility-blogs/

http://www.bustedplumbing.com/

Infertility & IVF information blogs

http://www.ivfauthority.com/

http://infertilityblog.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html

Blogs about infertility success stories

http://stressfreeinfertilityblog.com/

http://chasingamiracle.com/

http://jennandtonica.com/

http://www.roadtohappilyeverafter.com/2010/12/one-where-i-let-it-all-out.htmlful.

I am a much happier and healthier person since discovering (and consistently using) Life Upgrade.  My stress levels are greatly reduced and if I ever do feel stressed I have the tools to deal with it effectively and efficiently.  I have found myself in situations which would have previously caused a great deal of stress and now feel calm and able to cope.  I am back in touch with my intuition and have the trust to follow it.  I am able to live in the present moment more and more, which is a wonderful place to be!  I rarely feel my mind racing with distracting thoughts; if I do I can use Life Upgrade to get back to the present again.  My life is now going in the direction I want it to and what’s more I know that things are only going to get better the more I use the Life Upgrade tools.

It is a joy to be sharing this with other people, as I know from personal experience how well it works.  I am constantly amazed at how the body and mind (when in harmony) can work wonders for health and well-being.  I am privileged to be working in this field and to be able to maintain a feeling of wonder at how amazing we really are!

If you would like to try out the Life Upgrade system I can give you a session, which is a demonstration of some of the tools.  www.amymarner.co.uk

After a session with me you will have some tools to use for yourself.   Using these tools consistently in your day-to-day life will allow you to see some of the potential of Life Upgrade.

To get the full benefit it is essential that you attend a course with Tracy Holloway.  I cannot recommend Tracy’s course highly enough for anyone who is looking to move forward in their lives.  www.tracyholloway.com

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Symptoms & Signs of Ovulation

Some lucky women are able to tell when they are ovulating by changes in their body and this makes life much easier for them when they are trying to conceive.

The easiest one to spot is the changes in the cervical mucus, which becomes stringy and slippery and is often described as resembling raw egg whites at ovulation time.

‘Ovulation pain’ is also reported by some women but is not a very reliable method of timing intercourse as other abdominal pains can be confused with that of ovulation.

Another sign that can be useful is an increased libido at your fertile time. This is natures way of encouraging you to have intercourse at the best time for conception, but again this is fairly non specific and some women do not experience this.

If you do not experience these changes around the time of ovulation do not worry, many women do not notice these changes and it does not mean that there is anything wrong or that you will not be able to know when you are ovulating.

There are a huge range of ovulation tests  & ovulation predictors that can help you to know when you are ovulating.

You can find out more about ovulation tests from Access Diagnostics Fertility  http://www.accessdiagnostics.co.uk/acatalog/Ovulation_Prediction.html

If you are the author of a fertility or infertility blog and would like it included then please get in touch by e-mail to kate@adtuk.co.uk or leave us a message in comments.

The categories so far are :

• TTC Blogs
• IVF Blogs
• TTC after miscarriage/ babyloss blogs
• Information & support for infertility blogs
• Humerous look at infertility blogs
• Infertility & IVF information blogs
• Blogs about infertility success stories

The more you know about your fertility and treatment, the easier it is to cope. When I went through IVF for the first time, there was very little information available about what it would be like to have treatment from the patient perspective, and that’s why I started writing books about it!  Now, there’s a huge range of sources of information and advice, and making sure that you are well-informed can make all the difference.  If you’re having IVF, do take a look at my book The Complete Guide to IVF which is a simple guide to the basics of what’s involved and includes the experiences of lots of people who’ve been through treatment.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Guide-IVF-Fertility-Treatment/dp/0749909706

The other key tip for coping is to seek out others who are experiencing similar problems.  You may feel you aren’t ready to open up to people you don’t know, but it can be so helpful to be in a roomful of others who know just how you are feeling.  Some clinics run support groups and the charity Infertility Network UK  http://www.infertilitynetworkuk.com/  have many of their own too.  If you don’t want to meet people in the flesh, talking to one another in one of the many online forums can be incredibly helpful too.

Perhaps most important of all,  do remember that infertility isn’t easy.  No one sails through fertility problems and treatment in a calm, relaxed state.  Infertility makes you feel stressed, and it’s inevitable that at times you will find it tough going.  Try to find space to do some of the things you’ve always enjoyed, and don’t force yourself to go to social functions that you know are going to be difficult.  Above all, be kind to yourself - you’re going through a difficult time, and you deserve it.

Website http://www.katebrian.co.uk/

Kate Brian on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/katebrian

Infertility & fertility support

Fertility Friends is a UK based support group & forum http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php

Fertility Information 

BBC Health Fertility -great free resource for fertility information & news http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/fertility/fertility_index.shtml

Conceive Online is the online presence of the US magazine Conceive  http://www.conceiveonline.com/

Free Fertility Planner

Free Fertility Calculator from Attain Fertility http://attainfertilityplanner.com/default.aspx?src=conceive

There are a variety of methods used to test for ovulation, but the commonest and simplest to use are urine tests which look for the hormone LH (Luteinising Hormone) levels in urine, and detect the timing of the sudden rise in the levels of LH, which triggers the release of the egg. Urine LH tests are performed once a day, from a starting point which is calculated from the average length of the menstrual cycle. The first positive test result indicates that ovulation will occur over the next 24-36hrs

Another common ovulation test is the BBT or Basal Body Temperature method. This looks for the rise on basal body temperature that occurs with ovulation. This method is more tricky to use with any accuracy as a regular regime and strict methodology is needed to take the very first morning temperature before any activity and plot the results on charts. If used carefully, it will indicate that ovulation has occured, but by the time it it clear on the chart ovulation has already happened.

Digital Fertility Monitors have also been developed such as the Clearblue Fertility Monitor. These use a combination of programming and urine measurement to determine ovulation and predict the best fertile period for timing intercourse, for the best chance of conception. The big draw back is the cost of buying the monitor and then the monitor test strips, so they are a lot more expensive than normal ovulation tests, especially if lots of strips are used.

Saliva Ovulation Tests (also known as mini microscope or ovulation microscope) are also available which show a classical ferning pattern at ovulation due to the changes in the saliva that occur at ovulation. If used regularly these can be a good ovulation test.

Apps for mobile phones or ipad are also available to prompt the user of the fertile time in each cycle. These are straight calculators working on your cycle length, so a regular cycle is essential for any chance of accuracy. Obviously, as no test is involved, they are not true ovulation tests, but for most couples with no fertility problems, they may be all that is required to prompt the correct times for sex to maximise the chances of conception. A simple calender method can aslo be used if your cycle is very regular.

We recommend trying ovulation urine LH test strips, if you choose to try using an ovulation test. They are inexpensive & easy to use. Keep to one brand and test at the same time each day. Avoid testing in the morning, mid afternoon to early evening is the best time of day to do an urine LH ovulation test. Time sex for the night of the 1st positive result and the next night for the best chances.

To buy Ovulation Test Strips online visit http://www.accessdiagnostics.co.uk/acatalog/Ovulation_Prediction.htmlA

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